Boston Legacy FC will make its long-awaited debut in the National Women's Soccer League on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, an iconic venue steeped in rich history and winning ways.
"We don't think you can really talk about professional sports meaningfully without having Boston in the conversation," Boston Legacy FC president Jennifer van Dijk told USA TODAY Sports.
A Boston-based NWSL franchise has been absent from the league since the Boston Breakers folded in early 2018. That changes on Saturday (12:30 ET, ABC) when the Legacy kicks off its inaugural season with a matchup against the reigning champion Gotham FC.
The NWSL's 15th franchise is here to build on Boston's winning legacy.
"We're part of a community that is very competitive and that is also part of our identity, that competitiveness that you see in Boston," Domènec Guasch told USA TODAY Sports. "Ultimately we're building a legacy. ... We want to be competitive since the very first day, since that March 14th home opener."
Culture starts with players, coach
When building an identity and culture from scratch, "the first ingredient is the people that you bring into the organization," Guasch said. That includes players and staff, with the head coach playing a vital role in cultivating the team's foundation. Boston FC evaluated more than 60 coaches over a months-long process before hiring former Benfica head coach Filipa Patão to steward the Legacy.
"A key component is her ability to compete at the highest levels and build champions," said van Dijk, who pointed to Patão's 156-28-15 record in five seasons at the Portuguese club, Benfica. "She believes in playing a game that fans can enjoy, where players can be very free and creative and exciting on the ball. She believes in possession and the way that we play being very important to the results and to the fan experience. And I think overall she just was a perfect fit."
Boston's ultimate goal is to be dominant on the field. That may take time but the process remains the same.
"When we speak about being dominant, that means creating chances and obviously scoring goals," Guasch said. "Everybody wants to win. It's about how do you win. And the way we see it is by our team getting better every day. If our team gets better every day, we will have higher chances in the weekend to win."
They've assembled an inaugural roster to bring that vision to life without the help of a NWSL draft or expansion draft after both were eliminated in the collective bargaining agreement to start the 2025 season. Instead, the Legacy turned to a mix of international signings and NWSL veterans, including Casey Murphy, Ella Stevens and Nichelle Prince.
“We’re all new to this team but we all picked Boston. We all have our reasons why. And it’s been awesome to finally be here and get going," Murphy said. “We have a ton of international players. We have a ton of NWSL experience. We have the younger players. It’s just been great to come together and it’s been challenging, but also that’s why we love playing. We love a challenge."
The Legacy has yet to hit the pitch, but they've already got fan buy-in. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said Boston has sold over 25,000 tickets for their season-opening match against Gotham FC bringing "women's soccer back to a city that we know loves this game."
"I'm very excited that Boston's first match will be against Gotham this weekend," Berman added. "We hope and expect that the cities that have had historical rivalries through other sports will continue to exist through the NWSL."
Juju Watkins part of Boston FC investor group
Boston FC's all-women ownership group is made up of Jennifer Epstein, Stephanie Connaughton, Ami Danoff and Anna Palmer, which represents "the next generation of great owners in sports," Jennifer van Dijk said.
"It's important in the world of sports that we have owners that are strong, powerful women regardless of what owner's box they sit in," van Dijk told USA TODAY Sports. "What is most useful and helpful to us as a club is their operational and institutional knowledge and their deep belief that women's sports and female athletes deserve the types of institutions, the right stadiums, the right training facilities, the right coaches and leadership to become as good as they can be."
The Legacy's mission attracted big-name investors, including gymnast Aly Raisman, actress Elizabeth Banks, Boston Celtics general manager Brad Stevens, Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and USC guard Juju Watkins, the first college athlete to directly invest in a professional women’s sports team, according to the Legacy.
"For Juju (Watkins) to understand at her age the value of her platform and her ability to be part of the next generation of wealth and sports and sports ownership is truly incredible," van Dijk added.
Boston FC Legacy inaugural roster
Goalkeepers: Laurel Ivory (USA), Casey Murphy (USA), Hannah Stambaugh (Japan)
Defenders: Laurel Ansbrow (USA), Laís Araújo (Brazil), Jorelyn Carabalí (Colombia), Emerson Elgin (USA), Nicki Hernandez (Mexico), Kaká (Brazil), Bianca St-Georges (Canada)
Midfielders: Alba Caño (Spain), Aleigh Gambone (USA), Josefine Hasbo (Denmark), Annie Karich (USA), Sophia Lowenberg (USA), Barbara Olivieri (Venezuela), Chloe Ricketts (USA)
Forwards: Amanda Allen (Canada), Amanda Gutierres (Brazil), Fauzia Najjemba (Uganda), Nichelle Prince (Canada), Sammy Smith (USA), Ella Stevens (USA), Aïssata Traoré (Mali)
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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"Ultimately we're building a legacy, as the name says," Domènec Guasch told USA TODAY Sports.
we're building that foundation
Speaker 2 (02:30): the first ingredient is the people that you bring into the organization and that means player, that means staff members and allowing them to be their own self... that is the reason why we spend so much time in evaluating the people that we're bringing in
we want to be a team that's dominant on the field. And normally when we speak in soccer, when we speak about being dominant, that means creating chances and obviously scoring goals. But then obviously for you to create chances, you need to have the ball and be able to create that. So that is kind of what we want to build towards
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Legacy FC debuts in NWSL, bringing women’s pro soccer back to Boston
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