PORTLAND, Ore. – There’s a long pause. With another player, you’d wonder if she was making a choice: between the best answer and the right one.
For Ellie Carpenter, though, there’s rarely a distinction. In a career which, in its early stages, has been defined by bold decisions, the 19-year-old Australian international has rarely left her path in others’ hands. What’s right and what’s best has always been in her control.
At the moment, though, we’re not talking about her decision to move to the United States last year as an 18-year-old, to join one of the best-known women’s clubs in the world, Portland Thorns FC.