This Post Brought To You By E.P.T. and Trojan

We here at Unprofessional Foul do not, admittedly, follow women's soccer with any regularity. There are numerous reasons for this, not the least of which is the virtual nonexistence of women's professional leagues, but probably mostly because we are all sexist pigs.

Despite this, I would like to take the opportunity to recognize a story of which I only just became aware.

The US Women's National Team is in Portugal at the Algarve Cup and just trounced China 4-0 in its opening match. While Tina Ellertson (bottom left in the picture) is not a member of the team for the Algarve Cup, she was on last year's World Cup team and has 22 caps, her story is a testament to her strength.

Ellertson, 25, the daughter of Nigerian and Ghanaian immigrants, grew up in Vancouver, Washington. She was a star forward set to attend the University of Santa Clara on scholarship. Back then she was Tina Frimpong. Before she could leave for school, she learned that she was pregnant, which threw a big wrench in her plans. Eventually she ended up at University of Washington and had a stellar career leaving as the school's leading goal scorer.

Male athletes frequently have children out of wedlock when young, but the consequences of these acts are never as severe as they are for women. So, somebody like Darren McFadden can allegedly sire at least two children out of wedlock prior to his senior year of college with little consequence to him. You do not need a lecture about how childbirth affects men and women differently, but Ellertson's ability to raise her child during her formative soccer playing years and still become a world class soccer player is quite remarkable.