Show Notes
The US Women’s National Team’s historic World Cup win in 1999 changed the narrative for female athletes everywhere and inspired a generation of soccer-loving kids like Sinead Farrelly, a little girl in small-town Pennsylvania with big soccer dreams.
Host and goalkeeper Briana Scurry relives that iconic summer and reflects on the legacy of activism, organizing and sisterhood in women’s soccer in this inaugural episode of Counterattack. She also traces the orgin story of Sinead Farrelly, whose experiences in the pros eventually change the game forever.
More from ROS Presents: Counterattack
Telling their stories opens the door for Sinead Farelly and Mana Shim — and the NWSL itself — to undergo radical transformations.
Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim go public with their stories of abuse and coverup in the NWSL and, in doing so, inspire a reckoning across women’s soccer.
The creation of Angel City FC, a new NWSL team owned and operated by women, promises the kind of culture players have long envisioned for the league. But Sinead Farelly is deeply concerned that the league and its players will never reach their potential with coaches like Paul Riley still in positions of power. So, she decides it’s time to finally tell her story.
The National Women’s Soccer league launches, creating new opportunities for elite female soccer players, including Sinead Farrelly, Michelle Betos and newcomer Mana Shim. But the imbalance of power and lack of oversight that defined previous leagues persists; coaches remain powerful and unaccountable gatekeepers. Sinead vows to take her and Paul’s secret to the grave, but it leads her down a path of self-destruction. At the same time, Paul pulls the same moves on a new player — but she has no intention of keeping quiet.
Sinead Farrelly leaves college early to go pro. But when she arrives, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Abysmal pay, poor conditions, and league instability create a culture in which players have little protection or power.