Alyssa Naeher

Alyssa Naeher

Naeher with the United States women's national soccer team in June 2016
Personal information
Full name Alyssa Michele Naeher
Date of birth (1988-04-20) April 20, 1988
Place of birth Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Chicago Red Stars
Number 1
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 Penn State Nittany Lions
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008 SoccerPlus Connecticut (0)
2010–2011 Boston Breakers 36 (0)
2011–2013 Turbine Potsdam 39 (0)
2013–2015 Boston Breakers 45 (0)
2016– Chicago Red Stars 14 (0)
National team‡
United States U-16
United States U-17
2007–2008 United States U-20
2009–2011 United States U-23
2014– United States 10 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 1, 2015.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 13, 2016

Alyssa Michele Naeher (born April 20, 1988) is an American soccer player. She is a goalkeeper for the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She was on the 23-player roster for the United States women's national soccer team for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada.

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 player scoring over 2,000 points during her career.[1]

Penn State University

As the starting goalkeeper for the Penn State women's soccer team from 2006–2009, Naeher started all games that she played in during her career at Penn State.

Playing career

Club

Naeher was selected by the Boston Breakers as the 11th overall pick (First Round) in the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer draft. She was the first goalkeeper selected in the 2010 WPS draft.[2] She recorded her first career shutout August 4, 2010 against the Atlanta Beat.[3] During the off-season after the 2011 WPS season she transferred to German Bundesliga champion Turbine Potsdam.[4] Her contract expired in December, but she subsequently returned to Turbine after the 2012 WPS season was suspended.[5]

Naeher won the Goalkeeper of the Year accolade in the 2014 National Women's Soccer League season for her record 106 saves in 24 games.

On November 22, 2015 Naeher was traded from the Boston Breakers to the Chicago Red Stars for defender Whitney Engen.[6]

International

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 in Chile, starting and playing in all but one game during the tournament. She only conceded one goal throughout the competition to North Korea, during the dying minutes of the final game. She was awarded the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper in the Cup.

Naeher was on the roster for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada as a backup for Hope Solo, but did not play.

In July 2016, Naeher was named to the United States Women's Soccer Team roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil.

Personal

Naeher is the daughter of John and Donna Lynn Naeher. She has a twin sister named Amanda who played soccer for Messiah College and a younger sister named Abigail.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9] Each player received a key to the city from Mayor Bill de Blasio.[10] In October of the same year, the team was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Player Bio: Alyssa Naeher, Penn State Official Athletics Site.
  2. ↑ "Breakers Acquire Penn State Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher". womensprosoccer.com. January 15, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Smith's Two Goals Lead Breakers to 2–0 Shutout Over Beat". womensprosoccer.com. August 4, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Potsdam signs Neaher" (in German). womensoccer.de. September 1, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  5. ↑ Alyssa Naeher signes with Turbine Potsdam again. Wsoccernews.com
  6. ↑ "Equalizer Soccer – Naeher headed to Chicago, Engen to Boston in trade". Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  7. ↑ Civin, Todd. Getting Silly With The Shot Stopper; Alyssa Naeher of the Boston Breakers. Bleacher Report. February 22, 2010.
  8. ↑ Barnes, Katie (September 28, 2015). "Why 'FIFA 16' is a Landmark for Women". ESPN. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  9. ↑ "U.S. women celebrate World Cup with ticker-tape parade in New York City". USA Today. July 11, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Team USA parades NYC's "Canyon of Heroes"". CBS News. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  11. ↑ Wagner, Laura (October 27, 2015). "Obama To U.S. Women's Soccer Team: 'Playing Like A Girl Means You're A Badass'". NPR. Retrieved January 3, 2016.

See also

External links

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