Sports STL City SC Welcomes USWNT To CITYPARK

NORA KOTNIK Staff Writer

On Apr. 12, CITYPARK, home field to the Saint Louis City SC, welcomed the United States Women’s National Team to Saint Louis for a soccer match against the Republic of Ireland. The United States put on a show by shutting out Ireland with a final score of 1-0.

The newly renovated CITYPARK facility was pleased and eager to host the women’s national team. “It’s an honor to be part of this historic event at CITYPARK with our friends in the U.S. Women’s National Team,” said St. Louis CITY SC CEO, Carolyn Kindle, “The momentum of soccer in our region right now is unparalleled and the passion of our fans will create an incredible atmosphere on matchday.”

In anticipation of the match, Kindle said, “We can’t wait to welcome everyone to our beautiful home and again shine a light on the best of St. Louis by having these two teams compete in our stadium.”

On top of the established success of the STL City SC, CITYPARK has called attention to the soccer culture evident in our own Saint Louis community. The women’s national team’s weekend visit to Saint Louis helped solidify the growing soccer culture in Saint Louis.

In talking about returning home to Saint Louis, and playing at the new CITYPARK facility, Becky Sauerbrunn, Saint Louis native and Women’s National Team standout said, “It’s super exciting, and it just goes to show that St. Louis is very much a soccer city. And it’s great to see the evolution of the game getting an MLS side, getting a soccer specific stadium in the city. So it’s all steps in the right direction.” The Saint Louis community was enthusiastic about welcoming USWNT’s Sauerbrunn back to her hometown. Before the match, Sauerbrunn was recognized for her 200 cap milestone.

Sauerbrunn is an Olivette native and graduated from Ladue High School. Sauerbrunn has been an asset in the U.S. Women’s National Team for more than twelve years. The center back has had a highly successful professional career, earning Olympic gold and bronze medals and two FIFA

Women’s World Cups. Now, she is serving her second year as team captain and has officially played in more international competitions than any of her teammates. In their match versus Ireland, she came close to scoring a corner kick goal for USA,but the crossbar blocked her shot, nearly ending her record of 215 games without scoring for the United States.

Ireland had various chances at goal, but Casey Murphy, United States goalkeeper, denied all Ireland’s opportunities. It was not until the 43 minute that Alana Cook of the United States buried the ball in the back of Ireland’s net. Cook received a direct ball just past the midfield line following a short corner kick. Cook sent a shot from the 40 yard line towards the goal. Ireland’s goalkeeper got a hand on it, but it was not enough to stop Cook’s powerful take. This would be the only scoring action of the full game, making the final score 1-0, United States.

Saint Louis Women’s Soccer also welcomed the USWNT to Robert R. Herman Stadium during their weekend trip. In a twitter post from SLU Women’s Soccer, various SLU soccer athletes were pictured amongst national team players:Lindsey Horan, Kristic Mewie and Sofia Huerta. The caption thanked the professional players for their visit, and taking time out of their day to say hello to SLU’s players.

All in all, the Women’s national team’s time in Saint Louis was a great success. It solidified the idea that Saint Louis’s soccer community is very much going, especially with the renovated STL City SC soccer facility.

This was one of the final international matches for the USWNT players before head coach Vlatko Andonovski and his staff chose the USA’s 23-player World Cup roster later in the spring. This match marked the USA’s sixth game all-time in St. Louis and 10th in the state of Missouri. The USA is unbeaten in its 10 games in the Show-Me State, boasting a record of seven wins, three draws and zero losses.