Alyssa Michele Naeher (born April 20, 1988) is an American soccer

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

for the

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...

(NWSL) and the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. She was on the 23-player roster for the United States at the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

and was the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. at the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It ...

in France. She has also played for the Boston Breakers and Turbine Potsdam. With the Breakers, she won the 2014 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year award.

Early life

Naeher attended Christian Heritage School, where she was a standout player in soccer. She was a three-time All-State and three-time FAA All-Conference selection. In addition to this, she was a Parade All-American and two-time NSCAA Youth All-American. Naeher also was a star

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player scoring over 2,000 points during her career.

Penn State University

Naeher attended

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High ...

from 2006 to 2009, she started 74 games during that span with a record of 50–19–5 with 24 shutouts. She was a First Team All-American in 2007 and 2008 and was named the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2007.

Club career

Boston Breakers (WPS), 2010–2011

Naeher was selected by the Boston Breakers with the 11th overall pick in the 2010

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

draft, she was the first goalkeeper selected in the 2010 WPS draft. Naeher recorded her first career shutout on August 4, 2010, against the Atlanta Beat. The Breakers finished second in the WPS standings but lost the Super Semifinal to the

Philadelphia Independence The Philadelphia Independence was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010 and played its home games at West ...

Turbine Potsdam, 2011–2013

After the 2011 WPS season concluded, Naeher transferred to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

club Turbine Potsdam. She appeared in 24 matches across all competitions in the 2011/2012 season for Potsdam as they won the

2011–12 Frauen-Bundesliga The 2011–12 season of the Frauen-Bundesliga is the 22nd season of Germany's premier women's football league. The season commenced on 21 August 2011 and will conclude on 28 May 2012. Turbine Potsdam were the defending champions and successfully ...

. Naeher returned to Potsdam for the 2012/2013 season after the 2012 WPS season was suspended.

Boston Breakers, 2013–2015

In May 2013, Naeher signed with the Boston Breakers in the newly formed

, returning to the United States after playing two years in Germany. In the

2014 National Women's Soccer League season The 2014 National Women's Soccer League season is the second season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (20 ...

Naeher played every minute of the season for Boston and won the Goalkeeper of the Year award as she recorded a record 106 saves in 24 games. On November 22, 2015, Naeher was traded from the Boston Breakers to the

for defender

Whitney Engen Whitney Elizabeth Engen (born November 28, 1987) is an American soccer player and FIFA Women's World Cup champion. She most recently played as a defender for the United States women's national soccer team as well as the Boston Breakers of th ...

Chicago Red Stars, 2015–present

Naeher had a strong start to the 2016 NWSL season in Chicago as she was named Player of the Month for May as she posted three shutouts and only allowed one goal in four games during the month. Naeher was named Player of the Week in week 6 of the 2018 season by the NWSL Media Association, she was also named to the Team of the Month in June 2018. On August 18, 2018, Naeher earned her 100th NWSL cap in a 2–2 draw against the

Portland Thorns The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Unit ...

International career

Naeher was a member of the United States U-20 women's national soccer team that played at the 2007 Pan-American Games, where they finished runners-up to the full Brazilian national team. In 2008, Naeher was the starting goalkeeper for the U-20 squad that won the

2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 4th edition of the tournament. It was held in Chile between 19 November and 7 December 2008. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in the final competition, i ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. She started and played in all but one game during the tournament. She only conceded one goal throughout the World Cup, which was to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

, during the final minutes of the championship game. She was awarded the Golden Glove Award as the best goalkeeper in the tournament. On December 18, 2014, Naeher made her first appearance and start for the United States Women's National team in a 7–0 win over

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

in the International Tournament of Brazil. She played the full 90 minutes and earned her first career shutout. Naeher was on the roster for the

in Canada as a backup for

Hope Solo Hope Amelia Stevens (; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Af ...

, but did not play as Solo played every minute in goal as the United States won the 2015 World Cup. In July 2016, Naeher was named to the United States Women's Soccer Team roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil. Since the United States' loss at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Naeher has become the USWNT's number one goalkeeper, taking over the spot that had been held by Solo for years. Naeher was the number one goalkeeper for the United States at the

2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship The 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women's Championship (also known as the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup or the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament), the quadrennial international football champio ...

; she played in four out of the five matches and earned four shutouts. The U.S won their second consecutive CONCACAF Championship with a 2–0 win over

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup

On May 2, 2019, Naeher was named to the United States roster for the 2019 World Cup; this was her second World Cup. Naeher entered the tournament as the U.S.'s number one goalkeeper. When Naeher started the team's first group game on June 11, it was the first time in over two decades that neither

nor Briana Scurry was in goal for the U.S at a World Cup. Naeher recorded three consecutive shutouts in the group stage as the U.S won, 13–0, over

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, 3–0 over

and 2–0 against Sweden. In the knockout round, Naeher made four saves against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in the quarterfinals to help the team preserve a 2–1 victory over the host nation. In the semifinals Naeher had three saves and stopped

Steph Houghton Stephanie Jayne Darby (, , born 23 April 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the England women's national team. At club level, Houghton started at Sunderland in her native Nor ...

's penalty kick in the 83rd minute to help the United States to a 2–1 victory over

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. In Sunday's final, Naeher posted one save to culminate in a shutout over the Netherlands in the U.S.'s 2–0 victory, resulting in the team repeating as World Cup champions. Naeher played every minute of the United States' successful 2019 World Cup run.

2020s

Naeher won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In the quarterfinal match against Netherlands, she made a penalty save in the 81st minute and two additional saves in the penalty shootout to help the team reach semifinals.

Career statistics

Club

World Cup appearances

Olympic appearances

Personal life

Naeher is the daughter of John and Donna Lynn Naeher. She has a twin sister named Amanda who played soccer for

Messiah College Messiah University is a private interdenominational evangelical Christian university in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. History The school was founded as Messiah Bible School and Missionary Training Home in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. ...

and a younger sister named Abigail. She is of German, English, and French Canadian ancestry. Naeher is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

In popular culture

Video games

Naeher was featured along with her national teammates in the EA Sports' FIFA video game series in '' FIFA 16'', the first time women players were included in the game.

Ticker tape parade and White House honor

Following the United States' win at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Naeher and her teammates became the first women's sports team to be honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City. Each player received a key to the city from Mayor

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Yor ...

. In October of the same year, the team was honored by

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

Honors

United States U20 * FIFA U20 Women's World Cup:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship is an association football competition for women's national under-20 teams in the North America, Central America and Caribbean region. It serves as the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 Women's ...

runner-up:

United States *

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Olympic Bronze Medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid ou ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

* CONCACAF Women's Championship:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

;

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

* CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament: 2016;

* SheBelieves Cup: 2016;

;

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

;

Tournament of Nations The Tournament of Nations was a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer in non-World Cup and non-Olympic years hosted by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in several American cities. The inaugural tourname ...

Individual *NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

*NWSL Best XI:

*NWSL Second XI: 2016 * CONCACAF Goalkeeper of the Year:

* CONCACAF Best XI:

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held in even-number ...

Golden Glove:

All star team:

References

External links

*
Boston Breakers player profileWPS profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naeher, Alyssa 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Bridgeport, Connecticut Sportspeople from New Haven County, Connecticut Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer players People from Seymour, Connecticut American women's soccer players Boston Breakers players Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam players American expatriate soccer players in Germany 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players United States women's international soccer players Women's association football goalkeepers Chicago Red Stars players National Women's Soccer League players Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics United States women's under-20 international soccer players Pan American Games medalists in football Twin sportspeople American twins Soccer players from Connecticut 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in soccer Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics American expatriate women's soccer players Women's Professional Soccer players