Robertson: Great Falls’ Outlaws celebrate in Vancouver

Who ever said the Wild West was dead in Great Falls?

There are still plenty of Outlaws around these parts.

At least 15 American Outlaws from the Electric City stormed north across the border to Vancouver, British Columbia to watch the United States win the FIFA Women’s World Cup, 5-2 over Japan, Sunday night.

The American Outlaws are a nationwide fan club for U.S. soccer. Great Falls’ fledgling chapter has largely taken flight thanks to national team member Abby Wambach’s annual visits to town.

Wambach fandom and the growing soccer scene in Great Falls were enough for several Great Fallsians to spring for tickets to the World Cup final when they came up for sale late last summer.

Great Falls High girls’ soccer coach Lindsay Smith was one of the ones who made the trip.

“The stadium was deafening, and I’m not sure I’ll experience anything like it again,” Smith said via text message after the American victory.

Most exciting, obviously, were the game’s opening in which Carli Lloyd scored three quick goals to put the States comfortably ahead.

“The first 16 minutes were unreal, and I’m not sure anyone expected that,” Smith said, referring to a defense-first strategy the Americans had employed earlier on in the tournament.

Smith took three weeks off from work to watch the whole tournament. She trekked to Edmonton, Alberta last month to watch the Americans beat Colombia in the Round of 16.

The final — and the nature of it — were a different story than the Colombia match, Smith said.

“It was obvious this team (the U.S.) was not going to settle for anything less than a win,” she said, “so the crowd could just go crazy and enjoy the moment.”