Rose Lavelle’s jaw dropped when she saw her mural.
“Wow, it’s so good,” Lavelle said with a smile. “I’m so impressed.”
Perhaps the mural shows how impressed Cincinnati is with her, too.
On Thursday, the midfielder departs to re-join the U.S. Women’s National Team in New York for a final game in the Send-Off Series on Sunday, before the team jets off to France for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Lavelle will be the second Cincinnati-native to represent the country in the planet’s biggest tournament in soccer. (Heather Mitts did in 2011.)
“It’s a little surreal,” she said. “It’s something I always envisioned myself doing, but for it to actually come to fruition is a dream come true.”
It comes to fruition soon.
Earlier this month, Lavelle was named to the national team for the tournament. Now back home briefly before her trans-Atlantic travels, the 24-year-old midfielder spent Tuesday morning and early afternoon travelling around Cincinnati.
First was a stop to FC Cincinnati’s Mercy Health Training Center in Milford. There, she spoke with reporters and watched FC Cincinnati’s training session, which concluded with Lavelle and Nick Hagglund – the club’s first Cincinnati-native on its MLS roster – chatting about the city and their careers.
In the afternoon, she went downtown to The Banks, where she saw her mural on the outer wall of Taste of Belgium.
Lavelle, dressed in black, stood before a colorful mural with humbleness. On the right said was her name in all caps; the left side was Lavell wearing a red USWNT jersey with three stars above the crest.
Lavelle and the Americans are looking to add a fourth star this summer.
The reigning world champions look to repeat their title beginning June 11 against Thailand in the first group stage match. From there, the U.S. play Chile on June 16 and Sweden on June 20.
“Sweden is going to be tough competition, Lavelle said. “I don’t know how or why, but it feels like the U.S. always draws them in the group stage. They knocked us out of the Olympics in 2016, so it’ll kind of be a little bit of redemption.
“I think all of (the games) will be fun. I think this World Cup will be the most competitive yet. There’re a lot of teams that have really come a long way.”
As for her personal expectations at the upcoming tournament, she said the focus rest solely on the team. After that, whatever she can produce will be even sweeter.
Her first memory of the Women’s World Cup was in 2003 when the USWNT lost 3-0 to Germany in the semifinals.
“I went and cried in my bunkbed for the rest of the night,” Lavelle said.
There’s a strong chance Lavelle could be on the field on July 7 in Paris for the World Cup final. That sounds slightly better than the bunkbed.
