By Paula Scott, Icon editor

On July 21, the Bluffton Soccer Club hosted an outdoor watch party for the first game of the U.S. women’s national soccer team in the 2023 World Cup tournament. A large screen television was set up on the Steinmetz soccer field where young children, teens and adults watched from the bleachers, in lawn chairs and on blankets. The sun set shortly after the game started, bringing the screen into sharp focus and vivid color. A crescent moon glowed overhead. The defending U.S. champions were heavy favorites against Vietnam, a team playing in the world cup for the first time–and the U.S. team won 3-0.

The scene made me both nostalgic and excited for today’s young players. In the early 1980s I played on my high school’s very first girls soccer team. Only a handful of girls had played soccer before, so it was an equal opportunity proposition. I vividly remember the frustration of not being able to pick up the ball during drills as was my basketball- and softball-instilled habit.

Flash forward 40 years and soccer has become major player in U.S. sports culture, with opportunities in our area beginning at preschool age and continuing with recreational, high school and college teams. The last time I played soccer was in a U14 team vs. their parents match, where my team tried but couldn’t keep up with their children; but I’d say both sides were hugely entertained by the competition.

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On a national scale, NCAA participation is a good measure of women’s soccer growth: according to CNN, in 1982, there were 1,855 women participating in NCAA women’s soccer on 80 teams. In 2022, more than 30,000 women competed across the NCAA’s three divisions.

I grew up with only male soccer role models, most notably Brazil’s Pele, who boosted U.S. soccer by playing for the New York Cosmos from 1975-1977. It’s exciting to see U.S. women’s soccer stars becoming household names, such as Mia Hamm, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe.

Bluffton Soccer Club board member Sabrina Longworth says the group would like to host more World Cup viewing, now that they have worked out the technical and legal logistics. An inescapable time zone issue is that the games are being played in Australia and New Zealand; some games will start in the middle of the night.

You have almost a month to watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament with the final taking place on August 20 in Sydney. The next game for the U.S. women is vs. Netherlands at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 26.

Got soccer fever? High School competition begins August 11. Local recreational league play begins August 21. Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play also begins August 21.