PARIS, France — The U.S. women’s soccer team is playing well at the 2024 Olympics, and Colorado has a lot of cheer about with several players from the Centennial state competing in Paris.
The towns of Golden, Littleton and Windsor are represented, thanks to the women who grew up playing soccer in Colorado. They are now some of the best soccer players on the planet.
"The strengths that we have in this team. The individuals are incredible," said Lindsey Horan, team captain. "It's really cool to see this many. There's been a lot of Colorado girls that's come through the national team."
Horan is from Golden, playing soccer there since she was a kid, including for the Colorado Rush club.
Teammate Mallory Swanson grew up playing around Littleton.
"I think there's so much talent that comes out of Colorado," Swanson said. "Not only women's soccer, I think just sports in general. I think part of [it] produces great athletes and I think that it's the youth system that really develops [the] player as well. And I was very fortunate to be a part of that."
And teammate Sophia Smith is from Windsor. She went to high school at Fossil Ridge and played all over northern Colorado. She said Colorado is a "soccer state."
"It was the best place to grow up," Smith said. "I felt supported. In high school, I was going to national team camps [and] I had to miss a lot of school. [I had] understanding teachers [and] supportive teachers."
Since then, Sophie hit 40 career goals by the age of 23. She is the youngest player to ever achieve it and is the highest paid player in women’s soccer.
"She can be absolutely unstoppable," Horan said. "She can change the game like that."
All of them learned their sport playing in the Centennial state. Horan said they are showing the world that the great state of soccer is in Colorado.
"We're going to show the world how we can play," she said.
