The U.S. Women’s National Team won the game. They beat Scotland’s WNT 3-1 in an international friendly.
But the real winners on a cold Feb. 13 Wednesday evening might have been Nashville and the fans who turned out in record numbers to see the #1 ranked women’s soccer team in the world play.
It was a night of records all around. Abby Wambach earned her 200th international cap. Only Kristine Lilly and Mia Hamm played more times for the red, white and blue.
The win was the second of the year for the team, running their unbeaten string to 24 games.
Wambach scored a goal, her 152nd, just six goals shy of Hamm’s record 158. When Abby scores a goal the U.S. is 97-2-7 over her career.
The day before the game a training session at LP Field was open to the public. More than 600 fans showed up, displaying signs and cheering the players as they went through a training session under direction of new coach Tom Sermanni.
That turnout for a training session impressed defender Ali Krieger.
“It is amazing,” said Krieger. “It is unreal how many people are so interested, not only in the sport, but in this team. It is something bigger than ourselves.
“You walk out there and you see all the fans that come and you really think, ‘Wow, we really impact and inspire all of these people.’ That is such a good feeling.”
But the best was yet to come. The turnout for the game was 14,224. They braved the cold night air with temperatures just over 40 degrees.
It was the biggest crowd to ever watch a U.S. WNT game in Nashville. The previous record was 9,110 for a game in 2004. It also broke the record for the most fans to see the WNT in the state of Tennessee…. a crowd of 13,081,which was set in Chattanooga back in 1997 against Sweden.
Nashville has hosted the U.S. Men’s National Teams on a number of occasions. It is on U.S. Soccer’s radar for games scheduled in the Eastern half of the country.
There’s no doubt the U.S. women will return again. Not a matter of if, but rather a question of when!