Soccer fans excited for Wambach return despite ticket sale delays

Posted at: 08/16/2012 9:04 PM | Updated at: 08/17/2012 12:41 AM

Tickets for the U.S. Women's Soccer match were suppose to go on sale to the general public on Friday, but that has been postponed. Sahlen’s Stadium officials say they hope to add more seats, but won't know exactly how many tickets are left to sell until at least Monday.

Pat Ercoli, the president and CEO of Sahlen's Stadium, has waged a campaign to get Team USA back to Rochester since they were last here in 2009 and thanks to last week's Olympic gold medal it became possible.

"There may be standing room only," says Ercoli.

From the moment they won the gold, Team USA Women's Soccer fever has hit an all-time high and Rochester is one of possibly six cities to host the team. Next month Team USA will play against Costa Rica at Sahlen's Stadium.

"Well, I think the international awareness now," says Ercoli. "We're following them at an international level especially when you're playing the World Cup or in the Olympics. The general fan, the casual fan is aware and they want to be apart of it."

Ercoli says he expects to fill every seat and all available space. 11,000 tickets have sold and Ercoli says 14,000 tickets are spoken for. 6,000 tickets sold Wednesday morning in a matter of 10 minutes. Thursday night, USA soccer announced it was suspending Friday morning's sale of the remaining tickets until further notice. It is working with the stadium to create space for another 1,500 people. Meanwhile there is excitement across the city.

People like Dennis Fantone are celebrating this rare opportunity.

"I'm psyched to see them," says Fantone. "I'm psyched they're coming to Rochester. I'm psyched Wambach's from here. Bringing pride to the city."

Paul Athilingam's fiancé played soccer against Team USA member and Pittsford native Abby Wambach.

"I think it's very exciting," says Athilingam. "It really brings a positive light to Rochester. It kind of puts us in the national spotlight for something positive."

This Floor Hockey team was celebrating its own championship win on Thursday night and Team USA's visit in a few weeks. Wesley Moses says the ticket sales speak volumes.

"I think it's a lot of pride in the city," says Moses. "It shows a lot of people want to go to the game and want to show support to Abby."

Even if you aren't able to see the game in person, you still have a chance to watch the game. News10NBC will air the entire game on Sept 1 starting at 2 p.m.

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