For Everyone: The Beautiful Game

Though other sports certainly have their moments, let the case be made for soccer—or football, as we'll call it for the remainder of this story—being the true international game. As we see twice every four years at the senior FIFA World Cups and again, as we did just this summer, at the Olympic Games, football is a sport of passion, of fanaticism, of love, and of opportunity the world around.

Despite this, and despite a thirty-year history, the East Carolina women's team, prior to this season, has only had at most three international-born players on a single team. The 2024 squad has five. When Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram (England), Lucy Fazackerley (England), Isabella Gutiérrez (Mexico), Mackenzie Smith (England) and Juliana Viera (Uruguay) all took the pitch on Thursday, August 22 against UNC Greensboro, it was the first time ECU has had five footballers born outside of the States appear in one game. Juliana, by the way, assisted on the opening goal of that game, and Bella had the helper on the game winner.

In fact, it remains true that East Carolina had not had a single international player on a roster until Danielle McIntosh of Canada in 2013. Megan Conte and Jayda Hylton-Pelaia of Canada were the first international players to appear in a game on August 19, 2016, in a game against William & Mary. All told, fully half of the international players to ever don an ECU uniform are on this year's roster.

As the Pirates gear up to host International Students Day on Thursday as they host Coastal Carolina, it's perhaps apt to take this look at we were, where we are, and the game of football with an international lens. Because, let's face it, the value of those five players on the team is beyond measure. Culturally, personally, and purely in their play, what their different backgrounds and perspectives provides to the ladies in Purple and Gold is helpful in winning football games, but it also says something about belief.

To hear Gutiérrez put it, "I think that us international players we all want to go and then play pro, and some Americans just want to get their degrees and just have soccer as a second thing… I know that only some of the other players want to go play pro but just having those conversations makes it bigger than just us [international players]… We just try to show our views to our teammates. We came to play soccer, so that perspective I feel like is good for the team… Maybe someone wasn't thinking of playing soccer after [college] but because there are more people who want to do that, it's something you can actually do if you want to."

Starting keeper and Pirate legend Maeve English echoed the sentiment, saying, "I think they also provide comforting perspectives on the professional opportunities available around the world. I think it can be daunting (especially as someone who's lived in Greenville her whole life) to think about playing soccer and living in a foreign country, but their experiences and success provide a testament that global opportunities are not only available, but also viable and promising!"

That's not to say that the impact on the product the Pirates put on the field here and now is not tangible, or that it isn't in a meaningful way. It is, it absolutely is. And it's frankly evident to see during games. The way Juliana sees a run before it happens. How Bella feels a space before it opens up. Maybe Lucy's sense of spacing, Mack's passion for the game, or Caitlen-Star's ability to dribble her way out of a phone booth. Those five players' football vision is different than that of their American teammates. The Americans have something to learn from that.

On the other side, the Americans see the game in their own uniquely American way—structured, direct, honed over the decades particularly in women's football. There is something to be learned there too.

"I feel like I've taught some of the girls on the team stuff that I probably learned when I was eleven or twelve," said Caitlen-Star. "I think it's quite cool, because they also teach me things as well so we help each other out."

It is that melding of ideas and skills and visions which might be the very thing that makes this 2024 side the one picked highest (third) in a conference preseason poll in program history.

Oh, and it's not just on the field either, it's in the stands, too. Look at the Scallywags, the Pirates' beloved supporter section founded back in 2022. In that group you'll see passion and energy, and you'll hear multiple accents and languages, and you'll see Pirates, all of them.

"I love being able to bring a different style of play and perspective of the game," said Fazackerley. "I think our fan base, the Scallywags, really enjoy watching a bit of European football in the American style of play. They have been fantastic and really showed their passion and love for us."

Go to a game in Johnson Stadium and look at the flags they hang on the front railing. Flags representing the nations which make us, the nations which have come to define this modern era of football at ECU. An era in which two coaches on staff, including Head Coach Gary Higgins, are internationals themselves, having come to America to play collegiately at Lenoir-Rhyne (Higgins) and Truett McConnell (assistant coach Evan Gaffney).

Having that influence in the coaches' offices and on the sideline on game day is important, too. There is so much to be said for seeing it and believing it can be done yourself. It's no longer a blind faith, but a proven path.

Said Caitlen-Star, "That was one of the main reasons I came here honestly, having two coaches who were international. They bring a whole different perspective and straight away I felt more at home even when I didn't know everyone on the team. Just when I committed, they made me feel really welcome."

And maybe that's the true moral of the story. Football is, in its most basic form, a welcoming sport. It's a sport that is for everyone, whether you can afford the nicest boots and the newest ball or you're playing with hand-me-downs and a rain-worn sphere, there is a home for you in this most beautiful game.

And may that ever be true in Johnson Stadium, both on Thursday and every game. Whether you've attended a hundred games or it's your first one; whether you've played the game all your life or never kicked a ball; whether you were born in Greenville or Guadalajara, Winterville or Warsaw, Farmville or Fuji, football is for you and when you step into the gates of Johnson Stadium for a match, as Bella said so succinctly:

"We're Pirates. We're happy to be here."

Players Mentioned

Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram

Maeve English

Lucy Fazackerley

Mackenzie Smith

Juliana Viera

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