The women’s national soccer teams of the United States and Mexico will renew their rivalry in an international friendly this Sunday March 28 at 2:00 p.m. at USD’s Torero Stadium. These two CONCACAF rivals have faced each other 23 times since they began competing against each other in 1991 with the U.S. winning all but one of them (a 1-1 draw in 2007). While the rivalry has been one-sided, Mexico has improved tremendously from the team it fielded in 1991. That team was humiliated 12-0 at the hands of the Americans. Sunday’s match is expected to be a hard-fought, physical battle.
Current U.S. defender, Stephanie Lopez-Cox, had just turned five when that inaugural game between these teams was played. In 2005, she became the first player of Mexican descent to don the red, white and blue in a full international match. At one time however, she briefly flirted with the idea of representing Mexico.
“Ten years ago, I contemplated my future either with the U.S. national team or knowing that my grandfather was from Mexico, maybe with the Mexican national team.”
While a significant number of American-born players capitalized on their Mexican heritage to gain the opportunity to play at the international level, Lopez-Cox did not. She didn’t need to. She has proven to be a solid contributor to Team USA, the top ranked women’s soccer team in the world.
“Now, I think it is exciting to be representing the United States and I feel confident in that position. I am excited about the upcoming game. It is always a competitive match when we play Mexico. They have a lot of players that played college soccer in the U.S. Some of them are now playing in the (Women’s Professional) League. They have a lot of younger players that are coming up and making an impact. They seem to have developed a good chemistry within their team.”
Since her 2005 U.S. national team debut, Lopez-Cox has played in 58 international matches. In recent years she has become a frequent starter on the outside of the U.S. defense. She knows that when she suits up against Mexico on Sunday that many of the Mexican-American fans on hand will be rooting for Mexico.
“While I didn’t have that kind of an upbringing, I can understand that they are proud of their culture and background. I hope we can sway them and that they can appreciate our game. My ethnicity is an awesome way for them to connect with me and I am proud to be a role model for them.”
Last year as a member of the L.A. Sol, Lopez-Cox did her part to promote soccer within L.A.’s huge Hispanic community.
“When I was playing for the Sol I helped out with the Scores Program. We went to a school in Culver City and played soccer with some middle school kids. There were a lot of Hispanic girls on that team. It was fun to let them know that there is an older (Hispanic) girl who is playing professionally and that maybe one day they can too.”
