Featured Photo Credit: Jennifer Flores- Fantasy Sports Cave
Los Angeles, CA | August 2 | Kelly Landaverde – @Kel_landaverde
Fans of “Alex Morgan”, the World Cup super scorer “Megan Rapinoe” and Mallory Pugh will not be able to see them in action tonight; because they are recovering from minor injuries. It is the fifth game they play in this famous stadium. Three years ago they played against the Irish winning 5-0 in San Diego. The roster will include the 23 champions who played in France.
During training yesterday, the players were happy and optimistic for what is coming. They notice the growth that women’s football has had in recent years.
Photo: Kelly Landaverde
Happiness and the positive vibes were felt from Christen Press and the rest of her teammates. Some of the players including Allie Long, Lindsey Horan, Mallory Pugh, and Emily Sonnet had some time to play football; they must have gotten that “football fever” from Julie Ertz. Fans from afar who have traveled hours by car; airplane and nearby were present during the free training that was open to the public to support their favorite team.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Flores- Fantasy Sports Cave
Photo Credit: Jennifer Flores- Fantasy Sports Cave
Photo: Kelly Landaverde
At the end of training fans gathered at the garden where Brandi Chastain’s statue is located, just outside the gates.
Photo: Kelly Landaverde
Team USA Fontana were one of the firsts to take a group picture. This youth soccer team traveled more than an hour to be at training, and will do so again today.
Photo: Kelly Landaverde
The final Victory Tour match opponents are now scheduled. The USWNT will face Korea Republic on the 3rd and 6th of October. Halloween month will likely mean a multitude of emotions for Jill Ellis who has announced that she will step down at the conclusion of the tour after 5 years as head coach. But she will spend the next year working for U.S. Soccer as an ambassador. In her tenure, the 52-year-old coach has won eight tournaments, two World Cup titles and has only lost 7 matches out of the 127 games she managed.
Ellis likely could have stayed to finish with the Tokyo Olympics. But she decided that her time was over and had to turn the page and give the new head coach an opportunity, and is not interested in coaching a men’s team either. “It’s a roller coaster. Put your seatbelt on,” Ellis said. “Enjoy the ride, because you’re going to expect highs and lows. It’s the wave analogy. It’s the trough and the crest. You can’t have a beautiful ocean without both of those. You can’t have this journey without all the highs and lows.”
90,888 souls fit in the stadium, when Brandi Chastain, with Mia Hamm, Briana Scurry and the other protagonists of that time made history, the stadium was packed with 90,185 people in 1999. They almost managed to fill it. Twenty years later, what will the story be on a sunny and humid day this 3rd of August? Will they succeed in breaking records in Pasadena? Don’t miss out!
