Still, they weathered a rollercoaster ride at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After a stunning 3-0 loss to Sweden in their first game, the team snapped back with a decisive 6-1 win against New Zealand before their third Olympic match ended in a 0-0 tie with Australia. That draw against the Aussies was enough to earn USWNT a spot in the Olympics quarterfinals, and then on July 30, they got past the Netherlands in a nail-biter that ended in a penalty shootout to advance to the semifinals. Unfortunately, Team USA then went scoreless against Canada in the semis, losing 1-0—an outcome that star player Megan Rapinoe described thusly: “It sucks.” In the end, though, the USWNT put on an exuberant display of teamwork in their bronze-medal match, a repeat performance against Australia that ended with the U.S. claiming victory, 4-3. No matter what happens on the field, though, the USWNT has long made it their business to make a name for themselves off the field as well. For years, they’ve been outspoken in their quest to achieve equal pay with the U.S. men’s national soccer team—all while racking up media appearances and endorsement deals aplenty thanks to their outspokenness, their relatability and their all-around charm. Ready to get to know these ladies a little better? Here’s a handy look at the bronze medal-winning U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team roster.
Megan Rapinoe
With her sheer athleticism, her uncanny soccer instincts, her political activism and her flashy choices in hair dye, Rapinoe may be one of the most famous soccer players ever. She’s also one of the most decorated; in 2019 alone, she was named FIFA Women’s Player of the Year and won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball Awards at that year’s World Cup. The 36-year-old forward (whose fans often call her “Pinoe” for short) is a former USWNT captain and a current captain of the National Women’s Soccer League’s OL Reign, the women’s pro soccer franchise based in Tacoma, Washington. She has been a key actor during the USWNT’s ongoing pay discrimination campaign and was one of the first white athletes to follow ColinKaepernick’s lead by kneeling during the national anthem—even Twitter-feuding with the former president about it. When it comes to her personal life, Rapinoe is also one-half of a real-life Olympic power couple. Fans coo over her adorable romance with fiancée—and fellow Olympic gold medal winner—Sue Bird; the soccer superstar and basketball powerhouse got engaged in October 2020, with Bird sharing a pic of the happy moment on Instagram. In June 2021, Victoria’s Secret announced that Rapinoe was one of seven role models named to the brand’s new VS Collective, a coterie of brand ambassadors tapped to replace their long-running lineup of “Angels” supermodels.
Alyssa Naeher
The star of the team’s victory over the Netherlands in the Olympic quarterfinals, goalkeeper Naeher was also the starting goalie for the USWNT during their 2019 World Cup victory run; when she’s not playing for USWNT, she’s also on the pro roster of the Chicago Red Stars. A Penn State alum, the 33-year-old also has a twin sister, Amanda Naeher, who likewise played college soccer.
Kristie and Samantha Mewis
The Mewis family doesn’t just have one athlete in the Olympic Games; they have two! Massachusetts natives Kristie Mewis, 30, and Samantha Mewis, 28, beat all kinds of odds to become the first sisters to compete in soccer at a world-championship level. They’re both midfielders who also play professionally in the NWSL, and while they enjoy playing together, they’ve been competitive with each other since they were kids. “I’m sure it was pretty annoying for Kristie to always have me tagging along and trying to beat her at everything,” younger sister Sam recently told CBS This Morning. “But it was the best development and the best challenge I could’ve asked for.” Samantha played college soccer at UCLA and married longtime beau Pat Johnson in 2018, while Kristie played at Boston College and previously dated one of her NWSL teammates, RachelDaly.
Alex Morgan
Unlike many athletes, the delay of the Tokyo Games worked in Alex Morgan’s favor. The 32-year-old—who plays pro soccer for the Orlando Pride and married fellow UC-Berkeley alum and soccer player ServandoCarrasco on New Year’s Eve in 2014—gave birth to her first child, daughter Charlie, in May 2020. The timing of Charlie’s arrival meant Morgan likely would have missed out on the Games if they were held in 2020 as originally planned. Luckily, she’s now able to compete with the team and show people what a mom can do.“I’m here representing all the future moms and I’m trying to show that we can do it all as challenging as it is,” she said in an interview earlier this year. Morgan has also been making news for speaking up about the need for some Olympic athletes to breastfeed their babies in Tokyo. A week before she was scheduled to travel to Tokyo for the Games, she tweeted, “I have not been contacted about being able to bring my daughter with me to Japan and we leave in 7 days… We are Olympic mothers telling you, it is NECESSARY.” Ultimately, Morgan made the trip to Tokyo without Charlie, posting an adorable pic of the two and captioning it, “I’m going to miss my baby girl so much this month. Charlie girl, I’ll make it worth it!” Like Rapinoe, Morgan has racked up major endorsement deals off the field. She was one of the athletes asked to model KimKardashian’s Skims collection that was designed especially for female Olympians. You also may have caught her cameo on the Nickelodeon show Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn!
Carli Lloyd
At 39 years old, Lloyd is the oldest team member the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team has ever had. “As long as I’ve given it everything I have in training sessions and games, and been the best version of myself, that’s really all I can ask for,” Lloyd told NPR in June. “The rest is sort of out of my control. That’s been my mindset throughout my entire career.” Clearly, age is just a number of Lloyd, and here’s another one: 10. That’s how many goals Lloyd has now scored at the Olympics over the course of her career—including the two she notched during Team USA’s bronze-medal win at the 2020 Olympics. That feat earned Lloyd the record for the most career Olympic goals by a female American soccer player. Lloyd is a Jersey girl all the way: She was raised in Delran Township, New Jersey, played college soccer at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and currently plays pro soccer for the NY/NJ Gotham FC. She and her husband, golfer Brian Hollins, currently live in the Garden State town of Mount Laurel. Lloyd has repped a wide array of brands, including Whole Foods, United Airlines and Visa. In 2015, she was one of several A-list athletes—including NFL icons Rob Gronkowski and Odell Beckham Jr. and fellow soccer star Sydney Leroux—to star in Nike’s famous “Snow Day” ad. Whenever her soccer career finally comes to an end, Lloyd has toyed with the idea of pivoting to the gridiron! In 2019, Lloyd went viral when she was caught on camera drilling a 55-yard field goal during an NFL joint practice between the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens. She claimed soon after that she’d received some “pretty serious” offers to kick in NFL games.
Julie Ertz
The 29-year-old midfielder from Arizona—and wife of Philadelphia Eagle footballer Zach Ertz—was named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in both 2017 and 2019. When she first joined the USWNT, she was one of the youngest players on the roster. “There are so many great players and the selection pool is big, so you have to give it your all every day,” Ertz said about the team earlier this month. “It develops you into a player who will be ready for anything that comes your way. Everyone is at their best, and there’s a standard that is always set from the second you come in.”
Becky Sauerbrunn
Current team captain Becky Sauerbrunn grew up in St. Louis, played college soccer at the University of Virginia and has since been a member of several pro franchises, including FC Kansas City, the Utah Royals and her current team, the Portland Thorns FC. In a 2017 profile, Sauerbrunn revealed that she lived with boyfriend Zola Short had a cat named after rapper Missy Elliott, stating, “I loved soccer and cats equally when I was growing up.” (Likewise, she describes herself in her Twitter bio as an “avid reader, moviegoer, soccer watcher, coffee drinker and cat lover.”)
Rose Lavelle
This may be Rose Lavelle’s first time playing for Team USA at the Olympics, but the 26-year-old midfielder is already a star in soccer circles. She made a name for herself at the 2019 Women’s World Cup finals when she scored one of the two goals that won the USWNT the title—a feat that earned her the event’s Bronze Ball trophy. Rapinoe, who’s also Lavelle’s teammate on the OL Reign, scored the other goal for Team USA in that final.
Tobin Heath
Comeback kid Tobin Heath had been out of commission for months with nagging knee and ankle injuries before she came onto the field during the U.S. team’s pre-Olympics match against Mexico on July 1, 2021—and proceeded to wow the world by scoring a goal from 36 yards out on her very first play of the game! After growing up in New Jersey and winning three Division I women’s soccer national championships with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, Heath has played pro soccer in both the U.S. and Europe. The 33-year-old is going for her third Olympic gold medal with Team USA this year after winning in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London. A devout Christian, Heath has reportedly been in a long-term relationship for years with teammate Christen Press. On social media, their fans ‘ship them as #Preath!
Christen Press
Besides being one half of the aforementioned #Preath, Press also signed with the UK’s Manchester United Women team alongside Heath in 2020. But wait, there’s more! Press and Heath also teamed up with teammate Rapinoe and former USWNT member Meghan Klingenberg to launch a gender-neutral lifestyle brand called called Re-inc, offering everything from beach towels and blankets to skateboards and candles.
How many players are on the USWNT?
The International Olympic Committee changed a rule this year, so the four alternates on the women’s soccer team—Jane Campbell, Casey Krueger, Catarina Macario and Lynn Williams—join the active roster, making 22 players total. On game day, 18 players are selected.
Who is on the United States Women’s National Soccer Team roster?
The current USWNT roster that’s representing Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics includes the following 22 players:
Alyssa Naeher
Adrianna French
Jane Campbell
Crystal Dunn
Becky Sauerbrunn
Kelley O’Hara
Tierna Davidson
Emily Sonnett
Abby Dahlkemper
Casey Krueger
Sam Mewis
Kristie Mewis
Julie Ertz
Lindsey Horan
Rose Lavelle
Catarina Macario
Tobin Heath
Carli Lloyd
Christen Press
Alex Morgan
Megan Rapinoe
Lynn Williams
How to watch the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team at the 2020 Olympics
The Olympic games are playing on NBC and NBC-affiliated channels, including NBCSN and the Olympic Channel. You can also watch on the Peacock streaming service. The quarterfinals, semifinals and final matches will air from August 1 to August 6; check out the official NBC schedule to find out the right time and channel. Next, find out how much Team USA athletes earn for winning Olympic medals!
