Naomi Girma

Naomi Haile Girma (/ˈɡərmə/ GER-mə;[7] born June 14, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for San Diego Wave FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2022 NWSL Draft.

Naomi Girma
Girma with the San Diego Wave in 2023
Personal information
Full name Naomi Haile Girma[1]
Date of birth (2000-06-14) June 14, 2000[2]
Place of birth San Jose, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[3]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 San Diego Wave
Number 4
Youth career
2010–2017[4] Central Valley Crossfire
2015–2018[5][6] Pioneer HS Mustangs
2016–2018 De Anza Force
2016–2018 California Thorns FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 Stanford Cardinal 68 (8)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– San Diego Wave 32 (0)
International career‡
2016 United States U17
2017 United States U19
2017–2020 United States U20
2022– United States 23 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 24, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of October 26, 2023

Girma has represented the United States on the under-17, under-19 and under-20 national teams, and was named U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year in 2020. In 2019, she captained the Stanford Cardinal to win the Women's College Cup.

In 2020, Girma won 2020 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year honors. She was named NWSL Defender of the Year and NWSL Rookie of the Year in 2022.

Early life and education

Girma was born in San Jose, California, to parents Girma Aweke and Seble Demissie, both Ethiopian immigrants who met in the Bay Area.[8][4][9] She has one brother, Nathaniel, who is three years older. Her family speaks both Amharic and English.[4][9]

As a youth, Girma played for a local club her father formed for the Bay Area Ethiopian community in 2005, dubbed the Maleda Soccer Club, and attended Hacienda Elementary School and YMCA after-school basketball matches, following her brother's lead in sports.[4][9] She also practiced gymnastics for five years before settling on soccer in middle school.[9] After impressing coaches in 2009 during a practice to which she was invited by a friend, Girma played for a local youth club, Central Valley Crossfire, from 2010 until its dissolution in 2017. At Crossfire, playing under coach Bob Joyce, Girma was encouraged to participate in Olympic Development Program events and was called into the United States U-14 national team camp. She subsequently became a guest player for De Anza Force,[4] and also played for the California Thorns Academy[3][10][9] and Pioneer High School.[8][9]

Collegiate career

Girma played collegiate soccer for the Stanford Cardinal and captained the team to win the 2019 Women's College Cup.[3][4] She missed the early part of the 2021 season after tearing her ACL.[11][4] During her recovery, she applied to and was accepted into the Mayfield Fellows Program for entrepreneurship at Stanford.[4] In December 2021, Girma decided to forgo her remaining collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2022 NWSL Draft.[12] She graduated from Stanford in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in symbolic systems[13] and continued pursuing a master's degree in management science and engineering at Stanford after becoming a professional soccer player.[4]

Club career

San Diego Wave FC selected Girma as the first pick of the 2022 NWSL Draft.[4][14][15] She was named to the NWSL Best XI of the Month in May and June 2022[16][17] and earned NWSL Rookie of the Month honors in June.[17] At the end of the season, she was named both NWSL Defender of the Year and NWSL Rookie of the Year.[18]

On June 14, 2023, Wave FC announced that it had signed Girma to a new contract through 2026.[19]

International career
External video
video icon ESPN: Naomi’s Girma’s journey to the USWNT retrieved July 23, 2023

Girma has competed on the United States under-17, under-19 and under-20 and senior national teams.[3] She captained the under-20 team to win the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship under head coach Laura Harvey.[4][20] In December 2020, Girma won the 2020 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award.[4][20][21][22]

Girma with the U.S. national team and Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, July 2023
Girma with the U.S. national team and Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, July 2023

Girma received her first call-up to the United States senior team in December 2019 but had to withdraw due to injury.[23] She was called up again in October 2020.[24][25] She debuted for the senior national team on April 12, 2022, in an international friendly against Uzbekistan.[26] She also appeared in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, and registered an assist on a goal by Sophia Smith against Jamaica during the tournament.[27]

In June 2023, Girma was named to the US squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.[28] She was a starting defender during the team's first group stage match against Vietnam: a 3–0 shutout.[29] During the first half, she started the sequence that led to the U.S.' second goal by lobbing the ball into the box to Alex Morgan who headed it to scorer Sophia Smith.[29]

Career statistics

Club
As of June 24, 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Playoffs[lower-alpha 2] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
San Diego Wave FC 2022 NWSL 1906020270
2023 13020—150
Career total 3208020420
  1. Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup
  2. Includes NWSL Playoffs

International
As of match played October 26, 2023
National TeamYearAppsGoals
United States 2022100
2023130
Total230

Honors

Stanford Cardinal

United States

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA U-20 Women's WC France 2018 – List of Players: USA" (PDF). FIFA. August 24, 2018. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  2. "Naomi Girma | USWNT | U.S. Soccer Official Site". www.ussoccer.com.
  3. "Naomi Girma – Women's Soccer". Stanford Cardinal.
  4. Oxenham, Gwendolyn (June 29, 2022). "The Support System That Sparked a USWNT Opportunity". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  5. Wehrung, Zara (February 1, 2015). "Freshman Soccer Star". Pioneer Pony Express. Vol. 55, no. 4. p. 7. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  6. Marcus, Isabella; McBride, Samantha (February 24, 2018). "Girls soccer to face Pioneer in CCS open division". The Paly Voice. Palo Alto High School. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  7. Naomi Girma (profile) – San Diego Wave FC. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  8. "Stanford soccer captain Naomi Girma is a product of her Ethiopian roots". myScience. May 29, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  9. Woitalla, Mike (May 29, 2020). "Rising U.S. star Naomi Girma on prepping for postponed U-20 World Cup, virtual team-building, and falling in love with soccer with a free-play start". Soccer America. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  10. Medrano, Sofia (July 26, 2022). "Where the New Age of the USWNT Played Club Soccer". Girls Soccer Network. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  11. "Women's soccer looking for win to open 2021 season". The Stanford Daily. February 19, 2021.
  12. @naomi_girma (December 16, 2021). "Thank you, Stanford 🖤" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. Krasovic, Tom (December 23, 2021). "Naomi Girma captained national champs, earned degree". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  14. Hruby, Emma (December 18, 2021). "San Diego Wave FC selects Naomi Girma with No. 1 pick of college draft". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  15. Booth, Chuck; Herrera, Sandra (December 19, 2021). "NWSL Draft results, trade tracker: San Diego Wave take Naomi Girma with No. 1 pick; OL Reign make four trades". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  16. Spiering, Chris (June 9, 2022). "NWSL awards SD Wave with three monthly honors". East Village Times. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  17. Rodriguez, Alicia (June 9, 2022). "San Diego Wave FC's Naomi Girma voted NWSL Rookie of the Month". LAG Confidential. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  18. "San Diego Wave FC Defender Naomi Girma Named 2022 NWSL Rookie of the Year, Presented by Ally". NWSL Soccer. October 27, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  19. Hernandez, Cesar (June 14, 2023). "USWNT's Naomi Girma renews San Diego Wave FC contract through 2026". ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  20. "Naomi Girma Voted 2020 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. December 21, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  21. "U.S. SOCCER HONORS: Girma named young female player of the year". Front Row Soccer. December 21, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  22. Shaw, Sydney (January 19, 2021). "Stanford's Naomi Girma is staying focused on present". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  23. "USWNT: December 2019 Identification Camp Roster Announced (Overview)". December 3, 2019.
  24. Herrera, Sandra (October 9, 2020). "Vlatko Andonovski's USWNT camp roster features NWSL mainstays and Brazil-born Stanford star Catarina Macario". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  25. Shaw, Sydney (October 19, 2020). "Stanford's Naomi Girma on National Team Camp and Using Her Platform". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  26. Kassouf, Jeff (April 14, 2022). "Naomi Girma is not your average rookie". The Equalizer. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  27. Rodriguez, Alicia (July 13, 2022). "For club and country, Naomi Girma is legit". LAG Confidential. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  28. "Morgan and Rapinoe named in USA World Cup squad". BBC Sport.
  29. "Morgan Earns an Assist and Girma Secures Defensive Shutout in USA's Win Against Vietnam in 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup". Our Sports Central. July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  30. Das, Andrew (July 19, 2022). "U.S. Women Beat Canada to Claim Spot in Paris Olympics". The New York Times.
  31. "TSG reveals CU17W Best XI, Awards". CONCACAF. March 14, 2016. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  32. Herrera, Sandra (February 22, 2023). "USWNT vs. Brazil score: USA win SheBelieves Cup with Alex Morgan and Mallory Swanson dominating in attack". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  33. "Dumornay, Lavelle and Shaw headline CMU20 Best XI". CONCACAF. July 19, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  34. "NWSL Announces Winners of Mastercard Best XI Awards". NWSL Soccer. November 3, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  35. "Pac-12 announces 2021 women's soccer All-Conference honors" (Press release). Pac-12. November 12, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
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