SOCCER STARS WORLD CUP PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON SPORT.

Byline: Ross Siler GoodSports

At 10 a.m. Sunday, the four members of the Stumbo family from Lancaster gathered around the television to watch the weekend's big game together. But they weren't tuned in to Jets-Patriots, Buccaneers-Falcons, or anything from Week Three of the NFL season, for that matter.

Instead, the family was watching the United States' 3-1 victory over Sweden in the Women's World Cup opener. The tournament runs for the next two weeks, with the final to be held in Carson on Oct. 12, and is must-see TV for the millions of young girls playing soccer.

``They're just really good,'' said 11-year-old Brittani Stumbo, a member of the U12 Antelope Valley Soccer Club Ambush. ``They score a lot of goals.''

Added 11-year-old teammate Cassandra Arroyo: ``I thought they worked really hard. Mia Hamm set it up for her teammates.''

Stumbo's mother, Staci, who also is the Ambush's team manager, said she stopped painting a room in her house to watch the game with her daughter. They used it as a teaching tool, with Brittani going over what each player on the field was doing at her position.

``It's kind of like awe and amazement for her,'' Staci said. ``It's avery rough game - these are very rugged women. There's a lot happening. I think she was impressed by how fast they were and how aggressive they were.''

With the folding this month of the Women's United Soccer Association professional league (which spent $100 million during its three years in existence), the viewing options for young girls hopingto watch women's soccer is limited to this World Cup - perhaps until the next Cup in 2007.

``This is about it for them,'' said Jim Ellis, the Ambush's coach and father of two daughters on the team. ``It's tough for them to get to see many role models in the sport.''

However, the Women's World Cup also has focused attention on the rise in participation among women and girls in youth soccer.

From 1987 to 2002, women's soccer participation grew by 24.4 percent, compared to 8.3 percent for men, according to this year's Soccer Participation Study by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Last year, women accounted for 42.7 percent of all soccer players in the United States.

In addition, for the 12- to 17-year-old age group, girls actually outnumbered boys in participation, 2.58 million to 2.47 million. As aresult, soccer has been described as the first sport to have achieved true gender equity, at least at its youngest levels.

The rise also is remarkable considering soccer's place among girls a generation ago. Among the Ambush players, fewer than 20 percent of the girls raised their hand when asked if their mother had played soccer at their age.

One of those mothers, Barbara Ellis, the coach's wife, said she was steered away from sports while growing up in Granada Hills.

``It was all boys,'' she said. ``You were lucky to see one girl playing softball and no one was playing soccer.''

With their oldest daughter Courtney, now a 12-year-old defender on the Ambush, the Ellises first tried to start her playing baseball. Then they signed up Courtney for a local AYSO team with the other children from their group of friends.

``(Soccer) is the one sport where they're moving pretty much all the time,'' Jim Ellis said. ``We tried T-ball and 90 percent of the game is standing around. This teaches them about teamwork, it's competitive and it's fast-paced.''

Added 11-year-old Chelsey Hale, a forward on the Ambush from Quartz Hill: ``It's just really fun to be out there, running around out there and scoring goals.''

The cost of travel soccer is not cheap, ranging from $200 a year for teams like the Ambush to several hundred a month for some of the area's elite teams. And the time commitment is not minimal. Over the past year, the Ambush have traveled to Santa Barbara, Manhattan Beach and Temecula for tournaments.

Even so, soccer has proven a family favorite, especially among the middle- and upper-class parents. The median income for soccer families in 2002 was $59,500, according to this year's participation study.

``I like the speed of the game,'' said Staci Stumbo, who joined a women's league last season. ``It's very quick. There may not be a lot of scoring. But there's a lot of action.''

The Women's World Cup also may be helping to change perceptions about female athletes among young males. Also at the Lancaster National Soccer Center this week was the boys' U13 Ambush team. And about half the boys' team knew the score from Sunday's game.

``They were pretty good,'' said Bryant Gamez, a 12-year-old goalie from Palmdale.

The U.S. team, which won the 1999 World Cup over China at the Rose Bowl, features stars Hamm (who had three assists Sunday), Brandi Chastain (sidelined with a broken foot) Julie Foudy and Kristine Lilly. The team's only appearance in Los Angeles would be the final or third-place game Oct. 11.

Ellis said he plans to have the Ambush watch one game together at a family's house. Meanwhile, on the field, perhaps the best sentiment about the women's soccer was made by 10-year-old Delaney Enriquez, who wore a T-shirt featuring a soccer ball and a slogan to practice.

It read: ``A girl's place is on the field.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(cover -- color) no caption (girl soccer player cheering at the goal)

Photo illustration by Michael Owen Baker