By Meg Jones
Margaret Domka was 4 years old when she learned to play soccer and started refereeing at 13 to earn money in high school.
Starting this weekend, she'll be on the field as the best women soccer players on the planet meet for the World Cup in Canada.
Domka will be the one with the whistle.
"When I started as a referee it was just a summer job in high school, and I never imagined any of this could happen. But over the last five years it's been a goal and a dream to go to the World Cup," Domka said in a recent phone interview before leaving for Canada.
She's one of 29 referees, and the only representative from the United States, selected for the Women's World Cup. Under FIFA rules only female referees are assigned to women's tournaments and only male referees handle men's tournaments.
This year's Women's World Cup features 52 matches in six Canadian cities with the championship game on July 5 in Vancouver.
Domka, 35, grew up in Stevens Point and was a defender on the UW-Stevens Point women's soccer team, which in her senior year advanced into the women's NCAA Division III Final Four in 2000. That year she was a Division III first team All-American.
MORE
Skip to main content
