Natasha Kai

Natasha Kai

Personal information
Full name	Natasha Kanani Janine Kai
Date of birth	May 22, 1983 (1983-05-22) (age 28)
Place of birth	Kahuku, Hawaii, United States
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Philadelphia Independence
Number	-
Youth career
2002–2005	Hawaii Rainbow Wahine
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2009-2010	Sky Blue FC	37	(11)
2011-	Philadelphia Independence	17	(9)
National team‡
2004–2006	United States U-21
2006–2011	United States	67	(24)
Honours Competitor for  United States Women's Football Gold 2008 Beijing Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:48, August 19, 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:48, October 21, 2009 (UTC)

Natasha Kanani Janine Kai (born May 22, 1983) is an American soccer forward currently playing for Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional Soccer.

University of Hawaiʻi

Kai played for the University of Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wahine from 2002-2005. She was named WAC player of the Year in 2002, 2003, and 2005, and was named a third-team All American in 2003.^[1]

During Kai's standout career, she set multiple WAC records. She was named WAC Freshman of the Year in 2002, becoming the first soccer player to be named Freshman and Player of the Year in the same season. She also became the first player in WAC history to earn three Player of the Year awards and First-Team all-conference honors all four seasons. Kai owns the WAC career shots record (446) and is second in goals (72) and points (162). She finished her college career with 72 goals in 73 matches.^[2]

Club

Sky Blue FC

On September 16, 2008 the initial WPS player allocation was conducted; Kai was allocated to Sky Blue FC with fellow US Women's National Team players Heather O'Reilly and Christie Rampone.^[3] Kai's electrifying play on offense was key in Sky Blue FC's 2009 WPS championship season.

Philadelphia Independence

On December 21, 2010, Kai signed a deal to play with the Philadelphia Independence. On July 6 she scored a hat trick against her former team, Sky Blue FC.

National team

Youth team

Kai was first brought in with the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team in 2004, and was the leading scorer in the team with 12 goals, including six in international matches. She helped lead the U-21s to the Nordic Cup title in Iceland, scoring three goals in the tournament including two against Germany. She injured her shoulder in her final college game of 2004, then re-injured it again in her first U-21 camp of 2005, necessitating surgery, and did not get called into an U-21 camp until January 2006.^[2]

Senior team

Kai started her first training camp with the full United States Women's National Soccer Team in February 2006. She made her full Women’s National Team debut at the 2006 Algarve Cup in Portugal,^[4] scoring in her first two games against Denmark and France, as a substitute. She became just the fourth player in U.S. WNT history to score in her first two caps.^[5]

Kai scored four goals in her first seven WNT matches, including the winner in a 1-0 victory over Japan on May 9, 2006. She went on to become the first-ever player from Hawaii to play for the full Women’s National Team and to make a Women’s World Cup Team. She played in 17 games during her first year on the National Team, starting in four matches. She scored six goals, two of them in the 2006 Algarve Cup. She also scored against Japan, Ireland, Canada and Australia. Her goal against the Matildas came in a 2-0 win at the Peace Cup in South Korea^[2].

In 2007, Kai played in seven games heading into the final pre-Women’s World Cup match, starting in four. She had two assists and one goal that came in a 2-0 win over China at the Four Nations Tournament to give USA the tournament title. She was one of the final three players chosen to the 2007 U.S. Women’s World Cup Team.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Kai scored the winning goal in overtime to lead the U.S. past Canada in the quarterfinal round.

Kai last played for the U.S. on March 11, 2009 against Sweden.^[6] She has not been selected for national team duty since having major shoulder surgery in the fall of 2009.^[2]

In September 2011 via Twitter, Kai said she would never play for the Women's National Team again, stating, "I will never play for the USWNT ever again so Id appreciate it if u stop asking & tweeting me about it. Its in the past & staying there thx"^[7]

Personal

Kai is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, and Caucasian heritage. She is very close to her family and says they are her biggest fans.^{[citation needed]}

At 5 years old, she accidentally stepped on a glass bottle and the tendons in her foot were severely hurt. Doctors were afraid she might never be able to run again, but she fully recovered from the injury.^[8]

She is also known for her distinctive tattoos.^[8] She has 55+ tattoos^{[citation needed]}, two being "Sleeve tattoos" on her left and right arms. She has tattoos on both legs, arms, feet, and hands, and on her back, chest, sides, and the front, side, and back of her neck. Along with the tattoos, she also has two lower lip piercings.

She was featured on an episode of the hit show "LA Ink" and had a large spread in ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue."

Kai has openly discussed the fact that she is gay, and was one of only two openly gay individuals on the 2008 USA Summer Olympic Team. During an interview with NBCOlympics.com, Kai was quoted as saying the following:

It was a hard time... I had missed the first camp [under new head coach Pia Sundhage] in early-January because I had bronchitis, and I was going through a nasty break-up with my girlfriend. Then [Coach Sundhage] told me my job was on the line.^[9]

References

1. ^ 2010 University of Hawai'i Soccer Media Guide, p.38
2. ^ ^{a b c d} US Soccer Official Bio
3. ^ "WPS Allocation List". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2008/09/wps_allocation_list.html. Retrieved 2010-05-19. 
4. ^ WPS official Bio
5. ^ USOC Official Bio
6. ^ US Soccer 2009 Official Lineups
7. ^ Retirement tweet
8. ^ ^{a b} ESPN: Pride of the Aloha state
9. ^ Outsports: American out Olympian in soccer

External links

• Natasha Kai – FIFA competition record
• US Soccer player profile
• Philadelphia Independence player profile

Persondata
Name	Kai, Natasha
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 22, 1983
Place of birth	Kahuku, Hawaii, United States
Date of death
Place of death