The National Women’s Soccer League season is off to a thrilling start! You may have seen my last post about the NWSL with library resources to get you prepped and excited for the season. Ready for women’s soccer to take over more of your brain space? Here are some novels and movies so you can consume allllllllll the media.
Have you ever imagined being teammates with your soccer idol? What about having intense chemistry with said idol? Then being teammates with benefits?! In this steamy sapphic rom-com, Phoebe Matthews experiences all that and more in her first year as a professional soccer player in New Orleans. The NWSL doesn’t have a team in New Orleans yet, but maybe someone will read Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner and change that.
For a less spicy but just as sweet YA rom-com, try You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie. Enemies become lovers by coaching a team of underdogs…sign me up for that soccer camp!
Another stellar soccer YA novel is Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez, available in both English and Spanish! Set in Argentina, Camilla Hassan finds her power on the field as Furia, a skillful force of a player. Off the field, she finds her power as a young woman fighting societal expectations in pursuit of her dreams.
The 2024 Olympics may have come and gone (with the U.S. Women’s National Team winning gold!), but Dangerous Play by Elise Hart Kipness will bring you right back into the action with the added suspense of a murder mystery. Sports reporter Kate Green must reckon with the secrets of her past while investigating the unexpected murder of a former teammate.
Recently, a friend asked me if Bend it Like Beckham counts as a sports movie. My answer is an emphatic yes! I would also add She’s the Man and Alex and Me into the canon of women’s soccer sports movies. All three are available to check out on DVD from the library. She’s the Man is also available on Kanopy!
Finally, I read The Striker and the Clock by Georgia Cloepfil between writing these two posts, and had to add it as a recommendation even though it should have gone into the nonfiction post. Cloepfil’s debut explores the physical and mental tension between intellectual thought and indescribable emotion. Athletes and non-athletes alike will find something to relate to and think about in this quietly powerful memoir.
I hope you enjoy these recommendations as much as you enjoy watching the NWSL! You can find the league schedule here, and Seattle Reign FC’s schedule here.
~posted by McCall O.
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