For the first time in nearly a decade, Hope Solo will step onto the field in a competitive soccer match.
Solo, widely considered the greatest goalkeeper in American women’s soccer history, is entering a team in The Soccer Tournament (TST) — a $1 million, winner-take-all 7v7 competition that will be played this June in Cary, North Carolina. Entering its third year, Solo’s team, which she’s dubbing “Solo FC,” will square off against 15 other women’s sides.
The defending women’s champions of the tournament are the U.S. Women, a team made up of current college players along with a handful of former U.S. women’s national team legends. Several of Solo’s former teammates feature for the squad; high-profile names like Heather O’Reilly, Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger.
Solo, certainly a U.S. legend in her own right, has chosen to go it alone. It’s not the first time she’s done so.
“What was enticing for me from the get-go about this tournament is that I can do things my way,” Solo told The Athletic. “Outside of the constraints of a typical system, outside of the federation, with these rules that are fun and entertainment-minded. It just seemed like it was a no-brainer for me to come back and build things my way and make a statement. Make history with the players…
