Bristol City women close in on promotion, while Vicky Bruce chases WSL dream

Vicky Bruce remembers the expectations. 

They were assured and determined, but she was hesitant. Upon arrival at Bristol City W.F.C last summer, everyone inside the club expected a serious promotion and title challenge in the Women’s Championship. Bruce, coming off a disappointing season with SC Sand that ended in relegation from the Frauen-Bundesliga, didn’t want to get her hopes too high. 

But now, as Bristol City heads into its final home game of the season with more than 5,000 tickets sold at the men’s Ashton Gate stadium, dreams are becoming realities. If the Robins beat Charlton City Sunday they will secure the trophy and promotion, and Bruce is closing in on the pinnacle of her football career. 

“I kind of have three big dreams left in my career,” Bruce said. “I’d love the opportunity to play for the Scottish National Team. I want to play in the NWSL and I want to play in the WSL. It’s kind of crazy how close I am to checking one off the list.”

Bruce’s journey to this point has been off the beaten path. Born in North Carolina, she took the traditional route of playing high school, and then college ‘soccer’ in the United States. Unable to get drafted to an NWSL team, she thought her career might be over. 

But with a UK passport thanks to a father born in England, and eligible for the Scottish national team thanks to her grandparents, Bruce came across the pond, starting her European career in Scotland before stops in Iceland, Cyprus, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and now England. She’s won a handful of trophies and played in the UEFA Champions League along the way, but promotion to the WSL would serve as a new kind of frontier for Bruce. 

Despite a brief influx of stars during the COVID years, there is still a scarcity of women from the United States inside the WSL. This season, there were just five Americans in England’s top-flight league. With four of those five inside the bottom-three of the table, it seems relegation is likely for at least one American. 

“It would definitely be awesome to be considered one of those select people playing in this incredible league from back home,” Bruce said “The people that have played in that league are women I’ve looked up to, and the players there now are all internationals who have played on the highest levels. It definitely would be a huge career accomplishment to get a chance to play against them.”

The United States has been the premier country for women’s football for a long time. The Lady Yanks are hoping to become the first nation to win three-straight World Cups later this summer, but in many ways, European professional leagues are closing the gap. 

According to Bruce, the WSL and other professional leagues in Europe have made up so much ground in recent years because of the feeder system that is standard across the continent. Meanwhile, back home, the NWSL feels like the only realistic option to play competitive football and make a living. 

“I think in 20 or 30 years, we might get to a point where it’s kind of like the men’s game and women are hoping to sign for European teams,” Bruce said. “The women’s game is changing so much so fast, but for now, I do think the NWSL is still one of the top leagues in the world, and you can see more and more money being poured in back home.”

Playing in the WSL wasn’t a dream for Bruce until she first made the move over to Europe. Growing up, even with a UK passport, it wasn’t something she thought about when running extra drills after practices and sitting through the grueling long drives that come with being a youth soccer player in the States. 

But the 28-year old defender is now on the cusp of the biggest women’s domestic league in the birthplace of her favourite sport. Bruce signed for Bristol City because she wanted to be a key contributor to a winning environment, with the hopes of an eventual first cap for Scotland. She’s been a regular starter for a team that hasn’t drifted from the top of the table since October. 

On the very first day of training, this was the expectation for Bristol City, and the confidence around the group only grew after an undefeated pre-season that included a win over one WSL club. 

With three points from either of their last two games against Charlton City and Birmingham City, the season-long goal will be achieved. The only challenge left is crossing the finish line. 

“It feels like we’ve had a target on our backs all season now,” Bruce said. “It’s been a grind at times to get to this point, but I think the focus has been great the last couple of weeks. We’re ready to just go out and overcome all this pressure we’ve put on ourselves to do something we’ve been talking about for eight months.”