CHESTER, Pa. — Hope Solo mostly stood with her hands on her hips, unchallenged, on Friday night as the United States qualified for the 2015 Women’s World Cup by defeating Mexico, 3-0, and not allowing a shot on goal.
Still, some thorny questions remain before next summer’s tournament in Canada. The most pointed one involves the law as well as soccer.
Solo, widely viewed as one of the world’s top goalkeepers and a complicated teammate, is scheduled to face trial next month on two misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree domestic assault. She has pleaded not guilty in a highly publicized case and has challenged a police account of the episode in June.
If Solo is cleared of the charges, she will be free to resume her career without a cloud of domestic violence over her head. A conviction, though, would bring pressure on the United States Soccer Federation to suspend Solo or even leave her off the World Cup roster.
“I’m going to support her until found guilty,” Christie Rampone, the captain of the national team, said in an interview in New York before the regional World Cup qualifying tournament began. “That’s my job as a captain, to help her through these tough times. But if — the second she goes from innocent to guilty — then, I will, you know, be more vocal.”
If Solo is found guilty, Rampone said, there will probably be a meeting of Solo, herself, Coach Jill Ellis and perhaps other team leaders.
“We’re definitely going to have to address it,” Rampone said. “It’s not going to go pushed under the rug. There will be disciplinary actions. And that comes from U.S. Soccer and then obviously the coach. And then, depending on the pulse of the team, that would be the third thing — going to the coach about that.”
On Friday night, Sunil Gulati, president of the federation, declined to comment. Solo did not speak with reporters. Ellis said, “I don’t deal in ifs or hypotheticals.”
The charges against Solo, 33, stem from a reported altercation in Kirkland, Wash., during which she is accused of fighting with her half sister and a 17-year-old nephew. According to a police account, Solo appeared intoxicated and was the primary aggressor.
Solo has pleaded not guilty. She apologized in a Facebook posting for what she called a “highly unfortunate incident” but added that she believed “my name will be cleared.”
Todd Maybrown, Solo’s lawyer, has said she was a victim in the episode, having been hit over the head with a broomstick.
Court hearings are scheduled for Nov. 4 and 12, and a trial could be held the week of Nov. 17. In a court filing Thursday, Maybrown said Solo’s accusers had refused to participate in pretrial interviews. He reiterated that Solo “adamantly denies both charges” and said Solo “claims that she used lawful force in defending herself after she was attacked” by her nephew.
In light of the recent domestic violence episodes involving N.F.L. players, the Solo case has raised questions about whether she should have been allowed to participate in this regional World Cup qualifying tournament. It concludes here Sunday with the United States facing Costa Rica in the championship match.
Jillian Loyden, a former backup goalie to Solo whose sister was killed two years ago in an episode of domestic violence, wrote in an op-ed column for USA Today that Solo should have been suspended.
“U.S. Soccer needs to send the right message,” Loyden wrote. “They need to communicate that domestic violence is never O.K. and that it will not be tolerated.”
The case has also sparked debate about whether there is a fundamental difference between what Solo is accused of doing and the elevator punching episode involving Ray Rice, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, which was captured on video.
Bob Ford, a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote that to equate the Solo case with the Rice case “is to diminish the life-and-death nature of what thousands of women face every day.”
In goal, Solo provides a confident, athletic presence and often plays at her best in the biggest games. But her career has often steered into controversy.
Solo issued a veiled criticism of her fellow goalie Briana Scurry after being benched during the 2007 World Cup and was ostracized by teammates; received a public warning from antidoping officials after testing positive for a banned diuretic before the 2012 London Olympics; engaged in a Twitter skirmish with the American former star Brandi Chastain during those Games; and later said she was inebriated when appearing on “Today” after the United States won the gold medal.
In 2012, just before their wedding, Solo and her husband, the former N.F.L. tight end Jerramy Stevens, got into an argument. Stevens was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence but was not charged.
“Hope hasn’t been the easiest teammate over the years,” said Tony DiCicco, who coached the United States to its last Women’s World Cup title, in 1999.
If he were still coach and Solo were convicted in this current case, DiCicco said, he would recommend suspension or a probationary period. But unless her teammates were strongly opposed, DiCicco said, he would want Solo on the World Cup team if she avoided further trouble.
“I think Hope is basically a good person who has made some mistakes,” DiCicco said. If she were convicted, her actions would be viewed as a “a serious mistake,” he said, adding: “It can’t be overlooked. There has to be some consequences.”
He went on: “But I would want Hope on our team. I’d want her to be a model citizen. And I’d want her teammates to support her through this difficult time. I think that could make our team stronger and ultimately help her as well.”
An earlier version of this article misstated the year of the London Olympics. They were in 2012, not 2008.