CHAPTER NINE:
THE FIRST US WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
Though “paper teams” — meaning officials had chosen a roster for a national team but never actually brought them together to play — had been selected in previous years, possibly as early as 1982, the first US Women’s National Team was finally assembled in 1985. It then traveled to Jesolo, Italy to play the first four games in the program’s history. Though they left Italy without a win, they built a foundation on which America’s first great soccer legacy would be built.
(Photo credit: WA Legends/Mike Ryan Collection via Sports Illustrated)
CHAPTER NINE
THE FIRST US WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
About 70 women represented four regions from the United States in the Olympic Sports Festival, also known as the National Sports Festival, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Head coach Mike Ryan selected 17 girls from all over the country to travel with him to Italy. The team then spent a short time on Long Island practicing and settling travel arrangement, before finally getting on a plane for Jesolo.
Welcomed by Italian fans with chants of “Ooosa!”, the USWNT lost three games and tied one, but represented themselves well. Michelle Akers, who would go on to become one of the best players in women’s soccer history, opened scoring in the team’s second game against Denmark and added another in the third game against England.
Few of the women on that team would have an extended national team career, but all were pioneers.
(Photo credit: @UCF_WSoccer via the18.com)
Our GUEST
When the first US Women’s National Team traveled to Italy to play in the 1985 Mundialito, Emily Pickering Harner was part of the squad.
The University of North Carolina star would go on to assist the first ever USWNT international goal, and assist the second. Despite a career cut far too short because of injury, she made a historic impact on the history of soccer in America.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Books
- Pride of a Nation: A Celebration of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team by Gwendolyn Oxenham
- The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team: An American Success Story by Clemente A. Lisi
- A Woman’s Game: The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Women’s Soccer by Suzanne Wrack
Articles
- How the First USWNT in 1985 Paved the Way for Women in Soccer
- WOMEN’S SOCCER HISTORY MONTH (Day 20): When the USWNT took its first steps (1985)
- Women’s Little Trip to Italy Was Start of Something Big
Our PERSPECTIVE
The USWNT is one of the great success stories in American soccer. However, it hard to start somewhere. And, with the momentum built by Title IX, the emergence of women’s college soccer programs and Anson Dorrance’s UNC teams, there was motivation to add a US team to the international women’s mix.
It took a few years, but once the 1985 squad was selected and actually played, it showed the world that we could compete on that level, even without any real established infrastructure or playing identity. Simply stated: the 1985 team was a launching point. And once the rocket ship was airborne, it was bound for the stars.
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