This Is American Soccer, US Soccer, MNT, WNT, and MLS - Tackling the subject of Soccer in the US, and worldwide.

US WNT 2. Iceland 1. A narrow victory this weekend followed the drubbing handed to Chinese Taipai. One thing I love about international soccer is you never really know what’s going to happen. Especially in friendlies. Who plays, who sits, who cares? There’s plenty of factors, not the least of which is fan support, which at the Home Depot Center, didn’t seem to be a problem. Hannah Lee was kind enough to share her experience after the jump.

I left my house early, a whole three hours early to be exact. There was no way I was going to get stuck in the terrible LA traffic. Amazingly enough I found myself at the Home Depot Center in Carson a half-hour later. Two and a half hours early for the US Women versus Chinese Taipei, I decided to take a look at one of the Women’s Nike Friendlies that was going on before the big match.

I walked up to the practice fields right across from the main stadium; there I saw the US U-17 women’s team play the Dallas Texans. Watching these girls play the anticipation for the main match was growing in me.

I hadn’t really been following the US women’s team since Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy retired. I had gone to their last game in the same stadium at the Home Depot Center. Would these newer players live up to all that I have expected from the older regime? I was worried that I would loose interest with this team because my favorite players were gone.

Finally the gates opened and I entered the stadium. As soon as I stepped inside the Home Depot Center, the Chinese Taipei team came out for their warm up. There was a small pocket of Taiwanese fans cheering the women on as they stretched and worked on their passing. A few minutes later the US women took to the pitch and the crowd went crazy. The girl next to me kept screaming out to Kristine Lilly and Abby Wambach. Two rows in front of me sat a girls AYSO team with a sign reading “We love you Briana”. I looked around me and noticed the moms, dads, single adults, teens, kids and teams were all standing and applauding the team. The passion for this team was still there although two of its major heroes were no longer in uniform.

As I watched the clock count down to the opening kick off, I got really excited. I turned around and had a chat with a father and daughter who had come from San Diego to see their first live game together. The girl was amazed by the size of the field. I asked them who their favorite players were and the girl said Abby Wambach, and the dad was a Kristine Lilly fan.

Abby Wambach controlling the field

When I turned back to the field we were all ready for the kick off. The game got underway quickly with the US scoring three goals in the first twenty-five minutes. The crowd and I were really enjoying the match, though it looked more like a keep away game, the US doing most of the keeping. A group of Taiwanese fans found their seats a few rows behind me and were cheering their team on loudly. By the time halftime came the US had scored once more to make the score 4 – 0.

During halftime I looked back at the Taiwanese supporters to see them laughing, smiling and having a good time. But how could they? Their team was down 4 – 0 at the half. If it were the US down 4 – 0 at the half, I for one wouldn’t be smiling. They seemed very happy to be able to see their team playing in the US.

As the second half got underway I started hearing some of the US fans cheering with the Taiwanese fans for Taipei. They would cheer every time Chinese Taipei would get the ball or get a good pass off. More and more people around me were starting to cheer for Chinese Taipei. It’s not that they wanted the US to loose but they were trying to help out the Taiwanese team by cheering.

Four minutes in from the restart and the US scored again, and the crowd went crazy, again. I went a little crazy. Kristin Lilly scored a nice chip over the keeper. As I watched the rest of the match I realized that this was the same team I was used to seeing play. Some of the names on the jerseys were different but the skill was still there.

Abby Wambach dazzled us with her great passing and her three amazing goals. When it was all over the US had won 10 – 0. After the match the Chinese Taipei team came over and applauded the crowd. They were still smiling. The US team stayed on the field and gave autographs and picture to eager fans girls, boys and adults.

When the stadium was almost empty and I was standing at the scoreboard end over looking the field in the same way I did at the end of the last US women’s match I had attended here. It felt good, as does the future of the US women’s team. The players who graced the field on Sunday had great skill, speed, and power. They plays they constructed were precise and entertaining. The game turned out to be better than I expected. We’ve lost some of the family over the last few years, but the rest of us are here. I’ll always be a fan.

By Hannah Lee

future generations preparing for battle