Samantha Mewis controls the ball in a Send Off Series friendly against Mexico. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The 1999 Women’s World Cup final was the highest-rated soccer broadcast of the century in the United States, and the match certainly captured the attention of the Mewis family of Hanson, Mass.
It proved a formative moment for two future professionals: The Mewis sisters — 8-year-old Kristie and 6-year-old Samantha — set a goal to play for the U.S. national team after that influential victory.
Sure enough, after countless duels in the backyard and years of competing with their club team, the Mewis sisters advanced to the international level. They combined on the U.S. U-17s and U-20s before progressing to the full national team starting in 2014.
