Maj Surowiecki and Bernadette Noonan, natives of Sweden and Ireland respectively, were among the finalists in an "ambassadors of soccer" promotion in 1994, when the U.S. was hosting the World Cup. The contest would select one "ambassador" from each World Cup country who contributed to the development of soccer in the U.S.

Bernadette Noonan, of Issaquah, was a founding member of the Washington State Women's Soccer Association, where she helped start numerous teams and place hundreds of women on them. Noonan also played on an over-50 team, the Spirits. Maj Surowiecki hadn't played soccer until coming to the U.S., and at 53, played on four teams and served as commissioner and treasurer of the Women's Soccer Association.

Here, Maj Surowiecki, left, and Bernadette Noonan kick a soccer ball around on a dirt field in the Seattle area.

Caption information source: "Two Seattle-Area women are 'ambassadors of soccer'," by Lenny Allen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 16, 1994, p. D1