With the World Cup in full swing, some local soccer athletes and coaches gave their thoughts on the tournament so far. 

Ben Madsen, coach for the ISU women’s soccer team, said so far the tournament has “gotten off to a slow start.”

He said he has been surprised by the lack of goals so far in the tournament, but is hoping that will pick up in the upcoming games. 

Madsen said he was “very happy” with the U.S. performance Saturday. The United States tied England 1-1 in its tournament opener. The United States’ next match is against Slovenia on Friday.  

“I think for us to pull out a draw and at least get a point from them when we were the huge underdog is a great way to start,” Madsen said. 

Madsen said he thinks ESPN has done a good job covering the tournament, but doesn’t think Ames has “world cup fever.” However, the attention within the soccer community has been big. 

Jordan Bishop, center midfielder on the ISU team, said the coverage of the tournament so far shows the U.S. has made “big strides” when it comes to soccer. 

“It’s like March Madness, kind of, for us,” Bishop said of the tournament’s effect on her and her teammates. 

She said within the athletic community at Iowa State, the interest has been high for this year’s tournament. 

“I know all the other sports are watching it, too, and they enjoy watching it, so it’s good to see,” Bishop said. 

Bishop also said the tournament has started kind of slow, but thinks it will pick up as it goes on. 

She was also pleased with the U.S. result. 

“Coming out with a tie I think is a good step for us,” she said. 

Max Gehl, president of the ISU Soccer Club and senior in aerospace engineering, said there have been many great games in this year’s tournament, and the coverage has been very good. He said he has even been able to listen to some games on the radio.

However, he said it seems a little “strange” that there are football announcers doing the World Cup, and sometimes they seem as if they don’t know what they are talking about. 

“I’m even seeing people who don’t really follow soccer, starting to follow it, just because of the World Cup,” he said. 

He said he thinks the interest in this year’s cup is higher than in past years, helped at least in part by the quality of this year’s U.S. team. 

“It’s definitely good to have someone to actually cheer for, as a home nation,” he said. “I think the U.S. has come a long way.”

Gehl said he was not able to watch the U.S. game against England, but nonetheless called the outcome a “great result” for the U.S.