The highest level of women's soccer in the state debuted Thursday night in War Memorial Stadium.
The Little Rock Rangers, in red and gold uniforms, waved to the announced crowd of 423 while the stadium speakers lightly thumped the rhythms of a muted guitar. Between the pauses, The Red Watch and The Red Order -- a pair of supporter groups -- shouted "Rangers!" while a member bashed a bass drum and cymbal.
Minutes later, Arkansas' first semiprofessional women's soccer team in five years began play against the Memphis Lobos.
Jonathan Wardlaw, who runs a local audiometrics company with his wife, Babs, bought the Women's Premier Soccer League franchise for $4,000 and an annual $1,500 fee in July, when the men's team of the same name finished its first season. It was the highest level in women's soccer in the state since the Arkansas Comets folded in 2012 after two seasons in the WPSL.
"We were so excited when we learned that they were going to start a women's team, and I said we have to be there for their first game," said Naadia Shafizadeh, 39, who attended the game with her 12-year-old daughter who plays soccer. "Supporting women's sports, particularly soccer, is really important to us as a family."
Seven minutes into the game, the Lobos scored the first goal.
The bass drum pounded from the supporter groups with the shouting chorus: "Delete! Delete! Delete!"
"We love that they went and got a team, love that they're recruiting a lot of the local colleges," said Ryan Stallings, 29, who helped found The Red Watch to support the men's team earlier this year. "I coached girls [club] soccer in Lakewood and had the opportunity to take them up to see the U.S. Women's Team play in St. Louis. I want every opportunity for women as men, whether it's in sports or elsewhere. And it was, well, if you stand with that ... then we'll support the women just like we support the men."
Rangers forward Abigail Persson broke free on the left side and unleashed a shot directly into the Memphis goalie's arms. The crowd groaned.
The Rangers came no closer to scoring a goal, and the Lobos scored three more to win 4-0.
"Obviously we hope for better results," Rangers Coach Jen Pfeiffer said. "There were obvious errors, stuff we can improve on. Our midfield has been pretty good with combinations, we just need to be more of a threat for a goal."
The Rangers had assembled their team within the past two weeks and hadn't yet scrimmaged another team. They will be picking up three more collegiate players by the end of the month.
"We jumped right into it, but we're excited about it, and we have seven more games to go," said Rangers captain Mikayla Uyokpeyi, who just graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. "We definitely need to build a lot more chemistry."
The Rangers will play the Lobos in Memphis on Saturday, and their next home game is against the Knoxville Force on June 11.
Wardlaw believes there will be continued community support.
"I didn't know what to expect, but I'm pleased with this," he said. "I think it's like the men's team: Once we show success, the crowds will get bigger. But I think this was great."
Sports on 05/26/2017