'I just went for it': Christie Pearce Rampone recalls moment Hall of Fame journey started

Christie Pearce Rampone was a model of confidence and consistency on the soccer field during her 19-year tenure with the U.S. Women’s National Team.

With her National Soccer Hall of Fame induction in Frisco, Texas coming up May 21, the Jersey Shore native on Tuesday recalled when, instead of confidence, she wasn’t sure of what she was getting into when then-national team coach Tony DiCicco out of the blue invited her to the national team camp in 1997.

Pearce was at Monmouth University on a basketball scholarship; she was only on the soccer team because she was able to work out a deal with her coaches.

“It was a fax. I didn’t get a phone call from Tony DiCicco, I had no information from U.S. Soccer, I just got a plane ticket,” said Pearce, who went on to earn 311 international caps, two World Cup titles and three Olympic gold medals.

And, “it wasn’t a yes from Monmouth University at first,” she said.

Pearce was a senior captain of the Monmouth basketball team and would have to miss several games.

“I had to meet with the president, I had to meet with teammates, I had to meet with coaches. A lot of, lot of, conversations and some big challenges I had to face in order to get on that airplane to start this journey which I didn’t even know what I was entering,” Pearce said.

“When you truly believe and trust that there’s something else out there..I just went for it.”

More Shore sports coverage: Mater Dei sports memories: Who were greatest coaches at school that's now shutting its doors?

Pearce, 46, retired as a professional player in 2017. She was elected as a first ballot selection into the National Soccer Hall of Fame last year but deferred her induction for a year.

At Point Pleasant Borough High School, Pearce led the Shore Conference in scoring in field hockey, basketball and soccer (the league played girls soccer in the spring).

Related: The best ever: Monmouth University's top 30 female athletes, ranked

At Monmouth, Pearce scored 79 goals in her college career, but was brought into the national team camp for a run at playing defender. The change went over well; she was rarely out of the starting lineup for the next 19 years, starting in 272 of her 311 caps. She played 24,011 minutes in a U.S. uniform, second-most in U.S. history.

Pearce was the captain of the U.S. WNT during two gold medal runs and one FIFA Women’s World Cup title. Pearce also played professionally from 2001-17.

Siri Mullinix, who played for the U.S. National Team from 1999 to 2004, will be Pearce's presenter at the Hall induction.

"She's my best friend. She was my roommate, teammate for so long. We've been best friends since I met her in 1999 at residency camp," Pearce said during Tuesday's virtual media availability.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Christie Pearce Rampone's National Soccer Hall of Fame induction