US Women’s Soccer to Play Switzerland at WakeMed Park Aug 20

We are just finished with the World Cup in Brazil, and the US Mens National Tem is largely seen to have had a successful run under new coach Jurgen Klinnsman despite losing to Belgium in the round of 16.

Locally, the Carolina RailHawks made a run to the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup before losing to FC Dallas of Major League Soccer 5-2. The RailHawks have begun play in the North American Soccer League’s fall season, looking to finish better than the fourth place finish they achieved in the spring.

But soccer refuses to go away quietly and US Soccer announced an agreement to play an exhibition game on the RailHawks home turf at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. On one side will be the only true soccer juggernaut the United States has, the US Women’s National Team. On the other side will be the Swiss Women’s National Team.

The American women are 7-2-3 on the year and currently ranked number one in the world. The Swiss are ranked 19th.

North Carolina has long been a hot spot for women’s soccer, with the success of Coach Anson Dorrance at the University of North Carolina. The program has won more than its fair share of championships over the years. Mia Hamm is probably the most recognizable former player, but the current Team USA roster has its share of Tar Heels as well. Heather O’Reilly, Tobin Heath, Allie Long, Whitney Engen, Crystal Dunn, and Megan Klingenberg all once wore the Carolina blue and white.

The RailHawks are encouraging people to attend and offering all kinds of ticket packages for the game. The game will be played on August 20 and kickoff will occur at 7:30 PM ET. If you cannot make the game, you can still catch the action on USSoccer.com where it will stream live.