PARIS — U.S. women’s national team defender Naomi Girma always runs to her goalkeeper, Alyssa Naeher, after the final whistle of a win. Saturday night was no different, even as this one had resulted in an Olympic gold medal — a first for both of them, despite the age difference (Girma is 24, Naeher is 36).
“As soon as the whistle blew,” Girma said in the mixed zone Saturday night, “I was like, my last sprint of the tournament is to give Alyssa a hug.”
Naeher once again played a massive role in the USWNT’s victory, providing a poster-worthy save in the final few moments of the win over Brazil — this time pawing a close-range shot with a hand — just like she did in the semifinal win over Germany.
The U.S. doesn’t reach the top of the podium without Naeher. They all know that.
There’s been so many emotions through the past three weeks in France for this team. The physical challenges, too, have forced them to suffer. But there’s been so much joy, too. There’s been karaoke, there’s been dancing, there’s been a lightness, a trust, a sense even from the outside that something new was being built both before our eyes and behind closed doors.
Naeher and Girma helped keep three clean sheets in the knockout stage of the World Cup. (Photo by Justin Setterfield, Getty Images)
At the heart of so much of that was a player most might not have expected: Naeher. It’s not because she’s anti-fun, but it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking she’s nothing but business with her game-day face and massive saves, followed by pushing her teammates away as they try to swarm her to celebrate. It goes back to 2019, her first major tournament as the No. 1 goalkeeper, and even before that.
There’s the growing bond between Naeher and Girma, of course, but there’s also been something special brewing between Naeher and the starting front line of Mal Swanson (Naeher’s Chicago Red Stars teammate), Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith.
They’ve slowly, lovingly, cracked open whatever remains of her shell.
“Alyssa has been the best person for Mal, Trin and I,” Smith said Saturday after the game. “She’s our biggest supporter, but I do feel like we’ve helped her open up a little bit, even if it’s uncomfortable for her. We give her hugs and tell her how much we appreciate her, because obviously we would not be here right now without Alyssa. We just want to remind her of that every day.”
Rodman stressed how Naeher has been a mentor to her as well. “I’ve asked her for so much advice and comfort through everything, even just sitting next to me and not saying anything,” Rodman said Thursday.
But she was also delighted by how they’ve gotten Naeher to open up a bit over the past few months — and all of them are still thrilled by that one time they managed to convince her to participate in their group TikTok. It’s a multi-pronged effort, after all.
“We’re making her a little more mushy gushy with us, which I think is nice. We’re opening up a side that I think has always been there, but it’s hidden a little bit,” Rodman said.
There’s no better time to embrace the mushy gushy than in the first few moments after winning gold medals together. After the group pile-on, led by Girma, Naeher shared a moment with Swanson and Rodman, all three of them giving into tears.
For Naeher, that moment was never about her (it usually isn’t).
“To see (Swanson’s) journey, to see her maturity, to see her come in,” Naeher began in the mixed zone, warning she was about to get emotional all over again, “I’ve been fortunate to be with her every step of the way the last few years, and to see her come into this tournament, to score that goal in this game, I mean… I love her to death. To see her emotional, to see that joy in her face again of being back on the field, it kind of all finally hits when you look in each other’s eyes again.”
Swanson missed the 2023 World Cup due to a knee injury. (Photo by John Todd, Getty Images)
She knows, too, that the three of them have been working on her — in a good way, of course — since the tail end of last year, before Emma Hayes joined the team and there was still the uncertainty of the post-World Cup transition.
“They truly have made me feel a part of it,” she said. “I felt like if I could allow myself to be a little bit more vulnerable with the younger group, and buy into that, and be able to share the experiences that I’ve had and have them soak it up.”
She has felt their embrace, even as she’s only barely tolerated the push to be included in social media videos. It’s been fun. It all goes back to that.
“It’s made me feel quite special as part of the group, like I feel like I have something to give to this team as an older player,” Naeher said. Naeher hasn’t talked about her plans moving forward, but there is perhaps the slightest hint of knowing she should take advantage of the chance she has now, to share everything she knows — to help them, and be rewarded with their love right back.
We’re going to a Gold Medal Game 🥇🥹 pic.twitter.com/9mET5FIJGg
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) August 7, 2024
If she has to tolerate a few hugs here or there, then it’s a price she doesn’t seem to mind paying even if she’s still putting on the bit on camera, even if she struggles to accept the praise in real time. “Mother-daughter besties forever,” Rodman declared in a team video, after forcing Naeher to hug her back.
“It’s funny because I’m not a touchy person,” Rodman said Thursday, laughing about that very video. “Just in that moment, I wanted to shout her out. You’ll never see us hug, so that was a once in a lifetime thing. Maybe. Hopefully if we win, there’ll be another one. But I love making her uncomfortable; it brightens my day for sure.”
As hoped for, they won. And they got that second hug. And a third, just to be safe. Consider the shell fully cracked.
