Carli Lloyd, Sky Blue FC looking to increase interest in NWSL after rare sellout

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Carli Lloyd played all 90 minutes in her return to Sky Blue FC. After the game, she spent about an hour going the entire 100-yard distance of Yurcak Stadium’s bleachers signing autographs for fans.

Wednesday night still felt like a victory even though Lloyd and Sky Blue lost to the Washington Spirit, 1-0. A sellout crowd of 5,003 — the highest this season and the third-highest in team history — shows that interest in the National Women’s Soccer League is growing.

But for how long?

Lloyd said she saw the NWSL’s attendance increase after the U.S. women won the 2015 World Cup, but also saw it decrease rapidly after the excitement faded. Might the same thing happen this year after the national team’s latest World Cup championship?

One problem, according to Lloyd, is that not a lot of fans know the NWSL exists.

“That’s a problem,” she said. “We need to make sure that everyone is aware.”

The biggest game changer, at least for Lloyd, is a TV deal. On July 4, ESPN announced that the network would be televising 14 games throughout the rest of the NWSL season — including Sky Blue’s Aug. 18 home game against Megan Rapinoe and Reign FC.

In the stands at Wednesday’s game, hundreds of little girls — and boys — were wearing USA jerseys with Lloyd’s name on the back. Some of them didn’t even know that professionals and women’s national team members play weekly.

“There’s some kids that I’ve had some interactions with that had no idea that there’s a league,” Lloyd said.

Jillian Gomez, Sophia Cappadonna, Antonia Schettino, and Gianna Giovannone are teammates on the New Jersey Crush, a youth soccer team. At halftime, they eagerly waited for Lloyd to come out of the locker room, hoping to see the star.

“We’re really big fans of her,” Schettino, 11, said. “We just adore her, love her, and we just really wanted to see her.”

For young soccer players such as Schettino and her teammates, it’s a dream come true to see a player such as Lloyd. During the World Cup, they said, they watched the techniques of the players in their respective positions, hoping to learn and grow.

“It’s really nice to see her in person, because I get to see how she plays in person instead of on a TV,” Giovannone, 11, said.

Now that they know they can learn by seeing some of the best in person, they said they’ll be asking their parents to continue taking them to NWSL games.

Sky Blue general manager Alyse LaHue didn’t expect to have a sellout crowd Wednesday, but she knew that some of it came from the World Cup wave. LaHue knows it’s going to take a much bigger effort across the board to increase NWSL interest.

“It comes down to the work of the front office,” LaHue said. “The front office of individual teams and our league office providing the support and resources we need from a league-wide marketing level.”

One of the biggest differences between 2015 and 2019 is the increase of major companies wanting to partner with the NWSL.

“What’s unique about this time is we’re seeing really heavy-hitter sponsors coming on board,” LaHue said. “Being able to tap into these partners that also want to rise the tide of this league and this game is really important.”