• Sporting Club Jacksonville will play their first home game against DC Power FC on August 23rd at Hodges Stadium, marking Jacksonville's first top-division women's sports league game.
• The team, which includes owners Tim Tebow and Fred Taylor, has sold over 8,000 tickets for the inaugural match.
• The roster features local talent, including players from Jacksonville-area high schools and UNF.

(This story has been updated to add new information, a kickoff time change.)

In Iceland, in Denmark, in Finland and Sweden, Caroline Murray has followed the bouncing round soccer ball around the spinning round globe.

Beginning now, back in the United States, she's ready to get the ball rolling on history for Sporting Club Jacksonville.

"I can kind of give myself chills just thinking about it," Murray said.

At the moment that shoe meets ball, right around 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, inside Hodges Stadium, women's soccer opens a new chapter on the First Coast.

Three years almost to the day after the JAXUSL ownership group received its franchise at a ceremony inside the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse, Sporting Jax kicks off against DC Power FC in the Gainbridge Super League.

The game is Jacksonville's first ever for any first-division women's sports league, and because of assorted scheduling headaches, it's the first time Sporting Jax fans will be able to watch their team in live action.

"It's been a long and winding road," Sporting Jax president Steve Livingstone said. "But we're finally here."

Here, in this case, means the University of North Florida, the home for Sporting Jax for the 14 home dates in its inaugural 28-game campaign.

As of the start of the week, Livingstone said, the club had sold more than 8,000 tickets for Hodges Stadium. For most of the rookie-heavy squad, it's likely the largest crowd they've experienced in their playing careers.

"That's going to be a first for a lot of them," head coach Stacey Balaam said. "That's something that they will have to manage, and we are going to prep them for that."

No more false starts?

Saturday is Sporting Jax's first Hodges Stadium game for Balaam. But it's her second pregame.

The club was almost set to go for a home preseason kickoff on Aug. 2 against Scottish Women's Premier League champion Hibernian when thunderstorms canceled the game, which was never made up.

"We had a bit of a teaser, obviously, being there for the Hibs game, in the locker room," Balaam said. "They went through the routine to prepare for the game, I did the pregame speech, we were all ready to go, and then, obviously, the storm came in."

The National Weather Service forecasts a 90 percent chance of rain for Saturday, but diminishing during the evening. Due to predicted weather, the club moved kickoff back from 7 to 8 p.m.

Roberts a costly loss

Longtime Sunshine State soccer fans can spot plenty of familiar faces Saturday, but one of the biggest names is out of action.

Versatile former Florida Gators midfielder and Sporting Jax vice-captain Parker Roberts is out indefinitely after sustaining a knee injury during preseason preparations. In an Instagram post, Roberts said she is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament tear.

Roberts, who has prior experience in the National Women's Soccer League, was expected to contribute in a wide or defensive midfield role.

The 24-player roster includes three players from Jacksonville-area high schools (Hailey Smith, Sydney Schmidt and Sarah Weisberg), a UNF Osprey (Zara Siassi), a Florida State Seminole (Ashlyn Puerta), former Florida Gators across many levels of the organization and a few players, like Murray, who bring experience from all across the planet.

Scouting the opponents

Sporting Jax players won't be the only ones with hometown support. The game is a homecoming for DC Power defender Madison Murnin, who played high school soccer only a couple of miles north of Hodges Stadium at Sandalwood.

DC Power FC finished seventh of the league's eight teams in 2024-25, but new head coach Omid Namazi has shaken up the roster for this season. One Jacksonville player well aware of the visitors is Grace Phillpotts, who faced them in the spring while with Brooklyn.

"They're a very athletic team, and we're going to have to be smart," Phillpotts said.

Quick kicks

The kickoff will make Sporting Jax, which includes Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and former Jacksonville Jaguars Pro Bowl running back Fred Taylor in its ownership group, the city's first top-division soccer team (men or women) since the Jacksonville Tea Men of the original North American Soccer League in 1982. … In addition to pregame festivities around 5 p.m. outside the stadium, Livingstone said that a fireworks display is planned for halftime. … Peacock will stream the opener, although the other home matches will be available on various local television outlets.

Quote of the week

"What's exciting is now it's the real thing, and it matters." — Sporting Jax coach Stacey Balaam.