NORTH CAROLINA – The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team is on the hunt for its third straight title at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, inspiring the next generation of young athletes, captivated by the team’s domination on the global stage.

On Thursday, the U.S.-Netherlands match ended in a draw, extending the U.S. women's unbeaten streak to 19 matches at the World Cup, the longest in the tournament’s history for both men's and women’s teams.

Jeff Gross, the head coach for Campbell University’s women’s soccer team, recalls the turning point in the sport after the U.S. 1999 World Cup victory against China on their home soil.

“The '99 campaign was, you know, sort of a remarkable moment in women's sports history,” Gross said. “I think that has propelled much more attention to women's sports in general. Women's soccer has always been a fast-growing sport.”

Overall, Gross says the quality of players has grown remarkably over the last three decades.

“We have more young women that are far more ingrained in understanding of the game,” he said. “So it's more fun to talk with them about the game and then, you know, they can connect with you based on how they view themselves in the game.”

North Carolina is a destination for many soccer players, according to Gross.

“You get quite a few people that want to come to this state and play. We don't have to travel very far to get some very, very high competitive games throughout our schedules. So it's affected our area greatly," Gross said.

Overall, he says the exposure that women’s sports is getting now is overdue in a lot of ways.

“It's fantastic to see all these women that are role models, [and] more than just role models for young girls. They're role models for all of us in how they carve out their platforms and make us aware of how we can all kind of improve what we're doing, whether it's in our sport or how we function as human beings. I applaud them all,” Gross said.