The best soccer players have a standing motto: “For club and country.”
Professionals Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe all play for club and country.
As the country turned on televisions to watch the United States win the Women’s World Cup in Canada this summer, so did the Nebraska soccer team.
For Jaycie Johnson, in particular, seeing the United States hoist the greatest prize in women’s soccer was a bit surreal. It was only a few months earlier that the Husker player wore the same colors.
In late April it was announced that the Lake Winnebago, Missouri, native would be invited to a training camp in Florida with the U.S. under-23 national team. The top players would make the team and compete in the Four Nations Tournament in Norway.
The roster was revealed a month later and Johnson made the cut.
“That was a dream come true for me,” Johnson said. “Since I was a little girl, I always dreamed of putting a USA jersey on and representing my country. The fact that I got to do it when I am 20 years old is just an amazing thing.”
The United States won the first game against Sweden on May 27 as the Husker junior soaked in the international competition. Johnson came on as a substitute in the next game, a draw against Norway.
A shock awaited the forward for the final game against England.
“Getting to start in the last game for the championship, I never would have thought that,” Johnson said. “Getting to play 75 minutes is a dream come true for me. I wish I could go back, it was so fun.”
The roster initially included Johnson, who is Nebraska’s leading scorer the past two seasons, as a defender. After seeing her skill set, coaches were quick to move her to the top line.
Playing in a new formation and a different style than Nebraska’s taught Johnson some things she wasn’t used to.
“I learned a lot,” she said. “It’s always good to have overall soccer knowledge of any position, any formation that I go up against. It was a great learning experience.”
Days after the final game, Johnson joined her Nebraska teammates for an exhibition tour of Canada.
The Huskers played seven friendlies against Canadian colleges and clubs over two weeks.
“It was definitely different,” Johnson said. “Getting to go to a different country and seeing the different styles that they play. How we play in the U.S. and how they play in Canada is a little different.”
Nebraska made quite the impression on its opponents during the tour.
In the first match the Huskers defeated Western Ontario, the team that finished fifth in Canada last season, 5-0. Nebraska lost its next match to the defending Canadian champions 2-1 on a late goal.
Then came 7-1, 5-1 and 4-1 victories.
The tour of Canada gave Johnson a chance to implement some of what she learned in Norway and gave the team more chances to build chemistry.
“The competition was great,” Johnson said. “It was a good start for us to have a building block into the preseason and for the season.”
Exhibitions weren’t the only things on the agenda for the Huskers while visiting Canada. The team attended World Cup matches to support the players’ home countries (such as Helena Ferraz watching Brazil or Katie Kraeutner and Nikki Turney supporting Canada) and see former Huskers play at the highest level.
It all came full circle for Johnson when she watched the United States in person.
It was only two weeks after she had represented her home country, and now she got to witness the United States play for women’s soccer’s greatest prize.
“Getting to see the World Cup games was amazing,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, one day, I could potentially play or one of my teammates could play in the World Cup and I could go support them.”
“For club and country”? Not yet.
“For college and country” sounds just fine for now.
