When Danielle Slaton, class of 2002 at Santa Clara University, was selected as the #1 overall draft-pick in the WUSA, both she and top-level women’s soccer were riding high: Slaton captaining the Broncos to a collegiate national championship and, later, West Coast Conference Hall of Fame entry; the US Women’s National Team etching a now-legendary 1999 World Cup victory into the collective memory of sports fandom. And in the decades since, both Slaton and women’s soccer have endured trials and enjoyed triumphs. In episode 7 of Formative, we talk about rediscovering a professional identity in your twenties when the body, inevitably, gives out; why the sexual abuse scandals that have plagued players over the years were the worst-kept secret in the beautiful game; and what it’s going to take for women’s soccer to achieve not just progress and equality in the American sports media landscape, but outright dominance on par with the NFL or NBA.

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