Brian Koonz: Naeher's soccer journey will take her to World Cup

Recommended Video:

Send a soccer ball Alyssa Naeher's way and her hands become like sparklers on the Fourth of July.

They dart and they swirl, and pretty soon, all you see is a glowing tail where her hands used to be.

And a soccer ball slapped out of danger.

These same hands, the ones that have carried Naeher from Seymour to Penn State to the Boston Breakers, will now carry her to Canada for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup this summer.

Naeher is one of three goalkeepers on Team USA's 23-player roster. She is joined by Hope Solo, the anointed starter from the Seattle Reign playing in her third World Cup, and Ashlyn Harris from the Washington Spirit.

"It's a tremendous honor and a privilege to play with this team and represent the U.S. at this level," Naeher, 27, said from Boston. "I was home last weekend, and to feel the love and support of so many people, it just means everything to me.

"They've watched me ever since I was that little girl with the big dream. They've been there for the whole journey the last 20 years, so they're as invested in this as I am."

As training camp closed a few weeks ago, and Team USA coach Jill Ellis incubated a World Cup roster, Naeher and her family waited.

And waited.

The suspense -- even though everyone in Seymour knew exactly what day the phone would ring -- was harder for some than others.

"I'm one of the more low-key members of my family, so for me, nothing was certain until I heard the words," Naeher said. "I felt pretty good about where I was and how I was doing, but you really don't want to get ahead of yourself."

Indeed.

It's easy to see yourself standing during the national anthem with a bumper crop of American flags dancing in a massive stadium.

It's a lot harder to see someone else standing in your spot.

So when the phone finally rang, Naeher didn't need to check the caller ID. She didn't need to clear her throat for Jill Ellis. And she especially didn't need to clear her conscience.

Alyssa Naeher had done her best. Now it was time to learn if her best was good enough for the World Cup and the No. 1 team on the planet -- unless you ask Germany, which stands atop the FIFA rankings.

"I just answered the phone and she said, `Congratulations.' Really, that was pretty much it," Naeher said. "There really isn't a lot to walk you through. It was a pretty quick phone call."

Even so, Alyssa Naeher -- one of the more low-key members of her family and the pride of Christian Heritage School in Trumbull -- couldn't hold back the sweet, luminous smile that was suddenly drawn across her face and daring to spread all the way home.

Naeher and the U.S. will open World Cup play June 8 against Australia in Group D at Winnipeg Stadium. Sweden and Nigeria are also in Group D.

Although Solo stands to play every minute of every game in goal, Naeher and Harris aren't here to be spectators. They are here to get better, to push themselves to stop first strings and second chances.

"Obviously, it's great to train with a player like Hope. She's been the best at what she does for a very long time now," Naeher said. "We all play the position a little bit differently, so I think we can all learn from each other, kind of tweaking things and modifying them a little bit to the way each of us plays."

Naeher said she expects several elite sides to challenge the U.S. at this summer's World Cup, including Germany, France, Sweden, Brazil, host Canada and 2011 World Cup champion Japan.

Naeher also expects the Americans to be the last team standing July 5 in Vancouver.

"I'm confident in what our team can do. The mindset is there. The determination is there," Naeher said. "Everybody wants to win this really, really badly. I have so much confidence in everyone on this team."

It was no different at the World Cup in 1999, only instead of holding down a roster spot, Naeher held down a seat at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Wilton's Kristine Lilly scored that day to propel the Americans to a 3-0 victory over Denmark in the opening round.

The moment was instantly imprinted in Alyssa Naeher's soccer DNA.

"I went down to the Meadowlands with my family to watch the team play. I must've been 11 or 12," Naeher said. "I remember being awestruck by the whole environment and thinking, `Wow, this is really cool.'

"That game kind of planted the seed for me. As I got older and I was going through the different levels, it became something that I saw way down the road, playing on a team like that someday," she said.

"Obviously, it was way down the road -- something that was more like a dream -- but I could still see it."

And then one day, after Jill Ellis ushered a dream into a phone, Alyssa Naeher felt like she was sitting in a chair at the eye doctor's office.

She could almost feel her eyes pressed against that device with the clicking wheels and different lenses.

Suddenly, her focus had never been sharper. And her vision had never been clearer.

All that was left, all that was ever left, was a glowing tail where her hands used to be.

Brian Koonz is the group sports columnist for Hearst Connecticut Media. Contact him at bkoonz@ctpost.com or @briankoonz on Twitter.