The 2014 World Cup was the catalyst for Mercy Harper and Lindsay Minton to fall in love with the game of soccer. The pair said the World Cup in Brazil was the first time they felt themselves really growing to understand and love the sport.
“A friend of ours encouraged us to watch a lot of the matches, and we got super into the World Cup and then started going to Dynamo games,” Minton said. “I believe it was around the same time that the Houston Dash got started.”
For Harper and Minton, it is an added bonus that Houston is the only city in the state to have both an MLS and NWSL team. Since their first introduction to the sport, the two have traveled to England and France to take in some live games across the pond. In 2019, they attended the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which the United States won its fourth tournament.
With the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup set to take place in the United States and Houston being named as a host city, Harper and Minton are excited to be able to attend games and welcome the global sport to their city.
“We just bought a house that's closer to the train line to make sure that when the World Cup rolls around, we'll be able to get to all the games that we want to. We are so excited to have the spotlight on our city,” Harper said.
With the Dynamo hosting the New England Revolution on Tuesday night at PNC Stadium, Harper and Minton said they are looking forward for a fun way to make their week go by a little faster.
“A midweek match is always fun way to kind of brighten up your week,” Minton said. " I hope that we see the team try out different things. Maybe see some people who might have not gotten a lot of minutes play.”
Mercy Harper and Lindsay Minton will be honored as SeatGeek’s Members of the Match.
