Ben Olsen
Ben Olsen
Benjamin Robert "Ben" Olsenis an American former professional soccer player and the current head coach of D.C. United. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Olsen grew up playing for FC Delco, an elite club program near Philadelphia. He later attended the University of Virginia, when he was named 1997 Soccer America Player of the Year...
ProfessionSoccer Player
Date of Birth3 May 1977
CityHarrisburg, PA
biggest game goal goals last national special team whether
That was a very special goal and probably one of the biggest goals I've ever scored. Whether that's my last game in a while with the national team is up in the air.
game help nerves nervous yes
Yes, yes a lot. I was probably more nervous for this game than I have been in a long time. Nerves help sometimes, though.
decisions facing game hard lessons manage overtime sudden wrong
The way we manage the game has to be better. Those were some hard lessons -- hard ones to swallow. When you do something wrong at this level, all of a sudden you're in overtime and facing PKs down a man. Some of the decisions we made were not good; it's that simple.
game ideal played soccer
It's not ideal ... but we'll see. It's still a soccer game out there; I've played in a couple. It should come back pretty quickly.
against atmosphere bit builds character excited games good redeem remembered saw taste type win
It's going to be loud, it's going to be festive, it's going to be fun. When you look back at your career, these type of games are going to be remembered -- the trip, the fans, everyone against you. If you can win in a good atmosphere like that, it builds a lot of character for a team. I'm excited to see how we respond. We saw it in the Pumas game, so we got a taste of it, and we're champing at the bit to redeem ourselves.
games hard losing ourselves shooting teams tough turn winning
The frustrating part is that we are losing these games -- I don't necessarily think these teams are winning them. We're just shooting ourselves in the foot, over and over. These are tough times and I know we're going to turn it around, but it's hard right now.
coach couple finding guys heavy offensive team teams together wants
I think we're benefiting from having this team together for a couple of years now. Having a lot of those guys back, especially early, when other teams are still finding themselves, it's a thrill. We'll see what coach wants to do. We're a heavy offensive team.
besides buried feels fourth gave goal good kept months nine playing question score screwed third though took
It always feels good to score the first one -- even though it took me nine months to get it, ... We just screwed up on the goal we gave up. Besides that, it was good soccer. We kept playing well and today, finally, we buried a team. That's what we have been missing. Once we had the lead, the question was, could we get that third goal, could we get that fourth goal? We did it.
adjust chance confident definitely good team
We thought they were a good team, but definitely a beatable team. We feel pretty confident we can come back with a result. The Pumas trip, we didn't know what to expect. I think we have a better chance in Chile. We feel more prepared, we feel we know what this team is about, their strengths, and we can adjust and adapt.
team
You look at their lineup and it's a whole different team. It's a team you know you have to respect.
dealt goal last score seeing special year
He's dealt with a lot in the last year and a half. Just seeing him score a goal was a special moment.
bet national people
I bet a lot of people didn't think I would be back on the national team.
certainly heads hopefully opportunity turn
This year, he's going to hopefully turn some heads and give us a lot more. His opportunity to play will certainly be more, and that's key.
deals high learn lessons move punished school teacher
My girlfriend's a high school teacher and she told me it's just like a 16-year-old, ... She deals with them every day. They say things and they spout off and then they get punished and they learn lessons or they don't learn lessons. He got punished and now we move on.