US goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is retiring from international soccer

U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, known for her unflappable demeanor in the face of pressure, is retiring from international soccer.

Naeher was on the team’s roster for a pair of upcoming matches in Europe but those games will be her last after a full 11 years playing for the United States.

Naeher was the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. team that won the Women’s World Cup in 2019 and the gold medal at this year’s Olympics in France. She’s the only U.S. goalkeeper to earn a shutout in both a World Cup and an Olympic final.

She made a key one-handed save in stoppage time to preserve the Americans’ 1-0 victory over Brazil in the Olympic final. Mallory Swanson, who scored the only goal, ran down the length of the field to embrace Naeher at the final whistle.

Naeher announced her retirement on social media Monday.

“Every tear shed in the challenging times and disappointments made every smile and celebration in the moments of success that much more joyful. This has been a special team to be a part of and I am beyond proud of what we have achieved both on and off the field,” she wrote. “The memories I have made over the years will last me a lifetime.”

Naeher has been known throughout her career for her calm and steady leadership. She is one of just three goalkeepers to make more than 100 appearances for the United States.

Naeher made her debut with the national team in 2014 and was a backup to Hope Solo at the 2015 World Cup, which the United States won. She became the team’s regular starter following the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and was on the squad that repeated as World Cup winners in 2019.

For her career, Naeher has appeared 113 games with 110 starts, 88 wins and 68 shutouts. She had four shutouts over the course of the Olympic tournament in France.

In all, she was on the U.S. roster for three World Cups and three Olympic teams.

The 36-year-old has also played for the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women’s Soccer League since 2016. She plans to play for Chicago next season.

The United States is headed to Europe for a match against England at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and on Dec. 3 against Netherlands in The Hague.

In addition to her save at the Olympics, Naeher has had many other memorable moments. In the 2019 Women’s World Cup semifinals against England, she stopped Steph Houghton’s penalty kick in the 83rd minute. The Americans won 2-1 before downing the Netherlands 2-0 in the final.

Earlier this year in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, Naeher made three saves during a penalty shootout with Canada and also converted a penalty kick herself — tucking the ball neatly into the corner of the net.

Afterward she said: “Winning is the best feeling.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer