Women's Soccer History

U.S. Women’s Soccer: the History, the Glory, and the Challenges In front of a crowd of over 26,000 fans, Carli Lloyd dribbled the ball and scores! Winning the game. The first hat trick ever in a Women’s World Cup final (Key Figures… 1). Soccer is considered the most popular sport in the world. For men. With players like Carli the sport is growing in popularity for women. Ever since women have been allowed to play soccer they have influenced the game and world culture.

The History of Soccer Soccer was first played in China during the second and third centuries BC. The first soccer balls where made of leather. Like the game today, players dribbled, passed, and kicked the ball trying to get it into a net. The game was first created to
In 1951 the first women’s soccer league was shaped in America. The club was named the Craig Club Soccer League and it had four teams. The teams played two seasons, one in the Spring and one in the Fall (History of Soccer- Women in Soccer 2). It was official that women’s soccer was a part of U.S. sports in 1972. The first American World Cup team’s coach was a man, Hanson Dorrance, who took his time finding talented players and training them. The first team consisted of eleven women: Harvey, Higgins, Biefeld, Werden, Hamilton, Hamm, Foudy, Lilly, Heinrichs, Akers, and Jennings (Litterer 7) (Jokulsson 14). “This was considered a major changing point in the history of women soccer” (History of Soccer- Women in Soccer
The first event was held in China in 1991 with an average of 20,000 fans per game (Litterer 7). In the first World Cup, they did not let the women play ninety minutes, instead they were only allowed to play eighty. The tournament had three groups. The top two teams from each group and the best two third place teams overall would advance in the tournament. Group A contained China, Norway, Denmark, and New Zealand. China, Norway, and Denmark advanced. Group B consisted of the United States, Brazil, Japan, and Sweden. Both the United States and Sweden advanced. Finally group C contained Germany, Italy, Nigeria, and Chinese Taipei. With Germany, Italy, and Chinese Taipei advancing. In the semifinals, the United States beat Germany with a score of 5-2, with the five goals score by April Heinrichs and Carin Jennings. Sweden and Norway played next with Norway winning 4-1, bringing then into the finals. The United States and Norway have always disliked each other, they had played seven times leading up to this match. The United States won three and lost four of the matches. The match did not disappoint, in the first twenty minutes Michelle Akers scored giving the U.S. the lead. At halftime, the game was tied one to one. In the last two minutes. Michelle Akers dribbled the ball past the Norwegian goalie scoring the winning goal for the U.S. Although the tournament was covered on television, it