Beautiful Game: Sixteen Girls and the Soccer Season That Changed Everything

Once nobody noticed Santa Rosa's Thunder. They were a ragtag team of girls who wanted to play soccer, and no one took them seriously. Their male coach expected little from his "ladies, " and their mediocre performance convinced them he was right.

Then a kind of miracle happened. Emiria Salzmann, Thunder's new coach, a top player herself, knew what it took to win—discipline, relentless drills, thigh-burning sprints, and an inspired passing game. The girls hated it, but their coach never …