The San Jose CyberRays were one of eight teams in the first-ever fully professional women’s soccer league in the world, the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). They built a franchise and a fan base from scratch at a time when there was little precedent for a successful professional women’s sports team, and they established a sporting culture that led them to win the first WUSA Championship. While the league lasted only from 2001 to 2003, it laid the groundwork for the more sustainable and successful league we have today, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and San Jose's Bay FC.
This project is a celebration of the pioneers who built professional women’s soccer when many didn’t think it could succeed, and in a sports culture that often didn’t welcome them. To honor those who heard—and chose not to listen to—those who doubted them, and instead worked to create an equal place for women in professional sports.
25 years later.
On view May 13 to June 12, 2026 at Santa Clara University Art and Art History Department's Gallery
General Manager Marlene Bjornsrud
Player Sissi
Player Megan Horvath
Player Brandi Chastain
