Women's soccer team at Texas university will get to see World Cup games while on mission trip
The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team opens World Cup play against Vietnam Friday.
A group of college women from a Texas soccer team are in New Zealand to see the game in-person.
The East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) women's soccer team, which includes two young ladies from North Texas, landed a few days ago in New Zealand.
They’ll get to watch four World Cup games, including the matchup between the U.S. and Vietnam.
After the games, they begin their mission.
The ETBU women's soccer team was all smiles in pictures.
That's because the ladies are in Auckland, New Zealand, attending the World Cup, where the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team is on a quest for a third consecutive title.
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"I think the first thought was, ‘Oh my God.’ I think as a soccer player, the World Cup is something that we look forward to every four years," ETBU player Hailey Maloy said.
The school's sports teams partner with an international group to hold international mission trips.
The women's soccer team holds one every four years.
The head coach said higher ups at the school asked her if she wanted the trip to coincide with the World Cup, which she added was a "no brainer."
"I told the girls that we get to go to the opening day ceremony, which was last night, which was awesome," coach Kristin Cox said.
Needless to say, the announcement of the trip came as welcome news to the players.
"Once in a lifetime opportunity, for sure. We’ve been watching it since we’ve been growing up. It’s just like, ‘I want to be there one day,’ and the opportunity and it’s just like any opportunity we can get," Aylisse Warren said. "I want to be there and now were here and it’s like, woah. It’s our Super Bowl. It’s so exciting."
All the fun is part of the group's larger mission project.
On Friday, they visited a high school to meet with the women's soccer team to discuss women's sports and share their mission.
"Soccer is something that is so cool because it creates a community of people. And I think it’s amazing because even though we may not speak the same language, you can put a soccer ball on the ground and now we’re speaking the same language," Maloy added.
The ladies say the mission project is something they're equally as passionate about.
For that, they are holding soccer clinics, a soup kitchen, and will play with some of the local teams.