NAEHER ALYSSA

• Alyssa Michele Naeher majored in kinesiology at Penn State University.


• She has a twin sister named Amanda, who was a standout forward at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., and one of the all-time leading scorers in NCAA Division III history.


• Her younger sister Abigail attended Samford University and she and her husband Matt had their first child (Judah) on the night of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final.


• Enjoys doing a crossword puzzle every morning with her coffee.


• Huge fan of the New England Patriots.


• Ice cream is her guilty pleasure, especially mint chocolate chip.

Sister Logic
As kids, Alyssa’s twin sister Amanda was, conveniently, a forward. That resulted in the two sisters out in the yard for hours, Amanda taking shots on Alyssa, who stood in front of whatever makeshift goal they’d come up with – usually the garage door or the underside of the stairs.

“When we were kids, we thought we had twin powers – one person gets hurt, you’d think, ‘Oh, I think I feel it too,’” said Naeher. “My parents told us that when we were babies, we’d just sit up in our cribs talking to each other for hours.”

The Naeher sisters were four–years-old at their first practice, and they were excited. They rushed out of the car and Amanda accidentally slammed the heavy, monstrous door on Alyssa’s hand. It turned black and blue, her nails falling off. As Alyssa screamed in pain, Amanda consoled her and said, “Good thing you don’t use your hands in soccer.”

Alyssa jokingly says that she partially became a ‘keeper because of the getup. Alyssa’s father was the high school soccer coach, which meant Amanda and Alyssa were the ball girls. The reward for helping shag balls for the year was a trip to the local soccer store. Both sisters were allowed to pick something out. “I wanted something different. I liked the idea that I could wear a different shirt from everyone else.”  I remember picking out my first gloves, blue and white – I still have them.”