After a stilted journey towards an established soccer set-up, the US men's team are ranked 16th in the world.
"The women's game was already successful and doing well, but the excitement and energy that brought really kickstarted soccer again in this country. "The early years of MLS were incredibly difficult but, for me, the most pivotal moment was the 2002 World Cup where the US team did really well with a number of MLS players.
The University of Maryland is a powerhouse production line of talent - graduates from its scholarship programme have played in the last five World Cups.