Watch out folks, FC Dallas Stadium – or whatever the Frisco, Texas facility is being called these days – might just get a good little crowd next weekend. Yes, it’s a rarity. And no, it’s not an FC Dallas game.
The U.S. Women’s National Team will play New Zealand in Frisco on Feb. 11 and over 14,000 tickets have already been sold, U.S. Soccer announced Thursday. Good crowds are not exactly a regular thing in Frisco. FC Dallas averaged a paltry 12,861 fans in 2011 (but hey, that’s up from 10,815 in 2010!).
Sure, the USWNT-New Zealand game is a one-off event with novelty factor, but it will be nice to see a few less red seats on the TV screen when the U.S. plays New Zealand. That is, if the game is on TV. No word on that yet. U.S. Soccer lists a seating capacity of 20,500 for FC Dallas Stadium and there are still nine days left until the match.
The last time the U.S. women played in Frisco (back when it was still called Pizza Hut Park), was May 12, 2007, when they thumped Canada 6-2 in front of 8,569 fans. It was a costly win, however, as defender Heather Mitts blew out her knee in the 27th minute and missed her second-straight World Cup later that summer.
Here is Sundhage’s training camp roster for Frisco. It’s the usual crowd, more or less:
GOALKEEPERS (4): Nicole Barnhart, Ashlyn Harris, Jill Loyden, Hope Solo
DEFENDERS (8): Rachel Buehler, Stephanie Cox, Whitney Engen, Amy LePeilbet, Heather Mitts, Kelley O’Hara, Christie Rampone, Becky Sauerbrunn
MIDFIELDERS (12): Yael Averbuch, Shannon Boxx, Tobin Heath, Meghan Klingenberg, Lori Lindsey, Carli Lloyd, Kristie Mewis, Christine Nairn, Heather O’Reilly, Megan Rapinoe, Amy Rodriguez, Keelin Winters
FORWARDS (4): Lauren Cheney, Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach
