Utah is a soccer state. Since the introduction of Real Salt Lake in 2004, we have seen a growth in soccer’s popularity and participation. Since 2009—the same year RSL won the MLS Cup—Utah has seen youth participation in soccer grow 10 percent every year, rising from 36,000 to 53,000, according to a BYU report last fall. Most recently, the Real Monarchs, RSL’s minor-league affiliate, began their regular season.
But there is one more team that deserves just as much, if not, more recognition and support from Utah soccer fans: Real Salt Lake Women.
“The women’s team was basically an over-20 club team that gradually gained the recognition of the RSL ownership and is now financially backed and is supported by Real Salt Lake,” said RSL Women's head coach Jeff Ginn.
Real Salt Lake Women was formerly known as Sparta United Women’s Team and was founded by Kendra Halterman and Sara Cowley in 2008. In 2012, Sparta formed partnerships with Real Salt Lake and the Utah Soccer Association. The club changed its name to Salt Lake United Soccer Club and adopted the same color scheme as RSL. In April 2013, the team formally became Real Salt Lake Women SC. RSL Women is currently a member of the Women’s Premier Soccer League.
Ginn said RSL Women is mostly a pro bono team, with commitment to enhance women’s soccer both at a club level and in the community. “I have a handful of different jobs, the women’s team being an extremely passionate one. I don’t get paid for the women’s team. None of the coaching staff gets paid. None of the women get paid. It is a pure labor of love for the purpose of developing women’s soccer.”
Real Monarchs is taking control of the business side of RSL Women. Ginn said all of the women at RSL Women are passionate about building women’s soccer to a level where there is justification for a women’s team if/when a new stadium for the Monarchs is built.
RSL Women, which will have its home opener on May 22, is looking to continue the traditions established by the men’s team: winning, growing its fan base year after year and playing the RSL style of play — something that is a work in progress. Just like RSL and the Monarchs, RSL Women is going through the adjustments of a new formation, new player roles and more.
“I think that the hardest part is just letting go of the habits that we had, the roles that we played in previous years,” said former BYU women’s soccer and current Real Salt Lake Women forward Colette Smith. “It’s different because we are so set in our ways. It’s hard for us to take someone that you don’t know and to just totally give it all into the coaching staff and just buying into it. I think we’re going through the same struggles the men’s team went through.”
Real Salt Lake, as a whole, is looking to establish itself like club teams around the world have for years: teach, learn and play a specific style of soccer at all levels and all teams within the club.
“There is a big transition from what the women’s team has done in the past to what they’re doing now,” said Ginn. “The players are having a hard time with it. One of those reasons is because we are trying to replicate what the Monarchs and the first-team do. We want to play in the 4-3-3. We want to play the same style of soccer so when you watch the first team, the Monarchs and the women, you look at it and there is a product on the field that is familiar to you. So whether you come to any one of the three games, you’ll recognize similar passing patterns, similar ideas.”
Recently, it was reported that RSL owner Dell Loy Hansen and club president Bill Manning met with the head of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) to discuss the possibility of RSL Women becoming the league’s tenth team. One thing that can further enhance Real Salt Lake Women’s profile in becoming the newest NWSL team is if the purposed stadium for the Real Monarchs and RSL Women in West Valley comes to fruition. Ginn believes both the work on the pitch and the work done in the front office work hand-in-hand to get progress done for the new stadium.
“My impression is that we’re working together. The business side has to be excited about the soccer side and vice versa. There’s great collaboration between the two entities and there’s a lot of high expectations of what that new stadium is going to provide for the soccer community. We think that the women’s team having a home is actually going to allow the women to feel like they’re the not the forgotten stepsister. They’ll have an identity; they’ll have a home. And the excitement of just high-quality soccer to be played in our backyard, have a brand for the, I think, 40,000 girls that play soccer in this state to identify with is really important.”
When asked if he knows if Real Salt Lake Women will inevitably be the 10th NWSL team, Ginn smiled and simply answered, “All I can tell you is that my experience with Dell Loy (Hansen) is that if he says it’s going to be done, it’s going to be done.” Ginn said that Hansen’s love and passion for soccer began when his daughter began playing soccer and his support for the women’s game remains strong. “In regards to the generosity and the willingness to sacrifice something that isn’t a proven business model in the U.S, he’s willing to take the risks to provide that service to the girls in our community. The organization understands the relevance of having female role models in their community and what a great opportunity this organization is providing for the younger girls, the current girls and the girls of the next generation.”
RSL Women is hoping to host a watch party in the new pavilion at Rio Tinto Stadium for the U.S. women’s opening World Cup match against Australia on June 8.
When asked what on the pitch is makes RSL Women different than its male counterparts, Smith said the piece that is missing for RSL Women is a Kyle Beckerman type of defensive midfielder to be the backbone of the 4-3-3. “With RSL, they have Kyle Beckerman who can sit in front of the two center-backs and able to switch the ball very fast as well as get the ball back fast and switch it. Finding someone that fits that role really well is something that I think will help the women go a little bit faster.” Both Ginn and Smith said they would like to play a "False 9" style, but for now, the team doesn’t have the components to go with it.
For Real Salt Lake Women’s future to be even brighter, Ginn said it all starts with what happens on the pitch and playing the RSL way. “First of all, there has to be a product on the field that’s worth coming and watching. It has got to be attractive. It has to be enjoyable to watch. You do want the young soccer girls to come and watch their heroes, but you also want the soccer minds to be able to come and identify and recognize the brand.”
The product on the pitch has to be solid. While this may seem like quite a bit of pressure on the players, Smith said there’s no pressure at all, but rather excitement at the challenge. “It’s more exciting than pressure. It's come from a club team — a bunch of people that wanted to play in the summer when we were out from college. And where its come from (to now) is amazing.”
Members of RSL Women are role models for young soccer players in the community, something Smith is humbled and honored to be labeled as. “I coach teams too. Having those little girls come to our clinics, they think you’re amazing.” Smith hopes with Real Salt Lake Women potentially becoming the newest team in the National Women’s Soccer League, it will further validate RSL Women as Utah’s next professional team. “I think there’s definitely pressure to make into the NWSL. We have the backing and we have the coaches to make it something (even more) real.
Both Smith and Ginn welcome all fans to come support RSL Women to further enhance the growth of women’s soccer in Utah and support Real Salt Lake as a club. “It’s not necessary me that’s going to be successful with the NWSL but it’s everyone after me, so that’s exciting for Utah soccer,” said Smith.
“If you care about women’s soccer growth, come to games,” said Ginn. “You have some phenomenal women that don’t get recognized for their abilities. They need your support. If you’re a Real Salt Lake fan, you should be a Real Salt Lake Women’s fan. If you’re a fan of women’s soccer, over the next years, we need your support at games. We just want the people to know they exist and we want the girls to know that there are people that are passionate about what they are pioneering and what they are currently doing on the field.”
Xoel CÀrdenas is a writer with Deseret News sports. He is also an FC Barcelona columnist at SB Nation and a columnist for Fox Deportes. Follow him on Twitter @XoelCardenas.