Achieving equal pay for the men's and women's national soccer teams two months ago lifted the "dark cloud" over the United States Soccer Federation, U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone told ESPN:
"Not only getting equal pay with the CBAs but solving the litigation has made this dark cloud that was hanging over all of our heads move along.
"It affected everything we did at the federation, so now to have a reset with our national team players on the men and women's side, to move forward together, to actually be aligned with each other and hoping each other succeed is really great.