USWNT Players Kick Off DC SCORES Summer Camp

DC SCORES summer camp got off to an exciting start when members of the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) joined poet-athletes for the very first day of activities. 

USWNT stars Ally Sentnor, Izzy Rodriguez, Emma Sears, and Tara McKeown attended the first day of camp on June 30, 2025, thanks to an event partnership between DC SCORES and Soccer Forward, U.S. Soccer’s legacy project for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.

Joanna Lohman, former USWNT player, Washington Spirit legend, and DC SCORES champion, also added her star power to the soccer and poetry celebration.

More than 100 elementary school students from DC public schools attended the event at LaSalle Backus Elementary, where they enjoyed poet-athlete performances, a soccer clinic with the professional players, and snow cone treats!

Poet-athletes welcomed their VIP guests with hand-drawn banners, and rising 5th-grade poet-athletes Princess, from Whittier Elementary, and Gigi, from LaSalle Backus Elementary, performed their Our Words Our City poems on stage for the audience.

Lohmann, a DMV native and long-time DC SCORES supporter, addressed the poet-athletes in the room, expressing her pride in being “DC SCORES’ number one fan!”

Katrina Owens, DC SCORES Executive Director; Lex Chalat, Soccer Forward Executive Director; and Shelly Gray, LaSalle-Backus Principal and 2025 DC SCORES Principal of the Year, also gave remarks emphasizing the power of soccer to build local communities.

“This was the perfect way to kick off camp and a powerful demonstration of how soccer can bring people together,” said Owens. “With the World Cup coming to North America next year, organizations such as DC SCORES and Soccer Forward have a unique opportunity to leverage our sport for social good, and we were delighted to see so many of DC’s top soccer players and organizations supporting our city’s youth.”

In the afternoon, poet-athletes joined the players and representatives from D.C. United, the Washington Spirit, and the Virginia Youth Soccer Association for a series of technical skills activities to hone their soccer skills. 

Soccer Forward is dedicated to improving lives and strengthening communities through soccer. By collaborating with national, regional, and local stakeholders, the foundation is fostering grassroots participation in the sport, inspiring a new generation of players, and providing resources to leverage the 2026 World Cup for greater access to soccer.

DC SCORES was the first-ever grant recipient of legacy funds from the 1994 World Cup, the last time the tournament was hosted in the United States. The grant funded the initial expansion of the SCORES Network, which now serves more than 25,000 young people in 13 cities across North America through SCORES’ award-winning after-school soccer, poetry, and service-learning programs. 

The summer camp event took place ahead of the USWNT’s July 2 friendly against Canada at DC’s Audi Field. DC SCORES poet-athletes from Thomas Elementary cheered on the team as they secured a comfortable 3-0 victory against their rivals.