She looks like just another mom chasing after her toddler at a youth soccer tournament. She has the juice, the snacks, the diaper bag, and of course, the watchful eye.
She also has a FIFA Referee's Badge.
Christina Unkel is one of three American women to earn the FIFA Badge, meaning she is eligible to officiate international matches. In late-June she was at the Region III Soccer Championships in Greensboro, N.C., mentoring the next generation of referees.
Her husband, Ted Unkel, was there, too. Ted, by the way is also a FIFA Referee, one of seven American men to hold the FIFA Badge.
"She's better than I am," says Ted.
Referees marrying referees is not unique. Married FIFA-level refs is, though. They each have extensive travel schedules. For instance, in addition to his Major League Soccer and US Open Cup assignments, Ted goes to training camps every two weeks that are held in either Salt Lake City or Dallas. Christina came to Greensboro from Nicaragua, where she was working CONCACAF Under-20 Women qualifiers.
"It's difficult at times," Christina says. "Sometimes, we would meet up in Atlanta for an hour on layovers. Apple calendar has been very helpful because you can sync them.
The Unkels have a lot of personal and professional history with Region III.
Ted and Christina did their first game together at the Region III Championships.
Christina recalls it the same way.
Goofing off, as she calls it, might just be part of her referee persona, a method of making players comfortable. She is also a litigation attorney. She specializes in plaintiff side work for defective medical device liability and business litigation. She recently started a practice for litigation for women in sports.
While their climbs up the referee career ladder mirrored one another, Christina's start was a bit unique.
"I started when I was 10 because I liked to yell at the referees," she says. "My coach was a referee and he told me I couldn't yell at the refs unless I knew what I was talking about. I took the class so I could keep yelling at the refs. Then I found out I could make like $15 doing a game.
Ironically, the Unkels weren't the only husband and wife referees at the Region III Championships. Chris and Tori Penso were in Greensboro as well with their two young daughters. Both national-level referees, Chris works mostly MLS games, while Tori does NWSL and USL games.
They all make it a point to come to the Region III Championships each year to help the young referees. Ted says it's one event he makes sure is on his calendar.