Sports

NM United, Girl Scouts team up for ‘girls in the game’ event

Nairavoice · Jul 26, 2026 · 3 min read

They were found stored in a box. Maybe in a closet. Maybe in a drawer. About 150 of them.

Blue, round patches with yellow bordering that could fit between an index finger and thumb. The New Mexico United crest emblazened in the middle. The words “Girl Scouts” stitched above the logo and “New Mexico Trails” below.

It prompted an idea.

“When we saw them, it was like, ‘We need to do something with them,'” said Lora Motley, who leads strategic partnerships and community engagement for the Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails. “There’s a young lady in our office, Katie Mascarenas, she’s a program manager, and she goes, ‘I know what we can do, let’s partner.’ … That’s how all of this started to come to fruition.”

United, naturally, served as the logical choice. The soccer club’s name is, after all, on the patch. The result of an attempted partnership from five years earlier. The idea, however, eventually fizzled.

Charles Rumbaugh, United’s senior account executive, took the club’s lead for the second attempt and met with Motley and Mascarenas to brainstorm how the patches could work best for both organizations. The partnership — and the benchmarks — took about three months to finalize with United owner Peter Trevisani and Ron Patel, the club’s president, both on board.

In time for next Saturday’s home match against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC for the club’s “girls in the game” theme night, too.

Troop members have to sell a minimum of 10 discounted tickets to earn the patch. United will donate 20% of every ticket sold back to the individual troops. Rumbaugh said the club’s goal is to give back a minimum of $1,000.

Troop members also took part in a photo shoot and filmed a video for United’s social media campaign. They’ll design playing cards to give to the players as well.

“When we had those meetings, it was let’s use (the patches) to the best of our ability,” Rumbaugh said. “Not only to fill the stands for an important game, but to give the girls a chance other than just Girl Scout Cookie season to go out into the community and practice their entrepreneurship skills and salesmanship, and things like that.”

And after that?

Both United and the Girl Scouts have expressed a desire for the partnership to continue. Each sees it as a win-win.

“We want to build relationships that are mutual and are equitable,” Motley said. “The goal is to make it an incredibly memorable event for everyone involved. … The girls get to experience something different and have a great time.”

David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X @DavidGlovach.