U.S. National Women’s Soccer team players Andi Sullivan, Kelley O’Hara, Alana Cook, Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma attend the San Jose Earthquakes match against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Saturday, July 1, 2023, in Stanford, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
STANFORD — For five members of the United States women’s national team, this week of training in the Bay Area represents more than preparation for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup later this month.
It’s a homecoming for San Jose native Naomi Girma, Alana Cook, Kelly O’Hara, Sophia Smith and Andi Sullivan, it’s a return to their college home of Stanford and Cagan Stadium.
“It’s been such a joy,” Sullivan said on Wednesday. “I haven’t been back in many years. It’s beautiful, it really boosts my mood, hopefully it’s boosting my teammates’ moods as well. But it’s been really nice.”
Girma, who attended Pioneer High School in San Jose before coming north to Palo Alto, added, “There’s nothing like Stanford, and it’s so nice being so close to San Jose, too. I’ve loved our time in the Bay so far.”
The team’s been training at Stanford since Monday, but the Cardinal quartet have been in the Bay Area since the weekend, when they were at Stanford Stadium for the San Jose Earthquakes’ rivalry match against the LA Galaxy on Saturday. O’Hara and Girma even sounded the Earthquakes’ siren before the match.
It’s clear, then, that the return to The Farm has brought all five a healthy dose of joy. Smith remarked “I’m home” on social media, and the USWNT feeds also showed O’Hara dancing on the team bus as the Stanford fight song, “All Right Now” by the band Free, blared from the back of the bus.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to remind current teammates that used to be foes, like Cal alum Alex Morgan, former Santa Clara stars Julie Ertz and Sofia Huerta or others from Pac-12 schools, about past battles, either.
“[USWNT coach] Vlatko [Andonovski] was joking before training one day and saying, ‘Well, not many teams have beaten Stanford on this field,’ so I just have a lot of wins and a lot of good memories here,” Sullivan said. “They haven’t complained too much.”
Have they heard any chirping back? “No,” Girma said before adding with a laugh, “It’s hard to smack talk Stanford.”
The team will continue training at Stanford throughout the week ahead of Sunday’s lone send-off match, when the U.S. will face Wales in front of an expected sold out crowd at San Jose’s PayPal Park. Andonovski said his first time in the region has been “amazing” so far — though it surely won’t be his last, with the NWSL adding Bay FC to its league next season.
“I’ve heard so many good things, and obviously now with Bay FC coming in, we see that there is such strong support for women’s soccer,” Andonovski said. “We want to be there for them and we hope to put up a good show.”
The match in San Jose will also complete the true homecoming weekend for Girma. The 23-year-old said her mom requested 20 tickets for Girma’s first USWNT in her home state, and she’s likely to have many more family and friends in the stands.
And while the likely starter for the USWNT recently signed an extension with the NWSL’s San Diego Wave, she’s excited that Bay FC’s entrance into the NWSL will give her more chances to play at home.
“The expansion teams in California have been so successful. Angel City and San Diego, we’ve done a great job of growing the league, bringing more followers and getting out in our community,” Girma said. “I’m excited that there’s a team here now for a lot of young girls playing soccer here in the Bay to look up to, and I’m excited to have a game at home every year.”
Girma said when she was growing up in the Bay, she mainly looked up to the region’s strong college programs. Santa Clara has made 12 College Cups (soccer’s Final Four) and won two national titles, and Cal made three of the first seven College Cups.
But in recent years, it’s been Stanford taking over as one of the sport’s best programs. The Cardinal has reached nine of the last 15 College Cups and won three national titles (2011, 2017, 2019).
The Cardinal’s current influence on the USWNT runs beyond just the current five, too. 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson was committed to Stanford before deciding to turn pro immediately after high school. And the roster could have other Stanford alums — like Menlo Park native Tierna Davidson, Catarina Macario and Christen Press — if they weren’t recovering from injuries.
Still, being one of the 23 players on arguably the hardest roster to make is an achievement not to be taken lightly. And while the focus is on preparing to try and win their third title in a row down in New Zealand in Australia, the return back to The Farm is allowing for the journey here.
“It just gives me immense gratitude for my time here,” Sullivan said. “Because I know that the program and the school really prepared me to step on to the next level and the next level after that.”
Originally published at Alex Simon