Flame Bearers: Pathways to Paris

It’s been a few months since the World Cup, but we committed to telling the stories of the entire first USWNT, so we tracked down one of the two outstanding players. Here she is! Tara Buckley O'Sullivan, grew up doing everything with her twin sister, Moira. The duo would go to their older brother's soccer games, and then their younger brother's games. When Tara and Moira were watching younger brother, Danny play, his coach asked Mrs. Buckley, "why don't you dress your girls up like cheerleaders and they can cheer for their younger brother?" Tara's response? "Heck no! We wanna play!" So Mrs. Buckley stepped up and became their coach. She didn't really know soccer, but she knew playing was important to the girls, so she made sure they could. Fast forward and Tara became UConn’s first 4x All-American in women's soccer. Throughout it all, she describes her teams as "in it for the love of the game," a love she imparted to her children in whatever sports they chose to pursue be it lacrosse, taekwondo, or more recently golf. Since retiring from soccer, Tara credits her family as being her rock... and the feeling is mutual as we hear from husband Mike, son Timothy, and daughter, Caitlin. Media used in this production: -38 years after making history, first USWNT to be honored at Asheville City regular season finale, Chris Womack, June 29th 2023, -The Forgotten Early History of Women’s Soccer, Laurent Dubois, January 22, 2016 -ESPN YouTube Channel, 'USWNT win the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage | 2023 ESPYS (📍 @CapitalOne)'