Longshot: Payback

Part 4: Tough as Nails

Following the fateful encounter with her mother, Jessica McDonald runs away from home. Soon, her grades flounder, leaving her ineligible for Division I athletics at all. McDonald's road to Chapel Hill detours through a nearby junior college in Phoenix, where she improves her GPA — and rewrites the juco record books as the most decorated female athlete in Phoenix College history. Then, upon becoming Division I eligible in 2008, Anson Dorrance comes calling once more. New episodes coming each Tuesday, through May 17. To continue supporting journalism like this, visit <a href="http://charlotteobserver.com/payback">charlotteobserver.com/payback</a> or <a href="http://newsobserver.com/payback">newsobserver.com/payback</a> .  The host of Payback is Alex Andrejev. It's produced by Kata Stevens, Casey Toth, Julia Wall, and executive producer Davin Coburn. The executive producer for iHeartRadio is Sean Titone.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

In 2019, U.S. women’s national soccer team striker Jessica McDonald capped a World Cup journey few could have imagined. A teen runaway who became a single mom, McDonald tells The Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News &amp; Observer for the first time how she rose from a broken home in Phoenix to the pinnacle of sports in Lyon, France — and how today, she’s using her voice to battle systemic inequalities in soccer, including as part of the U.S. women’s national team’s recent settlement in their landmark fight for equal pay. Hosted by Alex Andrejev.