11/26/2024
For many, the dream of representing their country at the peak of their sport is just that – a dream. But for Alyssa Naeher, the visions of playing for Team USA that began in the gyms and on the fields of Christian Heritage School in Trumbull, Connecticut have become a reality and seen her travel the world representing her country, her family and her community.
A two-time World Cup Winner, Naeher was the 2024 recipient of The Martin William Souders Memorial Award, presented annually to a graduate of a NEPSAC school who has made a distinguished record in sports and who has since made a distinguished record in life through high ideals, leadership and accomplishments.
Naeher’s athletic journey began at Christian Heritage where her father, John, was the Athletic Director and member of the faculty.
“Alyssa and her sisters have great memories of being four-, five-, six, seven-year-old little girls having carte blanche in the gym,” John recalls. “With all the keys and getting whatever equipment they wanted out during snow days. They grew up at Christian Heritage.”
Alyssa attended Christian Heritage from kindergarten through graduation and has found that the community that supported her for those formative years have remained present as her career has grown.
“There’s a group of six of us, including my sister, that we all went kindergarten through 12th grade all the way together,” Alyssa said. “We still will get back together and it is like no time has passed. Having those friendships to rely on and go back to means a great deal to me.
“I feel like so many people from CHS have felt so connected to my journey and they are – I was basically walking around in diapers there! So many former teachers and classmates have followed along and supported me throughout my whole career.”
Alyssa was a multi-sport star at Christian Heritage, amassing more than 2,000 points on the basketball court in addition to earning All-State, All-Conference, and All-American honors on the soccer field. Growing up in Connecticut, basketball was her first love as she watched and attended countless UConn women’s basketball games, but at a certain point it became clear that her athletic future was on the soccer field.
“In high school we began to see soccer as a sport that they had a natural propensity toward,” John said. “But she had a goalie coach probably her seventh or eighth grade year that began to notice she had some special talent and wanted to work with her. We appreciated the vote of confidence but it wasn’t something we felt we could afford. Within a week he got back to us and said ‘she is too special to not get this training, so I would like to work with her at no cost.’”
With the specialized training – as well as a training partner in her twin sister Amanda, who herself was a two-time Division III National Player of the Year at Messiah College and remains the school’s all-time leader in points – Alyssa’s development took off, eventually earning her a scholarship offer to Penn State. She made 74 starts for the Nittany Lions, posting a 50-19-5 record with 24 shutouts en route to a pair of All-American nods.
An injury during her junior season that lingered throughout her senior year threatened to derail her ascent within the United States Women’s National team setup. Alyssa received the Golden Glove award for the top goalkeeper at the 2008 U-20 World Cup in North Korea, but following the injury found herself further down the pecking order at the National Team camps.
“At that moment in time before that injury, she was the Hope Solo heir apparent and then all of a sudden she’s number five or six and not getting the call ups,” John remembers. “During that time she was playing for the Boston Breakers and had the opportunity to play for Tony DiCicco, and he always saw something in her.”
Alyssa kept at it, playing for the Breakers and then for Turbine Potsdam in Germany before getting into the fold with the USWNT in 2014 and has remained a fixture ever since. After making the roster for the 2015 World Cup in Canada and 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil as a backup, Alyssa ascended to the number one spot and has maintained that role ever since.
Since taking the reins as the starting goalkeeper, Alyssa has appeared in two World Cups, two Olympics, and the inaugural CONCACAF Gold Cup in the summer of 2024. She has also been a part of the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League since 2016 and has had a front-row seat to that league’s growth and role in the dialogue around professional women’s sports at large.
“I think the dialogue right now about professional women’s sports has never been more present or larger,” Alyssa said. “It’s been an amazing last few years to see just the growth and evolution of women’s sports and the investment in the WNBA and in our league gives young women something to aspire to and dream of. For so long it was just the World Cup and the Olympics and that is obviously still the peak and everyone’s goal. But you now have the ability to play professionally and make a career and make a living that way as well, which is incredible.”
A fun development on that front has been the inclusion of the NWSL and many other women’s professional leagues in the annual EA Sports FC video game, the top-selling sports video game in the world.
“Yeah, I think it’s fun just to be able to be in a video game and be either your team or yourself. I have had some of my younger family members, cousins and different things talk about playing as me or our team, which I think it’s great. It may seem insignificant to a lot of people, but I think for us and just for the broader sports landscape, I think it’s huge.”
Alyssa and the Red Stars wrapped up their season as the No. 8 seed in the NWSL Playoffs where they were knocked out by top-seeded Orlando Pride. Back in March Alyssa became the first goalkeeper in league history to reach 50 wins with one club, adding another plaudit to her already full cabinet.
Reflecting on the journey Alyssa has been on since graduating from Christian Heritage in 2006, John is thankful she was able to have the experience she had at CHS.
“We got a lot of criticism as parents when she and Amanda were in seventh and eighth grade in regards to, hey, they shouldn’t be in such a small school,” John recalled. “But we felt very strongly about the foundation and values that Christian Heritage would give our girls and believed that if they were truly good enough something would open up for them, and it did.”
Alyssa concurred.
“I think a lot of kids today feel the pressure to go to a bigger school or seek out a bigger program, but I loved my experience at Christian Heritage,” Alyssa said. “The value of a small community where people are invested in you and you can play multiple sports and learn the skills in time management that really help you at the next level and in your professional life.”
ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Please view the awards ceremony here.
Please view the photo gallery here.
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