The U.S. U-17 Women's World Cup Run: What It Says About Girls Soccer

The U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team's World Cup ended Sunday in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 loss to two-time defending champion Korea DPR in Rabat, Morocco (U.S. Soccer match hub). The score will fade. What this team showed parents about girls soccer in this country shouldn't.

Many soccer parents believe there is one road to a youth national team: the right elite club, in the right league, in the right part of the country. This team says otherwise. Its 21 players came from all over the map and through more than one kind of program, and they made World Cup history along the way.

The best young U.S. players are coming from everywhere

The roster covers 12 states. California has six players, the most of any state, but the team also includes players from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Edmond, Okla.; Fenton, Mo.; and Overland Park, Kan. (U.S. Soccer roster). Seventeen of the 21 still play youth club soccer, spread across 14 different clubs. They range from established girls programs like Eclipse Select, Crossfire Premier and St. Louis Scott Gallagher to the youth teams of pro clubs like New York City FC, FC Dallas and Gotham FC. Three players enrolled in college early, and one is a professional.

Scouts are watching more than one league

Thirteen of the 21 earned ECNL all-conference honors last season. Midfielder Isa Ortiz, who scored in the opening win, plays for Florida United SC, a Girls Academy club. When she named the roster, head coach Ciara Crinion thanked the federation's "Talent Identification Managers and their scouting teams" (U.S. Soccer). For families, the league on the jersey matters less than whether your daughter is playing regularly at the right level. Our Girls Academy vs ECNL (and Aspire) guide lays out the options.

A record-breaker who credited her teammates

Forward Maddie DiMaria scored 12 goals in Morocco, the most ever by a woman at a single FIFA global tournament (FIFA). After her six goals in the 17-0 opener, she gave the credit away: "I don't think I would be here, have been able to do it, without my team-mates" (FIFA). Ten different players scored that day (U.S. Soccer).

This team got better after a loss

The U.S. lost its last group game to China PR, 3-2. "How do we get better? How do we learn? How do we grow?" Crinion said afterward (FIFA). Four days later, the U.S. beat two-time champion Spain, 2-1, for the first time at this tournament (U.S. Soccer). Those three questions work just as well tonight as they did then, and they're a good script for the next car ride home after a tough game.

The run ends here, but the pathway doesn't

Korea DPR has won the last two titles (AFC). This U.S. team reached the last eight, beat Spain for the first time and leaves Morocco with a scoring record. Nineteen of its 21 players were at their first World Cup (U.S. Soccer). Now they head back to the same places your daughter plays: club teams, high school seasons and college decisions, and for some, the older youth national teams. If she watched this team, she saw girls her own age prove the road is wide open.