WASHINGTON — It’s a landmark moment for women’s soccer in America.
Coming off their World Cup victory last year and with the 2016 Olympics on the horizon, the U.S. Women’s National Team is the top-ranked team in the world. Meanwhile, here at home, the National Women’s Soccer League is entering its fourth season, making it the longest-running women’s soccer league in American history as it continues to grow and expand.
The Washington area is home to a NWSL franchise, the Washington Spirit, on which national team players Crystal Dunn and Ali Krieger both play. As teammates for both club and country, they have become great friends as they have fought together to bring their sport into prominence on the American professional sports scene. They joined WTOP last week for an extended chat about the many opportunities and challenges they face.
The conversation was recorded before the Spirit’s draw with the Portland Thorns, which leaves them atop the NWSL Standings at 3-0-1 after four weeks. Their next home game is Saturday, May 14 at 7 p.m. at the Maryland SoccerPlex against Morgan Brian, Carli Lloyd and the Houston Dash.
We covered a broad swath of topics, from the Spirit’s hot start (3:13) and growth of the NWSL (4:56), to off-the-pitch issues like the fight for equal pay (10:22) and what they think about Washington as a soccer town (8:32). They also shared the story of how they first met and became friends as members of the national team (27:21). Listen to the whole conversation above.
