See the Bay Area Women's Professional Soccer Team: FC Gold Pride
This season we have an exciting new youth sports partnership with our soccer community through the FC Gold Pride Women’s Professional Soccer Club! Members of the FC Gold Pride team will make appearances at Montclair Soccer Club events; provide coach training and support and special opportunities for our kids to participate in Day of Game Activities at the FC Gold Pride games (like escorting professional players onto the field during Opening Ceremonies).
Get Your FC Gold Pride Tickets Now!
To buy tickets to FC Gold Pride games, just email vp@montclairsoccer.org and include in your email:
- date + game opponent (see list below)
- number of tickets (it's the same price for adults & kids - $18)
- your name & mailing address
Send your email to vp@montclairsoccer.org ten days before the day of your game.
Here's how the partnership works: Montclair Soccer buys tickets in advance to FC Gold Pride games. FC Gold Pride works with Montclair Soccer to organize Day of Game Experiences for Montclair players and other benefits (see below). Yep, that's right, your team's players can be part of the ceremonies at one of the FC Gold Pride's professional soccer matches.
Email vp@montclairsoccer AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (the events fill up fast) to sign up your team up for:
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GAME
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OPPONENT
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KICK OFF
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Montclair Day of Game Experience
(available)
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4/5
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Boston Breakers
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Flag Bearers (18 of our U8 – U12 Players)
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4/26
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Washington Freedom
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Half-Time Exhibition Match (23 of our U8 players)
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5/3
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Sky Blue FC
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n/a
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5/24
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LA Sol
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Rally Tunnel & Post-Game Exhibition Match
(Rally Tunnel: 43 of our U6 – U16 players)
(Post Game: 25 of our U10 – U12 players)
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6/7
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Chicago Red Stars
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5:00 PM
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Away Escorts, Ball Kids, Rally Tunnel
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7/5
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St. Louis Athletica
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5:00 PM
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Ball Kids, Rally Tunnel
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7/19
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Boston Breakers
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5:00PM
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Ball Kids, Rally Tunnel
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7/23
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Los Angeles Sol
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7:00 PM
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Ball Kids, Rally Tunnel
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8/1
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Washington Freedom
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3:00 PM
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Ball Kids, Rally Tunnel
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8/9
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St. Louis Athletica
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3:00 PM
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Rally Tunnel
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Be sure to purchase your tickets through Montclair Soccer (vp@montclairsoccer.org). If you purchase tickets through Montclair Soccer, you can be included in Day of Game Experiences (Rally Tunnel, Ball Kids, etc..), and you'll receive our Club discount on tickets and your seats will be in our group area.
All games are at the pristine Buckshaw Stadium at Santa Clara University.
In addition to Day of Game Experiences, we will have an FC Gold Pride player appearance at 2 Montclair Soccer events. The first one will be on Saturday, June 13, noon at Shepherd Canyon Field. Two time Olympic Medalist and World Cup Champion Tiffeny Millbrett will make a Player Appearance at this event! It's at our very own local Shepherd Canyon field, and she'll be available for autographs and photos with our players.
Plus, our coaches are invited to participate in a "chalk talk" with FC Gold Pride. We will announce more info as we get this event scheduled.
Opening Game - April 5, 2009
On Sunday, April 5, FC Gold Pride of the new Women's Professional Soccer's (WPS) league play the Boston Breakers at Buck Shaw Stadium.Over 60 people from the Montclair Soccer attended. Our section sold out 2 days before the match! We saw some fantastic soccer, with a thrilling header into the goal by Eriko and a last minute game winning goal by Tiffeny Millbrett. 18 very lucky players from Montclair Soccer participated as flag bearers in the Opening Ceremonies! They had big smiles in their bright red uniforms on the field with the professional players. Your team can too! If your team would like to attend a game and participate in game festivities (halftime play, rally tunnel, team escorts), please email: vp@montclairsoccer.org.
See picture below and video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkizO5c7TqA (see Montclair Soccer players at the 48th second of the video)
Thank You: Opening the Door
Kim Yokers, a coach in our own Jack London League, made the roster for the FC Gold Pride (www.fcgoldpride) in the new Women’s Professional League (WPS)! Many players in Montclair Soccer have been trained by Kim Yokers at Sutton Soccer.
Two years ago my young girls’ team came to know Kim Yokers as part of a Glamour Girls series we organized (meet ups with local female soccer stars). Kim Yokers grew up playing soccer on a team coached by her mom in Washington state. When traveling for soccer tournaments, Kim’s mom always tried to add something special on the front or back of the trip with her and her friends – camping, an outing, sight-seeing in a new town -- memories she cherishes. Kim was a standout player at UC Berkeley, her team’s MVP in 2003. Kim played for 3 years for the Under 21 US National Team.
But the professional women’s soccer league, the WUSA, folded the year Kim graduated from college. Although Kim was then one of the top players in the US and would have been a first round draft pick, things came to a grinding halt for Kim with the death of the WUSA (http://www.dailycal.org/article/13433/shying_away_from_a_setting_sun)
In the past 6 years Kim played where she could, including for the prestigious Storm in the WPL (top amateur women’s soccer league in the US) where she center halfback with players like Sissi and Brandi Chastain. Kim was determined to try to keep up her skills, holding onto her dream of playing professional soccer. Earlier this year Kim wrote about her own struggles in her tryout experience, encouraging players to always do their best.http://www.jlyssl.info/success09.html
Although Kim didn’t see playing time at FC Gold Pride’s inaugural match on April 5, 2009 at Buck Shaw stadium, selection to the professional team roster is a huge honor and achievement. Kim is a role model to our players. Her story provides inspiration for anyone about passion, mission, and drive for something you love. Kim Yokers stayed in the fan line after the inaugural match on April 5 at Buckshaw Stadium, making sure every one of our Montclair players got signatures and felt like a superstar.
We are living through the birth of a new era in sports. In 1972 most high schools had few, if any, girls sports programs. Only 1 in 50 girls participated in sports in 1972. Today, one in every 2.5 girls plays sports. In 1991 the first World Cup for women’s soccer was held in China. The US women’s national team has won two of the four Women’s World Cup championships (1991, 1999) since the inception of the Cup. It is the surge of little girls playing 20 years ago who have made the success of our US team today. And it will be little girls like ones playing today who carry this tradition forward in the future.
In the 1970s a 10 year old California girl named Amy Love earned a spot on a boys’ all star soccer team. When CYSA officials learned of a girl on the roster, they refused to let her play – even though she was a standout player. Her parents sued, and eventually won in 1975. But by then it was too late for her to play with her team. Years too late. The irony: this happened in Danville, home of the Mustangs.
On Sunday, April 5, 2009 I got to do something that I and other women my age never had the opportunity to do as young girls: see a professional women’s soccer match. Thank you to the 60+ people from Montclair Soccer Club who attended this game and made it special. It is a profound privilege to see this door open for our young female players.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Guillen
Kim Yokers of FC Gold Pride warming up at Buckshaw Stadium, 04/05/2009
- On Field Flag for 1 match >>