Melanie Anzidei | NorthJersey.com

Kevin R. Wexler, NorthJersey

There is a Cinderella story brewing in New Jersey, and it will continue to take shape on a pitch inside Red Bull Arena this spring.

Sky Blue FC, New Jersey’s professional women’s soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League, is preparing for what could be a breakout season for the organization — a club that not long ago was unable to convince a local, top prospect to join its roster; finished dead last in season rankings; and was plagued by reports of poor management, substandard housing and woeful training facilities for its players.

This year, the club — partly owned by Gov. Phil Murphy — is in a very different place.

Literally.

The team will be moving into its new home at Red Bull Arena for the 2020 season, upgrading from its former home at Rutgers University's Yurcak Field in Piscataway to one of the premier facilities in Major League Soccer. On Thursday, the team will be taking the stage in Baltimore at the NWSL’s annual college draft, where the team has two first round picks, as well as three in the second round.

{{props.notification}} {{props.tag}} {{props.expression}} {{props.linkSubscribe.text}} {{#modules.acquisition.inline}}{{/modules.acquisition.inline}} ... Our reporting. Your stories. Get unlimited digital access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now

“There are so many things that are going right, and we are just going to dig in and keep challenging ourselves,” said club owner Tammy Murphy in a recent interview with NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey. “If there’s anything that we think we can improve upon, we’re not going to stop and we’re not going to rest until we are the gold standard for the league.”

But let one thing be clear: the club’s turnaround was no accident. It was carefully calculated.

In February, the team announced Tammy Murphy, Gov. Murphy's wife, would take an active role in the club. Two months later, Alyse LaHue was named the club’s interim general manager, after former GM Tony Novo resigned. When she was named full-time GM in September, LaHue became one of only two women to hold that rank in the league. Last month, the team named a new head coach, Freya Coombe, currently the only female head coach in the NWSL.

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com

And Sky Blue continues its momentum by signing key players to its roster as opening day approaches, including Monday’s re-signing of captain Sarah Killion.

“Tammy and I really took a fine-tooth comb to go through this club over the last season,” LaHue said. “For us, really, 2019 was about stabilization of the club and finding some unique opportunities to please the fans.

"If we look at 2019 as the year of stabilization, we feel really good going into 2020.”

Last season, the club was able to seize the momentum from the buzz generated by the FIFA Women’s World Cup over the summer — something that could be replicated this year with the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. After the U.S. Women's National Team won the FIFA tournament for a fourth time, several players from the national team’s star-studded roster came home to play in the NWSL. Fans flocked to watch their favorites play at the club level across the country, including in New Jersey.

Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com

To meet growing demand at its home games — and to test the waters about how fans would respond to Red Bull Arena — Sky Blue relocated two of its home matches to the Harrison stadium, including its final home game last fall. The MLS arena has the capacity to house five times the number of fans Sky Blue was used to in Piscataway. Its two matches in Harrison saw record-breaking crowds of 8,314 in October and 9,415 in August. For comparison, Yurcak limited Sky Blue’s crowds to 5,000 fans.

This year, Red Bull will be Sky Blue’s home for all of its home games during the 2020 season. The venue has often been described by players, including homegrown star Carli Lloyd, as one of their favorite venues to play in. "There was no question that we all wanted to play here," Lloyd said in October.

Coombe, Sky Blue's head coach, said playing inside a professional stadium inevitably raises the players' morale.

“The team is very, very excited to be playing in such a fantastic stadium and to be provided the opportunity to really showcase their talent and provide entertaining games for the fans,” said Coombe. “So, there’s a real good positive energy and vibes among the players. That I think is infectious among the community, and trying to reach the fans in the local area.”

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com

Sky Blue is hoping to grow its fan base even more in 2020 by tapping into the North Jersey and New York City sports market. In Piscataway, public transportation for fans was limited. In Harrison, there's a PATH station that provides access to New York City adjacent to the soccer stadium.

“We see a huge opportunity to expand, obviously, well beyond just our youth and family fan base — which has been tremendous through the years — but also to look into North Jersey and also New York City, where we know there’s a lot of young singles or soccer fans that haven’t been able to get to our games,” LaHue said.

This weekend, Sky Blue will host its first-ever Fantasy Camp in Brooklyn. The day-long, co-ed event offers participants a chance to be coached and trained by Sky Blue players for $95, or $85 if you sign up as a group of five. There will be drills, a 5-on-5 competition, and after the event — only open for those 21 and older — participants can mingle with the players. Because demand has been so great for the camp, the club is already planning a second session sometime during the season, LaHue said.

Being in a new market also raises the bar for what Sky Blue hopes to accomplish in the future. In 2019, the team finished second-to-last in season rankings. The year before that, the team finished rock bottom. Regardless, LaHue has high hopes for 2020. The team is hoping its turnaround in North Jersey will attract some of the game’s top prospects, as well as help propel the team into the playoffs.

“I believe a team in the New Jersey/New York market should be a preeminent team not just in NWSL, but in the world," LaHue said. "That’s our goal. That’s always been our goal."