New HBCU Women’s Soccer Invitational puts Howard-Hampton rivalry on the pitch

WASHINGTON — The idea of playing the Howard women’s soccer team in a big rivalry match at a professional stadium excites Hampton defender Keri Geter. The teams will face off on Sunday in the inaugural HBCU Women’s Soccer Invitational, hosted by Audi Field.

“When we played Howard my freshman year, a lot of people came to the game. It was my first [time] being under the lights with big crowds, and all the stands were filled,” Geter said. “So I know at [Audi Field] it’s going to be 10 times bigger than that, if not more.

“The energy is so much different when the crowd is bigger – it makes you want to go harder.”

Sponsored by local pro soccer teams D.C. United and DC Power Football Club, the inaugural event aims to elevate the visibility of women’s soccer at historically Black colleges and universities by having collegiate teams compete in a professional stadium, the first time many of the players will do so.

For this Howard-Hampton matchup, the stakes go beyond the schools’ legendary rivalry. According to coaches and players, the game represents a pivotal moment for both institutions and their broader mission to highlight the untapped talent at HBCUs. The winning team will receive a practice session with DC Power FC.

“The idea is that we’ve created some sort of motivation — these teams are playing to win the game,” said Jordan Stuart, the co-owner and president of DC Power FC. “We think it’ll be a great experience for their players to join our practice environment and see what it’s like to compete at a pro level.”

For Stuart, creating this stage is also about defying expectations of the collegiate-to-professional pipeline.

“This is just another step in the overall idea of what we’re trying to accomplish. You don’t necessarily need to be a player that has a full scholarship to a top university, and those [aren’t] the only people that are going to hire an agent,” he said.

Visibility is the focal point, not just for DC Power FC, but for Hampton’s and Howard’s women’s soccer teams as well.

Scot Vorwold, who is entering his second season as head coach for the Hampton women’s soccer team, is excited to face Howard in this high-profile match.

“It’s a good stage for us to be on, and it’s going to give us visibility,” Vorwold said. “Not [only] for Hampton’s women’s soccer, but for HBCUs in general.”

Vorwold has coached HBCU women’s soccer since 2014, previously leading the program at Harris-Stowe State in St. Louis. He said that during his prior coaching experience, he focused on getting HBCU women’s soccer more recognition. Now he’s looking forward to the opportunity the invitational could bring.

“I’m hoping this is the start of something we can do annually, and it can continue to grow,” he said, adding that discussions are underway to evolve the invitational to a multi-team, multi-day event in the future.

Geter said this match is all about being present.

“The more competitive your environment is now is going to help you for the pro environment. So, if the energy is here, the pressure is here now, then it’s only better preparing you for your future,” Geter said. “For us to be able to go to this big stadium, it just shows that people are putting more effort into our program.”

Howard women’s soccer head coach Brent Leiba said key players from last year’s Northeast Conference championship team will compete in the invitational, including upperclassmen Samone Knight, Trinity Knox, Samantha James and Rachel Suttle.

“From an exposure standpoint, it’s something they’re very excited about,” Leiba said. “A lot of our players have aspirations of playing professionally as well, too. This really presents that stage and potential exposure for maybe that opportunity, even down the road for them.

“We have fantastic talent and talent that deserves the opportunity to go and play professionally.”

Suttle, the reigning Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, is open to a future in a professional soccer league.

“I’ve played soccer since I was probably 3 years old. Growing up it’s always in the back of your mind – you just want to keep playing the sport you love and taking it as far as you can go,” Suttle said. “I would love to continue playing the sport I love if the opportunity presented itself.

“Obviously, women’s soccer is continuing to grow, but I think [it’s growing] even the HBCU space – getting more eyes on the sport and allowing younger women of color and Black women to see that this is something you can do and you can compete at a high level.”

Suttle, who started her collegiate career at the University of Georgia, said in her experience the difference between primarily white institutions and HBCUs is noticeable in terms of resources needed to equip students for a pro career.

“Even in the NIL space, there’s just a lot more support in terms of getting the girls deals and the access to the possibility of going pro, and putting people in front of the right eyes and getting people in the right conversations or calls with some of these agents earlier on so that they can start to build relationships and then pursue a pro career if that’s what they want,” Suttle said.

Like Vorwold, Leiba is optimistic about what the invitational could mean for HBCU women’s soccer programs in the near future.

“This game has grown so much in the United States,” he said. “We’re hoping that we’ll gain more visibility for our sport and also our respective institutions and HBCUs.”