SNST Newsletter Week 31: A coronation and a sign of things to come?
The USWNT came to Charlotte Thursday night, and so did some big dreams.
Happy Thursday! We’re getting close to playoff time, so we’ll be paying close attention to our playoff-bound squads in the coming weeks. But before we do that, we’re going to spend this week thinking about the national team, and what the U.S. women’s game in Charlotte last night means for soccer in the Carolinas.
A coronation, and a sign of things to come?
By Corey Inscoe
I have to admit, I was getting a little nervous. I’d talked to a friend of mine who works for the Panthers Wednesday and she said about 25,000 tickets had sold for Thursday’s U.S. Women’s National Team game against Korea in Bank of America Stadium, and the Panthers were hoping for about 30,000.
But about 15 minutes before kick off, some spots in the lower bowl were looking … a little bare. I worried that it would look empty on TV, and that the atmosphere would be disappointing. I worried the USWNT would never come back after seeing the crowd.
But sometime between when Megan Rapinoe and Crystal Dunn were doing The Git Up during pregame warmups and when the on-field fireworks scared the bejesus out of me, everything changed.
When I looked around during the national anthem, the lower levels were packed with people, outside of a few club sections. I had been nervous for no reason.
More than 30,000 people showed up Thursday night to see the U.S. Women’s National Team dispatch Korea 2–0, to see Rapinoe get two assists off free kicks and to see Ali Krieger honored for her 100th national team cap.
And it was a good crowd, getting loud during goals (and whenever Rapinoe was on the video board) and breaking out into spontaneous U.S.A. chants. There was even a wave, because of course there was. And most folks stayed for the full 90 minutes — despite the record-breaking heat and ridiculously muggy weather for Oct. 3.
Let’s get this out of the way: The play on the field was … not the best, especially in the first half. And even in the second Christen Press found impressive ways to not score on breakaways against the keeper.
But let’s recognize this for what it was: A coronation of the world champs, and a chance for Charlotteans and our neighbors to see some of the greatest players in the world take the field. Through that lens, the night was perfect.
Now, there are two Carolina soccer threads I want to follow here. The first is one of the other reasons I was nervous about the sparse crowd: Charlotte’s MLS bid. Any time the city hosts a major soccer match, it feels like an audition for MLS, a chance to prove that people here care enough about soccer to support an MLS team and show up by the tens of thousands each Saturday.
Now, I know, coming out to see the 2019 World Cup champions is a bit different than coming out to see Columbus and Charlotte play on a chilly day in March. But I was encouraged by a couple of things:
- The stadium: This was my first soccer match at Bank of America Stadium, and I had tickets a few rows from the back of the lower bowl, kind of in the corner — the “cheap seats” for this match. But I didn’t feel too far away from the action and the sight lines were good. And, even though the entire upper deck was empty, the atmosphere was good and the fans were loud. It didn’t feel like a half-empty stadium. Ideally, BofA would eventually get a makeover to make it more soccer-friendly if MLS came, but it’s not at a bad place now.
- The fans: This is purely anecdotal and based just on who I saw/interacted with, but I was encouraged by the level of soccer fandom in the crowd. I saw Independence gear and I saw Courage gear. I saw MLS gear. I heard people talking about the NWSL season, and about Atlanta United matches and how they want that experience here. In short, I saw and heard people who would actually be likely to come out to that Columbus/Charlotte match. It confirmed for me that there is a market for soccer here that’s waiting to be tapped. The team would just have to get the right message to them.
My second thread is NWSL, because the playoffs are coming and the Courage have the #1 seed after winning a third straight Shield. The Courage have one more regular season game — at home against Sky Blue FC Oct. 12 — before hosting the semifinal match Oct. 20. Nothing’s completely confirmed yet, but it looks like the Courage could face Seattle in that one.
And the NWSL Championship will be played right there in WakeMed Soccer Park a week later, Oct. 27. If things go right, that one could be a whole lot of fun.
Thursday’s game was a good night for women’s soccer, for Charlotte, and for soccer in the Carolinas. Let’s hope there are more nights like that to come.
This weekend’s schedule
USL Championship
- North Carolina FC vs. New York Red Bulls II, 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at WakeMed Soccer Park
- Charleston Battery at Birmingham Legion, 8 p.m. Oct. 5 on ESPN+
- Charlotte Independence at Bethlehem Steel FC, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 on ESPN+
USL League One
- Greenville Triumph SC at South Georgia Tormenta FC, 8 p.m. Oct. 5 on ESPN+
Happy early birthday to Abbey Wakefield! Did we miss your birthday? Update your info here.
Have a great weekend, y’all.
- Team SNST
P.S. This is the last weekend of the USL League One regular season, and both semifinal playoff games are still up in the air. North Texas has clinched the top seed, and their opponent will (almost definitely) be either Madison or Chattanooga. Meanwhile, Lansing and Greenville go into the season finale fighting for a home playoff game, though Lansing has the upper hand there.
Be sure to follow along Saturday afternoon and evening. Good luck, Triumph!
