Christian Heritage graduate turns desire into recent success
Goalkeeper coach Paul DelloStritto didn’t have to glance at his phone to know who was calling him. For seven years, he’d had the same conversation with the same person as he drove home from work.
“You want to train tomorrow?” he recalls Alyssa Naeher asking time and time again.
The Connecticut native was desperate to improve, taking advantage of DelloStritto’s daily reminder: “Just call and let me know,” he’d say at the end of each morning training session.
Naeher’s hunger and dedication was enough to keep her calling night after night, regularly training five to six days a week with DelloStritto, who owns and coaches at Bravo Goalkeeping. It’s that drive, paired with her athleticism and intelligence, that’s taken her to the biggest stage of her career.
On Tuesday, Naeher, who grew up in Seymour and Stratford and attended Christian Heritage Academy in Trumbull, will be the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s national team in its first game of the 2019 Women’s World Cup. She’s become a source of pride not only for DelloStritto, but for the entire soccer community of Connecticut. She’s a former high school All-American who also excelled in basketball, scoring over 2,000 points in high school.
“Alyssa is an exemplary role model for all of our young players both male and female,” said Connecticut Junior Soccer Association executive director Josh Krusewski. “Alyssa simply puts her head down and goes to work, outworking most everybody, no excuses, no drama or spotlight needed.”
Naeher has been in the spotlight in the days leading up to the first U.S. game, which will come against Thailand at 3 p.m. Naeher, 24-3-3 as a starter, has been the goalkeeper for the U.S. since after the 2016 Olympics. She replaced Hope Solo, one of the top goalkeepers in U.S. history, and remains untested in the Olympics and World Cup.
Solo’s predecessor, Briana Scurry, recently pointed to goalkeeper as a question mark for the U.S. while at a reunion for national team players. Scurry helped the U.S. to a World Cup win in 1999.
“There’s one difference this World Cup team has, the U.S.A., that no other team previously has had, and that’s a question mark at the goalkeeper position,” she told The Philadelphia Inquirer. Scurry later clarified that it is yet to be seen how Naeher will handle the spotlight.
“I stay focused on me,” Naeher told reporters when asked about Scurry’s statement. “And I am trying to be my best version of myself every single day. I compare myself to who I was yesterday and try to be better each day. I don’t compare to anything else. I try to be Alyssa, and that’s all I can control.”
Worrying only about what she can control was the theme recently when asked about comments made by Solo that were critical of U.S. coach Jill Ellis. Asked about the comments Naeher did what goalies do best — deflected.
“Obviously (Solo) had an incredible legacy,” Naeher told reporters in France. “She was a great player for this team, and she was a great goalkeeper. She represented this team for a very long time at a high level, and she was one of the best goalkeepers in the world for a long time. I have a lot of respect for the career she had.”
DelloStritto said the opportunity to play on a big stage is one Naeher has been preparing for her whole life. While her athleticism jumped out to everyone who watched her in her younger years, it was her dedication and knowledge of the position growing up that impressed her coach.
“She just got it, and she got it really quickly,” DelloStritto said. “She’s mentally tough, and she was really interested in the position. I was lucky enough to spend so much time with her and see her grow through the years, and it was only because she was really interested in being the best. She loved the position, and she wanted to hear the information that I wanted to tell her. That went on for seven years, and never once did she get tired of it or did we slow down.”
Naeher’s career never slowed down, either. She made the U16, U17, U19, U20 and U23 national teams, was a three-time All-American at Penn State and was drafted 11th overall by the Boston Breakers in the 2010 draft. Naeher, who now plays for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League, was named the 2014 NWSL goalkeeper of the year and shortly after secured a spot on the 2015 World Cup roster as a backup to Solo.
She returned to Connecticut in July 2018 for a game at Rentschler Field against Australia.
Naeher has earned the praise of her coach, while DelloStritto points to Naeher’s personality as a reason she should succeed during the World Cup.
“This is one of the best parts about her. She’s got a very calm demeanor,” DelloStritto said. “She’s not an emotional roller coaster. She’s very calm and composed. She’s very calm under pressure. It’s who she is.
“I think everybody’s going to get to see what she can do, and I’m not sure anybody really knows as well as I know. I’m looking at it like ‘Wait until they see.’ ”