MISS KICK FC - GAME. CHANGE. HER.

Written By:    Shawn Medow
               West Region Contributor

Grace Vella never imagined she’d be president of a women’s soccer club, let alone a team based in Southern California. 

Vella, the founder of women’s soccer brand MISS KICK, was connected with veteran women’s soccer coach Scott Juniper, who heads the UC Irvine women’s soccer program, and the two spoke about what it would take to create a club that could compete in the WPSL this summer. 

The WPSL was new for Vella, who’s based in England. She didn’t know much about the league but knew how massive women’s soccer is in the United States in comparison to the rest of the world. 

“When I’d done a bit of research and seen the players who had come from that league and the sheer size of it, I just thought this is such a great opportunity that couldn’t be missed,” Vella said. “I’m really happy with it.”

Once the ball got rolling, Vella says that she and Juniper quickly became a “dynamic duo” as they put together the club. Juniper pitched the idea of playing at Championship Soccer Stadium at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. 

“I came over to America back in March to view it and I was literally blown away,” Vella says of Championship Soccer Stadium. “This is such an incredible facility and such an amazing place to showcase amazing talent on the team.”

MISS KICK FC has built a group of top talent, including former US Women’s National Team player and Olympic gold medalist Natasha Kai, who played in the WPSL in 2019. Kai will be one of the team’s captains along with Kate Wiesner, who is going into her senior season with Penn State and has previous captain experience with the U.S. U-17 national team at the 2016 World Cup.  

“She’s everything that we need in our team,” Juniper says of Kai. “She’s got the right mix. She’s still incredibly competitive, wants to win, but she’s got this mentoring side to her where she wants to help the younger players get the best out of themselves so she can kind of hold people accountable as well as help them through the bumps in the road. She loves doing what she does.”

Before a ball had been kicked, though, MISS KICK FC was quite active. The club teased its inaugural kits on social media before launching the home, away and goalkeeper uniforms, which are available for purchase on the MISS KICK website. 

To have women’s cut uniforms is a big deal for Vella, who during her playing days at clubs as big as Manchester City and Liverpool, wore jerseys that never quite fit right. 

“It is so incredible to see the growth of the women’s game,” Vella says. “I’m a bit jealous that I’m not 4 or 5 years old, especially here in England. When I was younger you couldn't even be a professional footballer. You could only dream of playing at Wembley but now girls coming through can see that it’s an achievable goal.”

On the field, the team has its own goals of winning matches and making its own mark on the WPSL landscape. Juniper says he wants the team to play with an attacking style where they can express themselves. 

“I’ll be coaching it in a way that encourages creativity, expression and just gives them the freedom to explore themselves as a soccer player,” Juniper says. “MISS KICK is committed to growing the women’s game and all the things that come along with that so we’ve got to represent that.”

When the team steps on the field for the first time on May 27th against EDA II in its inaugural match in the SoCal Conference’s Coastal Division, Vella plans to be there, helping with gameday operations and watching a team she never dreamed of running play its first game. 

“I’ll probably cry when the team walks out because it’ll be such an overwhelming experience,” she says. “I couldn't have dreamed of doing this a couple of years ago.”