July 12, 2016
CHICAGO -- A pair of Nittany Lion greats have been named to the U.S. women's soccer national team roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics, head coach Jill Ellis announced Tuesday. Ali Krieger '06 and Alyssa Naeher `09 are two of 18 U.S. WNT players set to compete in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 3-19.
The U.S. begins its quest for its fourth-straight Olympic gold medal on Aug. 3 against New Zealand at Mineirão Stadium in Belo Horizonte. The USA faces France at Mineirão Stadium on Aug. 6 and finishes group play against Colombia on Aug. 9 at the Amazônia Stadium in Manaus.
With Tuesday's announcement, Penn State women's soccer will be represented at three-straight Summer Olympic Games. Erin McLeod and Carmelina Moscato represented Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, while McLeod made her Olympics debut in 2008.
Along with McLeod playing for Canada in 2008, head coach Erica Dambach was an assistant coach with the U.S. WNT that captured the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
The U.S. WNT, the No. 1 team in the FIFA world rankings, captured its third Women's World Cup title last summer in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. With a 5-2 victory over Japan on July 5, 2015, Krieger and Naeher became the first Nittany Lions to win a World Cup.
Krieger has been a member of the U.S. WNT since 2008 and earned her 90th cap last week in an international friendly against South Africa. The United States defeated South Africa, 1-0, on July 9.
During the 2015 Women's World Cup, Krieger started all seven U.S. matches, including the final in which the former two-time NSCAA All-American played every minute and recorded a shot in the 48th minute.
Naeher earned her first cap with the U.S. WNT at the International Tournament of Brasilia in 2014. She has trained with the senior team since 2009, and helped the U.S. U-20 WNT win the 2008 FIFA Women's World Cup, where she won the Golden Glove as the tournament's best goalkeeper.
A three-time NSCAA All-American at Penn State, Naeher ranks second in career saves (359), shutouts (30), minutes played (7,953) and she ranks third with 59 wins.