 Solo was born in Richland , Washington on July 30 , 1981 to Judy Lynn ( née Shaw ) and Jeffrey Solo . Her father , an Italian @-@ American Vietnam War veteran , who was in and out of her life as a child and teenager , taught her how to play soccer at a young age . When Solo was seven , her father picked her and her brother Marcus up to go to a baseball game in the nearby city of Yakima , but ended up driving over three hours west to Seattle , where they stayed for several days at a hotel . Solo described how it seemed like a vacation at first , but soon realized it was not . Police later found them at a downtown bank and arrested Jeffrey for alleged kidnapping . Although her parents had divorced when she was six and she lived with her mother , Solo maintained a close relationship with her father after re @-@ connecting with him during her college years at the University of Washington . He continued to be a major influence in her life until his death of a heart attack in June 2007 . 
