‘I probably wouldn't be back in the game if it weren't for TST’ - USWNT legend Hope Solo on how 7v7 tournament reignited her love for soccer

Headlining the women’s and mixed competition will be Solo FC. 

Last spring, Solo’s team fell in the quarterfinals. Solo played in goal and fielded a diverse team of current professional, collegiate, and semi-retired talent. 

The U.S. Women’s team, made up of USWNT greats like Heather O’Reilly, Carli Lloyd, and others are back-to-back champions, and Solo returns with unfinished business.

“You know, it was really hard to get me to come down from the mountains last year,” Solo told GOAL. “And back on the field, and the pressure and the stress of building a team that you hope and pray will be successful. So, it was quite the year.” 

Solo didn’t want to roster a team with just anyone - she wanted to provide opportunities to players from other countries. 

“I mean, this isn’t easy. You have to find the funding. You have to find the sponsorship. So the idea is great, but now it takes money to travel all these players from around the world, and that’s so stressful,” she told GOAL last year. 

“I’m making this more of a global team, and showing fans these players that they’ve never heard of from around the world who are kind of diamonds in the rough.” 

Solo plans to do the same thing this year – but now has the added challenge of fielding a mixed team. 

“History still has to be made because the U.S. team can't continue to win it every year,” Solo said. 

The U.S. Women are a team made up of Solo’s former national teammates. Solo reunited with Lloyd, O’Reilly, and others last year, and when asked how that was catching up, she said, “It was a blast from the past.”

In Cary, N.C., more than 30 teams made up of some of the world’s biggest stars, like Sergio Aguero, Luís Nani, and Carli Lloyd, all gather around WakeMed Soccer Park to compete in TST. The fields are all set for 7v7 matches, and surrounding the fields, teams have gathering areas to camp out, rest, eat, and hang out between and after games. I

“It was a trip,” Solo said. “Just to see [how it] was the same thing. It just felt like deja vu going up the elevators [having the same conversations].” 

Solo didn’t just make her return to the field last year, but also to conversations and interactions with teammates she hadn’t seen in 10-plus years. Fans from all over the country flooded in to see her take the field once again – and it was like everything, but also nothing had changed. Solo was still the dominant force in goal - eyes locked on the game in front of her, body language to be feared, and the utmost leadership in her delivery. 

“When I went on the field, I think my instincts [kicked in] – the natural ability of my positioning and angles and leading my defense and knowing where players would be – that felt so good.  It was just kind of in my soul, you know, in my blood and very natural,” Solo said.

While last year was about Solo returning to the pitch after a long time away, this year she insists this tournament is about giving younger players an opportunity to showcase their skill. 

“Really looking into this year, it's not about me coming back in that respect. You know, it's really uplifting to all these younger goalkeepers who are fantastic and better than me.” Solo said she’s going to do far less playing this year; a combination of protecting her body, but also to allow for other keepers to get valuable playing time. 

“I think I have to be mindful this year of knowing when to take myself out, but really making sure I'm giving those other players an opportunity because the players on our [team], you know, our second string goalkeeper, our third, they were [all] better than me.” 

Solo didn’t name anyone that would be on either of her rosters yet, but gave a little insight into what creating these teams has been like. 

“You know, it's not an instant yes from people. It's many conversations. We're looking at a Palestinian who plays on the Palestinian national team, but she plays in Europe right now as well. We're just finding out that we're being backed into a corner, but we're trying to work with our local senators and things like that again, but there's no guarantee. We also are looking at a Somalian refugee. So, we'll see. It's very important to me to field a very diverse team."

Solo’s husband, Jerramy Stevens, a former NFL player, and children are all along for the ride. Last year, they were at all the games, and Solo said that her daughter cried when she told her she may not be on the field this upcoming year. Solo’s husband has been dusting off his cleats to take shots at Solo in goal.

“I've tried to explain to her that mama's had a lot of tournaments and a lot of games and [it’s] somebody else's turn,” Solo explained. “So now she's getting to know the players and the other goalkeepers. It really is just this beautiful kind of family journey, you know, that we help build the team that my players know my kids and my kids know the players.” 

The family-like culture at TST is also important to Solo, who maintains she wouldn’t get involved in soccer again unless it was a vision she believed in. 

“I’ve said from Day 1, and I'm not sure anybody could have got me down from the mountains back into the soccer world if it weren't for Jon [Mugar] and everybody at TST. I think about this all the time, the reason why I'm back in the game here in America. I probably wouldn't be back in the game if it weren't for TST.”