From overall popularity to equal pay, the 2019 FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup just changed United States women\u2019s soccer forever, and LBSU women\u2019s soccer program was there to be part of history.<\/p>\n
Head coach Mauricio Ingrassia was able to cram a semester abroad-worth of experience into 12 days as LBSU enjoyed sightseeing in Paris, scrimmaging the Argentinian national team and supporting the world champion Team USA in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a cultural standpoint, it was unreal,\u201d Ingrassia said. \u201cNot just the everyday living but the history of the city was just incredible. The soccer was obviously an experience that I don\u2019t think any other college team got, and there were a lot of them out there. Then the World Cup experience tied it all together making it the trip of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only a few of the current Beach players had traveled internationally, so just moving from Paris to Versailles was itself an adventure. Senior Katie Pingel said her favorite part of the entire trip was the bus rides.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of girls on the team I didn\u2019t think were outgoing, crazy and funny, but I got to see them on the bus dancing, singing, goofing around and playing games,\u201d said Pingel, one of a handful of seniors tasked with helping LBSU rebuild after losing seven senior starters to graduation. \u201cEven (Ingrassia) was surprised because certain people like me, I\u2019m not really a loud person, but I was having fun and I think it surprised him. It was cool to get the confidence to believe in each other on this trip. We weren\u2019t able to go off on our own, we had to stay together as a team. That made us closer because we had to deal with each other for 12 days.\u201d<\/p>\n
LBSU also gave itself a dose of confidence with their performances against the Argentina women\u2019s national team in a pair of scrimmages on the third and fifth day of the trip, ticking off another box on coach Ingrassia\u2019s summer bucket list.<\/p>\n
Argentinian-born Ingrassia was able to set up the scrimmage because of his relationship with Argentinian coach Carlos Borrello. LBSU wasn\u2019t intimidated against the Argentinians in two games. The Beach even scored first on a nice goal from sophomore Sierra Castles, though Argentina won both matches, 2-1. Sophomore Elysia Laramie also scored.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I was shocked but it was really fun and good to see,\u201d Pingel said of the scrimmages. \u201cI think we can be better than last year because we play faster as one unit. It was exciting to play as one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were ecstatic,\u201d Ingrassia said. \u201cCountries (in the World Cup) have to qualify, then they get three guaranteed games. We came here and got two games. What else could we ask for?\u201d<\/p>\n
After a few days of being tourists in France, seeing everything from the Eiffel Tower to The Louvre, the cherry on top of the trip was tickets to see a pair of World Cup matches. The first was the June 10 match between Argentina and Japan, so LBSU got to see their recent opponent compete on the world’s largest stage.<\/p>\n
The players were also on hand to support Team USA during the record-setting, 13-0 victory over Thailand.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe our players don\u2019t realize now exactly what it means to have been there, but I think they\u2019ll be talking about it for a long time, and it will have more meaning as time goes on,\u201d Ingrassia said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of us have gotten a lot closer, our culture has gotten stronger and we\u2019ve created a bond that\u2019s indescribable,\u201d senior Kaitlin Fregulia said.<\/p>\n
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