Women’s Team giving big kick to interest in soccer across U.S.
PORTLAND, Ore. – Nowhere could the World Cup bump in women’s soccer be more apparent than in Portland, where more than 21,000 fans watched a National Women’s Soccer League rivalry match between the Thorns and Seattle Reign.
It was the second-largest crowd ever to watch a professional women’s league game in the United States. While the soccer-crazy city usually attracts big crowds for the hometown Thorns, the rest of the league also is seeing a surge in interest.
”The last few weeks have been really, really nice for all of us,” NWSL commissioner Jeff Plush said. “But there’s more hard work. It continues to be a business we work very hard at every day. So, it’s not going to be a panacea. You have to work hard at growth.”
The U.S. women’s national team, whose players are allocated throughout the NWSL, defeated Japan, 5-2, in the title match at the World Cup, which was played across six Canadian cities. It was the team’s third World Cup title, the most of any nation, since the tournament was first sponsored in 1991.
The players have since returned to their club teams and to crowds eager to see the American victors.
The U.S. Women are expected to draw the largest home crowd at a standalone U.S. women’s national soccer team friendly in today’s match against Costa Rica at Heinz Field. One report had ticket presale reaching the 40,000 mark.
If the city can surpass 46,037 attendees, the game will be the largest friendly in U.S. women’s team history. The last time the U.S. women’s team played at Heinz Field was after winning Olympic gold in 2004. Only 6,400 fans attended.
Heinz Field seats about 65,000 people.
The record for a professional women’s soccer match in the United States was set in 2001, when 34,148 watched the Washington Freedom defeat the Bay Area CyberRays, 1-0, at RFK Stadium. Mia Hamm starred for the Freedom while Brandi Chastain led the CyberRays.
Other teams also have seen a spike in attendance.
The Washington Spirit drew a club record 5,413 fans to 3-0 victory over the Reign at the Maryland SoccerPlex last month. The same day, the Chicago Red Stars played to a 1-1 draw with the Boston Breakers before a record 3,560 fans at Benedictine University.
A record 13,025 fans turned out at BBVA Compass Stadium for the Houston Dash’s match against the Red Stars. U.S. stars Carli Lloyd, Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian were honored, but didn’t play.
”I think people just totally got attached to this World Cup in a different way than they have and it was so close to home,” U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe said. “That was such a huge thing to have American fans know they can go watch these players in their own cities for the rest of the season. Hopefully the bounce isn’t coming down, it’s just continuing to go up.”