How an all-woman sports leadership team is shaping the Tampa Bay Sun on and off the field

It’s hard enough to believe that no professional women’s team with Tampa Bay on its jerseys had ever won a championship until the Tampa Bay Sun lifted the Gainbridge Super League trophy last year.

But here’s a fact that’s even more striking as we celebrate Women’s History Month: In all of top-level American pro soccer, among 55 teams, only one has a woman in every lead coaching and competition role.

That history-making team is also the Tampa Bay Sun.

“It’s so important to have females in the decision-making spaces,” Sun Goalkeepers Coach Tristin Stuteville explained. “We won a championship last season with that exact model. We can find a lot of success with this.”

“I would never have imagined, in a million years, that we would have the opportunities that we have now,” said Sun Head Coach Denise Schilte-Brown.

As a kid, she saw almost exclusively men in coaching roles. But as she followed in her father’s footsteps as a coach, she committed to opening doors for other women along the way.

“Little girls look at the women on our team, and they’re so beautiful and powerful and strong. It’s not easy being the only female professional athletes in the city—and being the examples they all need to be for these little girls—but they’re doing it,” Schilte-Brown said.

For Sun Goalkeeper Emory Wegener, all the eager eyes watching her and her teammates are opportunities for positive impacts on more girls’ futures.

“We’re still fighting for that spot, for all the young ones,” she said. “It gives me chills. We are strong and empowered, and we can do everything we put our mind to.”

Inspiring Future Female Leaders

During home games at Downtown Tampa’s Suncoast Credit Union Field, the Sun spotlight women’s empowerment through pregame and halftime activities. In the community, the team supports the work of the Tampa Bay Sun Foundation to offer youth soccer clinics and programs that build character and confidence through the power of soccer.

“It’s really cool, as a mom and as a professional, to watch these women come out there and be an influence on a young group of girls—through their hard work and their grit, but also through showing the possibilities,” said Sun Head Athletic Trainer Aerial Tirado, who brings her two daughters to Sun games.

Assembling this female-led sporting staff has taken a team effort, with strong backing from the team’s owners and vision from team General Manager and President Christina Unkel. And they’re all working toward a day when this no longer stands out as unusual in the world of sports.

“This is important—not only for future women leaders—but also for all our future leaders of all ages, races, demographics, identities, and socioeconomic positions,” Unkel said.

Don't miss Women’s Empowerment Night with the Tampa Bay Sun on March 18, 2026

At their March 18 game, the Sun will celebrate female leaders and unveil the banner commemorating their championship win. Get tickets at TampaBaySunFC.com.

Originally published in the March 2026 issue of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine.