Here is a story about the time Sydney Leroux wanted to jump off a cliff.

It was in Hawaii a few years ago. Leroux and many other players on the United States women’s national soccer team were attending the wedding of their teammate Abby Wambach. One afternoon, Leroux heard about a nearby ledge on a bluff from which interested divers could leap. The drop was sheer, more than 50 feet to the water below. Leroux grabbed her best friend on the team, Alex Morgan, and dragged her toward the precipice.

“Let’s jump!” Leroux said as Morgan eyed the edge warily.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Morgan replied. “This is crazy.” Leroux looked disappointed. Morgan peered around.

“Look,” Morgan said finally. “There are some boys over there. Let’s make them jump first just to be sure, O.K.?”

Leroux and Morgan like this story because it is, in many ways, emblematic of their relationship. On a team that is still largely defined by its veterans — Wambach, Hope Solo, Christie Rampone, Megan Rapinoe — Morgan, 25, and Leroux, 24, are the leading edge of a younger generation of stars, two goal-scorers who have developed a deep friendship that encompasses a shared spirit of adventure, a common interest in social media and even the occasional awkward reality that one’s success on the field might take away playing time from the other.