Ex-UCLA star McCall Zerboni was cut from US team but has helped women's soccer grow in pros

LOS ANGELES - She watched on television from hotel rooms and restaurants, or on a laptop while slouched on her couch. McCall Zerboni was filled with joy yet conflicted with jealousy. Ecstatic for her country but tortured because, as one of the final cuts from the U.S. team, she wasn't part of the Women's World Cup.

"It's been sad and disappointing," said Zerboni, a former UCLA standout. "But it's taught me so much about myself and life and this game."

Zerboni, a veteran of the National Women's Soccer League, was a late bloomer. She didn't make her national team debut until October 2017, at 30, the