Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher has been awarded the 2024 U.S. Soccer Feminine Participant of the 12 months after a standout 12 months. The award is predicated on a weighted vote from Nationwide Group coaches, Nationwide Group gamers who earned a cap in 2024, members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Administrators, U.S. Soccer Athletes’ Council, Nationwide Ladies’s Soccer League head coaches, choose media members and directors, and followers. Naeher garnered nearly all of the vote (40.8%), adopted by defender Naomi Girma (32.2%).
“That is an unimaginable honor, to cap off what has been a really particular 12 months with this workforce,” stated Naeher, “This workforce is made up of a particular group of gamers, coaches and employees and all 12 months you can really feel that power and that we had the chance to attain one thing nice. I used to be impressed all 12 months lengthy by my unimaginable teammates; the work we put in, the dedication to the workforce and our targets, and all of their love and help.”
Naeher not too long ago retired from the worldwide stage and performed her last video games with the senior workforce throughout a pair of friendlies in Europe in opposition to England and the Netherlands. She’s going to proceed to play on the membership degree and is at present signed with Chicago Stars FC.
She was additionally voted The Greatest FIFA Ladies’s Goalkeeper of the 12 months for 2024. The U.S. Soccer award has traditionally been received by attacking gamers, however newer years have seen the award go to gamers who function decrease on the pitch. Girma, a middle again, acquired the award in 2023, and defensive midfielder Julie Ertz received in 2017 and 2019.
The goalkeeper had a exceptional 2024, the place she delivered in a number of penalty shootouts through the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup and 2024 SheBelieves Cup, and helped the workforce win the gold medal on the 2024 Summer season Olympics. She is the primary goalkeeper to ever earn a shutout in a FIFA Ladies’s World Cup last and Olympic gold medal recreation.
She is the twenty first participant to obtain the honour, and solely the second goalkeeper to win within the 40-year historical past of the award. Hope Solo received the person accolade in 2009. Naeher stepped into the beginning goalkeeper position in 2017 following an extended historical past of hall-of-fame caliber goalkeepers Briana Scurry and Solo. She leaves the sport with two World Cup titles, a gold medal, and a slew of historic spotlight saves.
