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.
Former Stanford stars Naomi Girma, Alana Cook, Kelly O’Hara, Sophia Smith and Andi Sullivan have all returned to their college home of Cagan Stadium to practice ahead of Sunday’s tune-up friendly against Wales in San Jose.
“It’s been such a joy,” Sullivan said on Wednesday of returning to the Bay Area. “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 has been training at Stanford since Monday, but the Cardinal quintet has been in the Bay Area since Saturday, when the five were at Stanford Stadium for the San Jose Earthquakes’ rivalry match against the LA Galaxy. O’Hara and Girma 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.
Kelley O’Hara
Stanford University, Class of 2010 pic.twitter.com/TKne1CmMeJ— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) July 3, 2023
Of course, it doesn’t hurt the ex-Cardinal stars to remind college foes turned international teammates, like Cal alum Alex Morgan, former Santa Clara stars Julie Ertz and Sofia Huerta or others from Pac-12 schools, about past battles.
Even USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski made a crack about the former rivals of Stanford struggling at Cagan Stadium, Sullivan said.
“I just have a lot of wins and a lot of good memories here,” she added.
Have the former Cardinal players 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 send-off match in front of an expected sold-out crowd at San Jose’s PayPal Park. Andonovski said his first visit to the region has been “amazing” so far — though it surely won’t be his last, as the NWSL will add 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.”
“I’m home!”
🌲 Stanford’s own @sophsssmith pic.twitter.com/PaJwylwAfS
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) July 3, 2023
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.
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 Area, she mainly looked up to the region’s strong college programs. Stanford has reached nine of the last 15 College Cups and won three national titles (2011, 2017, 2019). 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.
The Cardinal’s current influence on the USWNT runs beyond just the current five: Alyssa Thompson, Angel City’s 18-year-old forward, was committed to Stanford until she turned pro immediately after high school. And the roster likely would have included other Stanford alums — like Menlo Park native Tierna Davidson, Catarina Macario and Christen Press — if they weren’t recovering from injuries.
Still, making arguably the world’s toughest 23-player roster is an achievement not to be taken lightly, as the USWNT seeks its third consecutive World Cup title next month in Sydney. While each player’s focus is on that ultimate goal in Australia and New Zealand, where they’ll head after Sunday’s match, the return to The Farm allows for an emotional journey on the way.
“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.”
