Mia Hamm has more international goals in her career than any other soccer player, male or female, but it was her husband, Nomar Garciaparra, who was the hero on the soccer field on Saturday.
Garciaparra scored on a breakaway in overtime to give his team, Nomar United, an 8-7 win over Hamm's team, FC Mia, in the second annual Celebrity Soccer Challenge at the Home Depot Center on Saturday.
"I was just glad to get that game-winning score, because I didn't want to have to hear it for another year," said Garciaparra, whose team lost, 13-12, last year.
The goal capped off a fun day for the athletes and celebrities who participated in the event that raised nearly $200,000 for Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Mia Hamm Foundation.
The event also encouraged the thousands of fans in attendance to register for the National Marrow Donor Program Registry.
It is a cause close to Hamm's heart, because she lost her brother Garrett to aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease, in 1997.
"The more we can spread the word, the better," Hamm said. "We can't do justice by just verbalizing, so stopping and registering can save a life. And we saw that today."
So while Garciaparra was excited about his game-winning goal, he was more excited about the fact that nearly 200 people registered for the marrow registry last year at the event and even more signed up on Saturday.
"That's the biggest thing," Garciaparra said. "We're here to have fun, but the biggest thing is raise money for the children's hospital and to get people typed and registered for the bone marrow bank. To be able to save a life is priceless."
The soccer game was fun mix of both celebrities and athletes, who showed off some skills on the pitch. Among the celebrities who played were actor C. Thomas Howell, actor Josh Hutcherson, actor Mark Consuelos, Donald Faison of ABC's "Scrubs," Jimmy Jean-Louis of NBC's "Heroes," Angus Jones of CBS's "Two and a Half Men," Josh Henderson of the CW's "90210," Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and skateboarders Tony Hawk and Ryan Sheckler.
Several actors scored during the game, including Jean-Louis, who had a hat trick, as well as Hutcherson, Henderson and Faison, who accidentally scored for the wrong team in the first quarter before scoring for his team in the third quarter.
"The two goals evened out," Faison said with a laugh. "It was a great day. It's such a great cause. It's so great seeing Mia and Nomar give back to the community, and I was just glad to be a part of it."
There also were several soccer players at the event, including many of Hamm's teammates from the U.S. National Team, such as Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly, Joy Fawcett, Tisha Hoch and Abby Wambach. Other current and former male soccer players who participated included Cobi
Jones, Chris Seitz, Matt Reis, Brian Dunseth and Alexi Lalas.
The participants seemed to enjoy the combination of both celebrities and soccer players on the field, as it made for a competitive game for the fans to watch.
"It's such a great environment, with both celebrities and athletes," said former Angels pitcher Mark Langston, who also played soccer in college at San Jose State. "It's fun with the mixing and matching."
At halftime, patients suffering from leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases were introduced for the first time to their bone marrow donors.
It was a great way for both Garciaparra and Hamm to show those in attendance that registering can help save a life.
"Mia and Nomar have done so much on their fields of play that everybody knows about, but the reality is that they're even better people off the field," Lalas said. "I have so much respect for both of them."
