Pilots at the Medical World Cup

PORTLAND PILOTS WOMEN'S soccer returned to the international stage this summer, only this particular World Cup tournament came with an impressive professional twist. The 2025 Women’s Medical World Cup—a global soccer competition of female physicians—took place in Dublin, Ireland, in July.

Two Pilots—Kelsy (Hollenbeck) Parker ’05 and Kari Evans ’06—along with former legendary Pilot coach Bill Irwin—represented Team USA.

For Evans, a doctor specializing in maternal and fetal medicine in Phoenix, Arizona, the idea started with a post in a Facebook group of physician moms. Doctors were working to build a US team for the tournament, then in its second year. There had been a Women’s Medical World Cup in 2024, but the US hadn’t taken part.

“I took a screenshot of the post and texted it to Kelsy, and I was like ‘Did you see this?’” Evans said. Parker, a doctor of sports medicine who lives in Camas, WA, and still works closely with Pilot Athletics, was an immediate “Yes, I’m doing this.”

“I guess that means I’m doing it,” Evans remembers saying.

Both Evans and Parker played defense for the Pilots. While neither of them had been playing recently—Parker estimates it had been about eight years for her while Evans says it had been 10-plus years—both were part of some of the best teams in Pilot soccer history. Parker played with both national championship teams, winning as a freshman in 2002 and again as a senior in 2005. Evans played from 2003 to 2006, also making the All-WCC First Team with Parker in that 2005 season.

The first round of tryouts for Team USA happened in Irvine, California. When they learned that they still needed a coach, Parker immediately knew the coach to call: Bill Irwin.

He, too, played a crucial part in Portland’s soccer history. Along with Portland’s legendary head coach Clive Charles, Irwin helped build Pilot soccer into one of the best programs in the nation. He was an assistant with Charles on the 2002 team and became the head coach of the men’s team in 2003, serving as the Director of Soccer for both programs. He oversaw the ’05 team winning their championship as well.

Irwin, now 74, describes himself as someone who’s “failing at retirement.” He still coaches at Lewis & Clark University as an assistant with both the men and women so, when approached with the opportunity to coach this new team, he was intrigued. The icing on the cake was a trip to Ireland, meaning a homecoming for Irwin.

The United States team had a stellar showing against stiff competition. In addition to the US, there were teams from Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Australia, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Panama, Canada, Poland, and Great Britain. The US went 5-1 overall, falling in the quarterfinals to Australia.

For the three former Pilots, it was a way to connect with a new group of players and professionals while reconnecting with the people who had previously played such an important part in their lives.

“I had just forgotten how much fun I have and how much I enjoy being part of a team,” Evans said. “I thought it would be fun, but it brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined.” Both Parker and Evans brought their kids along for the tournament and made some family memories with a tour around Europe. And Irwin was able to visit family in Northern Ireland.

Next year’s world cup is already set, with Costa Rica as the destination in December 2026. All three of the former Pilots said they would jump at the chance to do it again.