KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was love at first kickoff. From cheering on the sidelines to building a life together, one Kansas City couple says soccer has been at the heart of it all.
“I feel like, since we got married, it's just been like kind of all this prep to get to the World Cup,” Alice Sollitto said.
Phil Gomez and Sollitto met in 2018 when they matched on a dating app. They set up their first meeting, and the rest is history.
“From the first moment I met her, I said soccer's my passion; it's the beautiful game for a reason,” said Gomez, who works in youth soccer for Sporting KC.
Little did they know the sport would become the foundation of their lifelong partnership.
“I can turn that passion into a relationship, and then work as a team together,” he said. “She's helped me with my tournaments and events, and she's the one who keeps me from losing my mind."
As their bond grew, Sollitto and Gomez took their love for the game to the next level. Instead of choosing a traditional venue, they got married at Sporting Park.
“Being in the soccer capital, I thought, why not,” Gomez said.
Over 200 people attended.
“We have our own soccer crest logo. We also did a post-ceremony interview, and we took questions from the crowd,” Sollitto said. “I love going back to the stadium now, because anytime I go back, I'm like, I got married here."
Such memories are worth holding onto, so they created a social media account to document the adventures they shared along the way.
“We just started making like a lot of getting ready for the wedding content and things like that,” she said. “It's just been fun to kind of share the small little pieces of our day-to-day with people.”
But when the World Cup started in Kansas City, Gomez couldn’t believe he had the opportunity of a lifetime to work for FIFA at Kansas City Stadium.
“It's been a dream come true,” Gomez said. “They called and said, 'You have the role for game days to help with the referees coming into Kansas City.'”
But more than anything, he looks forward to sharing his dream with his wife.
“This is a dream situation to have this opportunity, and to tell the one person I can trust and be confident in ... all about it,” he said.
Through their partnership and the memories they share, Sollitto and Gomez hope to inspire others to follow their hearts, embrace their passions and support each other’s dreams — just as they have.
“We’re having fun, we're a team, and at the end of the day, we always try to be positive," Gomez said.
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