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Soccer Star Rapinoe Spends Weekend In Redding

Photo courtesy of Asphalt Cowboys

Soccer great Megan Rapinoe had a busy visit to the North State this weekend. She was the grand marshal of the Redding Rodeo Parade on Saturday, and that night, Redding Mayor Missy McArthur formally changed Redding Soccer Park’s address to 15 Rapinoe Way.

"She's done so much for our community,” McArthur said. “She's been such an inspiration. She's just generous natured. And the least we can do is recognize her achievements by naming this street after her.”

Rapinoe, a Palo Cedro native, wears number 15 on her jersey for the Seattle Reign. She held a clinic for youth players on Sunday where she told the crowd of mostly young girls at the soccer park that it’s important for her to remember where she's from.

"We always played down in Sacramento, San Francisco, or LA, and we’re like 'No, we're from Redding,'” Rapinoe said. “We took a lot of pride being from here, and being from an area that wasn't as big as the other areas, but we could still kick butt."

Rapinoe has won gold medals with the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team in the Olympics and the World Cup.