U.S. women coming to town in April

Add another big game to Philadelphia's bursting soccer calendar this year.

The U.S. women's national team, captained by Delran native Carli Lloyd, will host Colombia on Sunday, April 10 at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester. Kickoff will be at 2 p.m., with television coverage on ESPN.

It will be the team's first game in the Philadelphia region since Lloyd led the Americans to the Women's World Cup title last summer, and subsequently won FIFA's Women's World Player of the Year award. The U.S. faced Colombia in the Round of 16 at that World Cup, winning by 2-0 in Edmonton. Lloyd scored the second of those goals, a 66th-minute penalty kick.

Before coming here, the two teams will also meet on Wednesday, April 6 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn. (7 p.m., Fox Sports 1).

The U.S. women last came to town in October 2014 to contest the final stages of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament in Chester.

This will be their fifth all-time trip to the Union's home, where they've never lost. The first contest was a 1-1 tie against China in October 2010, the next was a 4-1 win over China in May 2012, and the last two were routs of Mexico and Costa Rica in the World Cup qualifying tournament.

Talen Energy Stadium will be in the spotlight throughout that weekend. On Friday, April 8, the Union will host Orlando City - led by Brazilian superstar Kaká - in one of their few nationally televised games this year.

In the days before the announcement, I heard from multiple very well-connected sources that a plan was coming together to play the game at Lincoln Financial Field. Putting the game at the 18,500-seat venue in Chester instead might indicate that organizers didn't think the matchup would draw a crowd big enough to justify using the Eagles' 69,176-seat home.

Alas, we'll never know whether those organizers could have been proven wrong.