Pocatello hosted its first-ever Legendary Women’s Cup soccer tournament this month at Portneuf Valley Soccer Club fields, drawing 18 women’s teams from across the American West and athletes ranging in age from 18 to well past 70.
The tournament — launched just two years ago — has already carved out a devoted following among women who refuse to hang up their cleats. This Idaho stop marked the first time the event ventured into the Gem State, and organizers are already talking about a return visit next year.
A Tournament Born From Friendship and Purpose
The Legendary Women’s Cup traces its origins to a chance meeting in Mexico a couple of years ago between Ruth Harker and Kaissa Gurvine. Harker has a storied soccer résumé — she served as a goalkeeper on the first U.S. women’s national soccer team in 1985. When the two connected and began talking about creating a women-only tournament, the idea quickly took root.
“It just floored me. It gave me purpose. I really wanted to do this,” Harker told the Idaho State Journal, adding that the two women launched the legendary tournament series together from there.
Gurvine, who splits her time between St. Anthony, Idaho, and Arizona, brought deep experience in adult soccer administration to the project. She has managed the Tucson adult soccer league for more than two decades and has run tournaments within that league throughout her tenure. But creating something exclusively for women represented new territory. “We’ve been doing tournaments within our league so I’m not new to tournaments — but we wanted to do something just for women, so that’s new,” she told the Idaho State Journal.
Her familiarity with Idaho, thanks to her part-time residence in St. Anthony, likely played a role in bringing the tournament to Pocatello’s well-established Portneuf Valley Soccer Club facilities.
Players of All Ages Take the Field
One of the defining characteristics of the Legendary Women’s Cup is its multigenerational appeal. Harker noted she has shared the pitch with players as old as 83, and one goalkeeper competing at 78. That culture of inclusivity appears to be a major draw for women who picked up the sport later in life or simply never stopped playing.
Vicki Hill, a 69-year-old from Sedona, Arizona, is a prime example. She did not begin playing soccer until age 30, yet she has now competed in four Legendary Women’s Cup tournaments and continues to thrive in the sport. Her story reflects a broader theme running through the event — that competitive women’s soccer has no age ceiling.
On the younger end of the spectrum, 21-year-old Sahara Spring Stinger brought a personal connection to the venue. Stinger grew up playing soccer on the very PVSC fields that hosted the tournament. Now a criminal justice student in Boise, she returned to those familiar grounds as a participant in the Legendary Women’s Cup — a full-circle moment for a young woman who learned the game on that same grass.
Harker, originally from the St. Louis area, has become one of the tournament’s most visible ambassadors, helping spread word of the event through her network and her history with the sport.
What Comes Next
The Legendary Women’s Cup is not slowing down. After its Pocatello debut, the tournament circuit heads to Oro Valley, Arizona, for a December 3–6 event, followed by a stop in Ventura, California, scheduled for February 4–7, 2027. Those looking to keep an eye on local sports news can also follow coverage of Idaho State Bengals football, as Pocatello’s sports calendar continues to fill up this fall.
Closer to home, organizers expressed hope that Pocatello will land another Legendary Women’s Cup tournament in 2026. Should that come to pass, the PVSC fields — and the broader Bannock County community — would again serve as a destination for competitive women’s soccer players from across the West, adding another chapter to what is already becoming a meaningful tradition in Pocatello’s sporting life.