With the World Cup coming to the Bay Area, local youth players say they’ve been waiting for this moment their whole lives.

For 13-year-old Aaliyah Prieto, soccer is more than just a game. It’s a feeling. Watch her play and you just might feel it too.

“I love soccer. It’s such a good sport. It’s the ball, when you’re running, when you’re kicking – almost like a rush,” she said.

When she plays, Prieto is all business. Just minutes into practice she scored a rather impressive goal. Prieto is part of a free after-school league in San Francisco’s Mission District, aptly named Girls Got Goals, where many come from lower-income families.

But right now, it’s not the championship that has her all fired up. It’s something bigger.

“I’m pretty excited about the World Cup,” Prieto said. “Me and my dad love watching it. If we could go in person, we would. It’s really expensive though.”

Soccer fever is sweeping the country. And nowhere more than in the Bay Area, host to six World Cup games.

If history is any indicator, this summer could give the sport just the kick it needs. The last time the World Cup came to the United States in 1994, it literally helped create Major League Soccer. The league started with ten teams. Today there are thirty.

In the Mission District, where soccer has always been more religion than recreation, the buzz is at a whole other level.

Ariel Esqueda, who’s run Girls Got Goals for nearly two decades, said for these players, many from families who came here from Latin America where soccer is everything, the World Cup landing in their backyard gives them something they don’t always get: a leg up.

“Statistically, girls who plays youth sports they perform better academically. Their confidence skyrockets,” she said. “It’s definitely a catalyst. They knwo there’s potential out there, whether it’s scholarships, whether it’s being able to have access or connections,” she said.

San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto talks to CBS News Bay Area reporter Reed Cowan bout increased security at houses of worship in the wake of a deadly shooting at a mosque in San Diego, along with the recent arrests of pickpocketing suspects in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The California Department of Transportation is exploring the idea of a high-speed bus system that could travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles, offering an alternative form of transportation for travelers who frequently move between the two regions.

The concept, which remains in its early stages, envisions buses traveling at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour on state freeways. Caltrans officials describe the proposal as part of a broader effort to examine what it calls high-speed buses.

“I think it would be great. We need to build more infrastructure in the state of California,” said Jeff Fisher, a San Francisco resident.

In a recent presentation, Caltrans outlined potential routes and corridors that could support the system. Officials pointed to freeways such as the Harbor Freeway and the San Bernardino Freeway as possible starting points.

“Freeways with some infrastructure may be candidates to start such as the Harbor Freeway and the San Bernardino freeway. Or perhaps it would be best to start with the interregional service that can connect Los Angeles with San Diego and San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. That would favor I-5 and I-10 as the first freeways,” said Ryan Snyder, Caltrans feasibility studies manager.

MORE: California drops lawsuit seeking to reinstate federal funding for the state’s bullet train

The idea is already drawing interest from some travelers who regularly fly within the state.

“I think it would be a different form of transportation, and I think it might be more accessible,” said Katie Kim, a San Francisco resident who said she flies to Southern California three to four times a year.

“That would be a good idea maybe its faster,” said Arlette Contreras, a tourist.

MORE: Trump administration wants to hand out $2.4 billion it took from California’s high-speed railroad

However, transportation experts say the proposal would face some challenges, particularly in already congested corridors.

“Given the highly congested nature of that corridor on the interstate highways and really some of the secondary roadways, it would be critical that bus lanes would need to be additional lanes. They could not be in place of the existing lanes that people are already traveling on that are already highly congested,” said Rocky Moretti, director of policy and research with TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit.

The proposal also comes as California spent more than $14 billion on a high-speed rail project intended to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, something residents say remains top of mind as new transportation ideas are considered.

“Would love not to have to go through the airport. I’m just sort of skeptical that it will be able to work,” said Bradley Powles, a Hercules resident.

MORE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill requiring funding plan for state’s high-speed rail project

Caltrans has not provided cost estimates for the high-speed bus concept. A preliminary report noted that if the 140-mile-per-hour target proves infeasible due to cost, infrastructure or safety limitations, a slower speed of 80 to 100 miles per hour could serve as a practical alternative.

“Something that would be quicker and easier would be wonderful I hope it can be achieved,” Powles said.