STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Whether it's national championships or conference championships, Penn State Women's Soccer Coach Erica Dambach is no stranger to winning on the national stage, and she didn't stop there.
"It is incredibly rewarding coaching for the U.S. National team. Obviously, it's the highest honor in coaching the best team in the world," recalled Dambach.
Whether it was as the head coach for the 17 and under women's national team or as an assistant for the Olympic Games or Word Cup, she knows what it takes to wear and represent the red, white, and blue. The competition to even be considered for the national team is tough to imagine for those who haven't seen it.
"It's incredibly challenging physically, technically, tactically, but probably the biggest challenge lies in the mental challenge. It's the hardships, it's being cut from teams, it's the season-ending injury, it's being able to work yourself through those highs and lows," said Dambach. "There are a lot of talented players and obviously they're the cream of the crop. They're the highest level in our country, but at the same time, they're the mentally strongest athletes I've ever been around."
And it's a mental toughness that's also seen off the soccer pitch.
"What we see in the fight for equal pay and what the world sees is one thing, but to have the opportunity to see just what goes into that, all of them balance with family, some with their own kids, and yet they continue to give back and they continue to fight that good fight," claimed Dambach.
Penn State has a rich World Cup tradition that extends far beyond Dambach. The U.S. Women's National Team boasts Nittany Lion great Alyssa Naeher as the goalkeeper, but she's just one of five Penn Staters on five separate teams that will be showcasing their skills to the world in the coming days. Republic of Ireland's Marissa Sheva, Costa Rica's Rocky Rodriguez, Germany's Laura Freigang, and Canada's Olivia Smith have all starred at Penn State before playing in this year's World Cup.
"Usually when I'm in camp, Alyssa Naeher and I sit down and have a cup of coffee and we laugh about those times when she was a freshman and going through all the same ups and downs of a normal freshman and growing and figuring out who she is and trying to figure out what she wants to do after college. She was extremely successful in college, but the pro leagues were kind of up and down. It's so neat for me to continue to be a part of that journey and to see her have success on the world stage."
And because it's on the world stage, she knows that it's not just a boost for the sport.
"We're in Beijing or we're in Germany and we don't really know what's going back in the U.S. and after a big win over Brazil, you start to see pictures, even of some of the local establishments in State College," recalled Dambach. "Knowing that it's even hitting home in our town and people are kind of hanging out the windows and packing the places, it's realizing that this isn't just soccer people watching. These are conversations around the water cooler, these are men and women, old and young, and these are people with a fever for the U.S. Not even just soccer, but the United States, and they're understanding the magnitude of the largest event in the world for any sport."
The best match-ups of the World Cup can be watched on FOX43 all tournament long.