In July 2015, after the United States women’s national soccer team had won its third World Cup final, securing its place as the dominant women’s international soccer team; after its winning game became the most-watched soccer game in United States history, with an average of 25.4 million viewers (more than the N.B.A. finals, more than any men’s soccer game); after the team returned home to a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan, the first time a woman’s team had been so honored — after all that, the members of the team still had the feeling.

“We weren’t able to capitalize on the moment,” Christen Press, a forward, said recently.

“Everyone around us was — TV, sponsors — but we weren’t compensated or treated like what we were: the absolute best soccer players in the world.” So, Ms. Press said, “we decided it was time to change the paradigm.”

The “we” she was referring to included her teammates Megan Rapinoe, another forward and captain; Tobin Heath, also a forward; and her former teammate Meghan Klingenberg.

There was less than a week to go before the three current players would fly to London to begin final preparations to defend their title in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, which begins on Friday in France. But before they got on the plane, they were sitting around a conference table in a loft in Lower Manhattan, going on the offensive with something else.