Though the event influenced so many girls and women who grew up playing sports, it's telling that the event meant so much to non-traditional soccer fans, Chastain says. "The 60 to 75 year-old men at the clubhouse who turned the TV from golf to soccer and had the whole clubhouse stand still, cheering on women's soccer for the first time ever probably. That kind of impact says to me it was on more people's radar than the traditional soccer fan, which is amazing," Chastain says.

Torrance approves indoor soccer facility

An ambitious state of the art indoor soccer facility has won planning approval from the city of Torrance.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the 73,000-square-foot facility at its Wednesday night meeting.

Proposed for a former shipping facility on Maple Avenue, South Coast Soccer City, as it is called, includes seven indoor soccer fields.

The facility will operate from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. If all goes according to plan, it will open this fall.

Its backers had proposed remaining open until midnight, but the commission reduced its operating hours by one hour.

No members of the public voiced opposition to the project, which will become the first of its kind in the South Bay.

South Coast Soccer City is seen as providing another alternative for teams that often have difficulty finding a place to play on the area's overloaded fields.

'Keep God out of football' - Fifa tells Brazil's soccer superstars

Football's governing body has sparked controversy after disciplining the Brazilian team for overt displays of Christianity during a match.