More than two years of work had led to this moment for the Boston Independent Supporters’ Association (ISA). Even before Boston’s new NWSL team had a name, a mascot or a roster, there were fans organizing, ready and waiting to embrace the franchise. On 14 March 2026, it finally paid off.
The Boston ISA members marched into Gillette Stadium for the Legacy’s opening match, following behind the marching band from Boston Public Schools and holding their “Up the Swans” scarves over their heads. The group arrived at their seats in the supporters’ section behind the north goal and unfurled the tifo they had spent many hours diligently painting. From there, the members of the Boston ISA carried the enthusiasm for the next 90-plus minutes, chanting, dancing, waving flags and beating drums.
They were on the field, and we were cheering for them, and it just kind of all melted into this like moment of super excitement.” That cheering, that energy and that support is something the Boston ISA has brought to every Legacy home game this season – rain or shine, win or lose, small crowd or large, Massachusetts or Rhode Island. Creating one for a team without an identity, though, is a difficult task. While chants and traditions will develop over time, the Boston ISA members wanted players on the Legacy, one of two expansion teams to join the NWSL this year, to feel supported from their first kickoff.
They faced the challenge of the Legacy not yet having a home stadium to play in: the team are spending their first season bouncing between Gillette in Foxborough, Massachusetts and Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island while their eventual home in Boston, White Stadium, is under construction until 2028. Boston also hadn’t had a professional women’s soccer team in nearly a decade. The Boston Breakers, a club that played in the original eight-team NWSL and its three precursor leagues, folded suddenly after the 2017 season, and many Boston women’s soccer fans still mourn the loss.
The NWSL announced Boston as an expansion city for the 2026 season back in September 2023, and the ISA came together shortly after. Torres Millet says that when they joined the club back in September 2024, the ISA had already been in communication with one of the club’s founders. Before there was a club identity, the ISA members focused on networking with team leadership, going to events in the community hosted by the Boston ownership group and getting word to fans that visible and tangible support would be a crucial part of the team’s success.
They give the game its sense of belonging and turn it into something people feel and carry with them.” The ISA has a board of directors with committee roles. As membership chair, Esten is involved in strategic conversations about how members can get the most out of being a part of the organization, brainstorming everything from hosting fun events to advocating with the team on things that members want or need to see at games. But the role also includes the nitty-gritty things, such as keeping spreadsheets and updating the membership base when needed.
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