The global excitement for the World Cup has reached Monterey County.

Celia Jiménez here, thinking about soccer, the FIFA World Cup, and Monterey Bay FC and Monterey Bay Sirens. 

I will start with a shout-out to the Sirens for being undefeated so far in their first season. They are in first place in the Western Conference of the USL W League and recently won 3-1 against Stockton Cargo SC.

In last week’s edition of the Weekly, I wrote a story about Brianna Castleberry, the player who scored the first goal for the Sirens. 

Castleberry and her teammate Zoe McCabe have been in the Central Coast since arriving May 9 from Oklahoma. Both played in the first Sirens game a few hours after their arrival. 

Their journey to the West Coast was made possible by their coach, Austin Risenhoover, who previously coached at CSU Monterey Bay. McCabe and Castleberry are staying in Salinas with Risenhoover’s in-laws. 

Castleberry says her parents were a little nervous she was moving to California to play for the summer.

The dream, Castleberry says, is to play professionally. In the meantime, both young women are enjoying their time with the Sirens and exploring popular places in Monterey County, including Big Sur, downtown Monterey and Lovers Point. 

When I last saw the players, Castleberry mentioned they didn’t have any set plans for the World Cup. Since then, I have learned that some Sirens players will be at Hops and Fog Brewing Co. tonight, June 11 for World Cup trivia night.

In this week’s edition of the Weekly, I shared how the excitement for the World Cup is spilling over to different places, including bars, restaurants and the tailgate events at the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex. 

At the soccer complex today, fans are enjoying the opening matches on a 20-foot screen. In the opening game, Mexico won 2-0 over South Africa in Mexico City. Team USA plays Paraguay tomorrow, June 12 at 6pm in Los Angeles. 

In many countries, the World Cup supersedes daily activities. In Mexico, classes were suspended today, and federal workers were encouraged to work from home. 

Soccer has reportedly become the third most popular sport in the United States. I’ll be watching to see if the World Cup impacts activities here just as much as south of the border.