Indivisa logo

Powered by

GOAL logo
Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly, Ali Krieger GOAL
Celia BalfFeb 25, 2025H. SoloUSAFEATURESWOMEN'S FOOTBALL

'Most badass tournament in the world' - Hope Solo ready to put past behind, leave mountains of North Carolina, reunite with Carli Lloyd and ex-USWNT teammates at TST

Admitting "awkwardness" and strained relationships from end of her USWNT career, Solo wants "to laugh again on the field"

The last time Hope Solo took the field for the U.S. women's national team was in 2016. It's been nearly a decade since the decorated goalkeeper abruptly left the game, but she says that the time is right to come back.

In June, Solo will not only be making her comeback in goal, but will also be entering a team in The Soccer Tournament (TST), the increasingly popular event held each June in Cary, North Carolina. The 7v7 tournament with a $1 million prize will sport a 16-team field this summer, double the size from the 2024

This will be the first time Solo, now 43, will be reunited on the pitch - albeit in opposition - with former USWNT teammates Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly and Ali Krieger. The defending TST women’s champions are the “U.S. Women,” a squad  that includes Lloyd, O’Reilly, Lloyd and Krieger.

After the 2016 Rio Olympics, Solo was suspended by U.S. Soccer for her comments toward Sweden, calling them "a bunch of cowards" for playing defensively. The double Olympic gold medallist's contract with the national team was eliminated soon thereafter. Teammate fallouts, controversy and some dark days followed Solo for years to come.

It's easy to forget, in some ways, that Solo was arguably the USWNT’s greatest goalkeeper, having won a pair of Olympic gold medals and a Women’s World Cup title in 2015. Solo is the USWNT’s all-time leader in appearances, wins and shutouts. And now she's ready to return to the pitch.

When INDIVISA caught up with her after the announcement of "Solo FC" - her team name for TST - Solo sounded calm, prepared, and ready for a new chapter.

  • Getty Images

    'It's time consuming'

    Solo lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her husband - former NFL tight end Jerramy Stevens - and children. She's still grappling with how she's going to get everything done - parenting, playing again, and fielding a team - but fully feels the struggle is worth it.

    "It's time consuming. I do not have childcare. My husband and I are alone. So it's constant Zooms, constant phone calls, trying to run, and get in shape," she tells INDIVISA. "I have to get my fitness back, and then I have to get my goalkeeping, diving, hand-eye coordination and patience back. We're talking long hours with kids trying to figure it out."

    It's been long hours at the field, hitting the ground again, and re-learning some of the skills that were second nature many years ago.

    "I just want to enjoy it," Solo adds, "I mean, this is why I came back to the game - to do something different. Do something historical. Not seeing the same old sh*t, the same players, the same old teams, you know. But to do something fun, entertaining and valuable."

    Solo isn't just calling up her friends to field a team for TST. No, instead she's recruiting from other countries and providing opportunities for players that may not have the same investment as America.

    "I have a couple of hand picks in Morocco, a player from Kenya, a player from Saudi Arabia," she said. "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 the diamonds in the rough."

    Even for a more free-flowing tournament as TST, to field a team with talent from all over the world is extremely challenging.

    "I mean, this isn't easy," Solo said. "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 and that's so stressful, you know?

    "This idea is fantastic, and I'm getting the players, and I'm getting the contacts from all over the world, but now we have to have the backing - and that's really stressful to think that we're four months away and the money's not sitting in a bank somewhere."

  • Getty Images

    'I have regretted not reaching out to Carli'

    Forget finances. Forget funding. Forget the logistics and the training and the stress of it all. Because there's another layer to all of this too - the reality that Solo will be face-to-face with Lloyd and several former teammates in TST competition in just a few months.

    Solo's Netflix documentary, "Untold: Hope Solo vs. U.S. Soccer," came out in 2024 and was a tell-all, in her words, about what she went went through as she rose up the ranks in U.S. soccer - while simultaneously facing controversy and scandal, often of her own making.

    The documentary itself actually references the number of people who refused to participate in it: among them were many former teammates, from 99ers such as Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, to Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, as well as former USWNT head coach Jill Ellis. Some relations clearly were, and remain, strained.

    As noted in The Athletic's review of the documentary, the rhetoric around Solo has always been heightened. U.S. Soccer came under pressure for allowing Solo to play in the 2015 World Cup following her arrest the previous year for domestic violence following a family argument - leading to two charges that were dismissed in 2018.

    Throughout her career, Solo was at times vilified for her comments critical of U.S. head coach Greg Ryan after he dropped her at the 2007 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, as well as someone, as The Athletic wrote, was considered by some to have "never fit the mold of a well-behaved women’s sports star."

    She says it's time to mend some of those relationships.

    "I have regretted not reaching out to Carli," Solo said. "She was a close teammate and friend of mine, and still is. But we just kind of lost, lost touch, you know? During a huge part of time in her life - with being pregnant, having a child - and my Netflix documentary came out. There was some awkwardness. And finally, you know, I was able to reach out.

    "It was just like old times. Same old Carly. And I feel like TST, and entering this tournament will allow us to have more memories together.

    Lloyd admitted being somewhat taken aback when Solo announced that she'd be entering the tournament, leading a team to take on the defending women's TST champions.

    “That was very surprising,” Lloyd told SportsCasting.“Threw us for a little loop. But good for her. It’s only going to make the tournament more popular, more competitive. So bring it on.”

    To Solo, it's just like old times. Or that's the hope, anyway.

    "It's completely normal and and it gives us another opportunity to enjoy the game together and create memories together," she says, "even if it's against one another."

  • Getty

    'I just want to enjoy it all and have fun'

    Obviously, this wouldn't be a Solo story if she didn't want to win, but also part of this experience for her is returning to the game and finding the joy that she first had when she fell in love with soccer.

    "I just want to laugh again on the field," she said. "I don't remember having that genuine joy towards the end of my career. While I was on the field, I was very focused. I wanted to win, and I guess when we won in 2015 there was genuine joy. I just want to enjoy every minute of this, from the hotel to the games to on the field to coaching, to be on the on the sidelines, to motivating my players. I just want to smile and enjoy it and have fun."

    Part of coaching and playing is figuring out a formation and strategy to win this tournament. Solo is well aware of the difference in 7-a-side and is fully leaning into some of her local coaches in North Carolina for tips and tricks.

    "It's kind of a toss up right now, but I do expect us to hold our own with our runners that we have, and some hardcore, hardcore midfielders," she said. "So I don't expect to be out ran."

    Solo says that she grateful for so many who have helped her get here, but singled out TST CEO Jon Mugar as a significant supporter and motivator.

    "He knows the entertainment value my team and I will bring," she says. "But still, just getting me out of - well not out of North Carolina, but out of the mountains of North Carolina - and coming onto the field is, it's exciting. I tried to say no and I tried to stay hidden in the mountains away from the game... so It's only fitting that I make my return to soccer at the most badass tournament in the world where people from all walks of life can enjoy the beautiful game."