Looking around at the split Nationals/D.C. United posters pasted up on the walls at RFK Stadium, it's easy to forget that just two years ago the stadium was home to another team. The Washington Freedom, D.C.'s professional women's soccer team, played in RFK from 2001 to 2003. In 2003 the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) -- an umbrella group for eight teams around the United States -- folded, mostly because it lacked corporate funding. While the league has now faded from the minds of most Americans, for those concerned with women's soccer, interest in the league hardly has waned.
"I think all of us in the soccer community were disappointed with the league folding," coach Steve Swanson said. "I see so many talented players that want to continue to play, and I think that to have an avenue is just important."
The collapse of the league is especially detrimental to girls who have the skills to play for a professional league but aren't necessarily ready for national teams.
"There's just too much good talent that is not developed and needs a league to continue," Swanson said. "Maybe [players are] not ready right out of college to impact the national team. I think if they have a league, it potentially could really help our entire women's program."
Even for girls who can make the U.S. National team cut, not having a league makes it all the more difficult to play. While semi-professional leagues offer an outlet, it's not the same as playing professionally in front of a home crowd.
"If WUSA doesn't come back, I'd play overseas for Germany or Sweden or somewhere like that," said Becky Sauerbrunn, a junior defender for the Cavaliers and former member of the U-19 national team who has played in a semi-professional league.
The women's league, however, did not just serve as an outlet for professional players; it was also something young girls could look up to. Women's sports always have been less popular than men's, and in a country where soccer has never enjoyed the same attention it receives abroad, for young girls to be able to look up to women playing professional soccer is crucial.
"I think one of the great ways for young kids to learn and develop an enthusiasm for the game is to watch players at a higher level," Swanson said. "There's a tremendous number of kids playing at a young age. I think they need role models, and they need excitement like college soccer, but maybe at a higher level."
After the collapse of the league, a group of former leaguers and members of the Players Association dedicated themselves to bringing the league back, except this time, permanently. This group is known as the Women's Soccer Initiative Incorporated (WSII) and has been working since 2004 to raise the money and awareness a league would need.
"Hopefully now they're rebuilding," said Cavalier senior Sarah Huffman, who is also a member of the U-21 national team. "Hopefully they're going to rebuild and start over from scratch, and this time make it for the long term instead of just a couple of years."
Recently, rumors of the possibility of the league actually coming back have begun to leak through the soccer community.
"It's the kind of talk that gets dribbled down through the ages," Sauerbrunn said. "It will start with the girls on the full team and then the girls on the youth national teams will hear about it and talk to their college teams about it, so it's just a rumor that's been passed around that we're really hoping is true."
For those interested in women's soccer, the return of a permanent professional league can not come soon enough.
Read More
Live tracker: the men’s basketball offseason
By Michael Liebermann , Emory Huffman and Xander Tilock | 3 hours agoA frenetic offseason likely awaits.
For Virginia softball, the map to victory is clear — it’s also on the wall
By Cierra Lyles | 18 hours agoA team tradition inspires a culture of success.
Hylton shatters home run record, but No. 25 Virginia drops series to No. 15 Stanford
By Ben McNiff | 20 hours agoLook for Virginia to conclude the regular season this Wednesday with a home meeting versus Liberty.
