This is the sixth and final part in a six-part WTOP series, Beltway to Brazil, featuring local athletes headed to the Olympics.
WASHINGTON — The United States Women’s National Soccer Team has had quite a year.
Their stirring World Cup title run only fueled further expectation, as the top-ranked team in the world, that they would bring home gold in Rio at the 2016 Summer Olympics. And while the pair of Washington Spirit players on the roster are making their Olympic debuts, they are embracing the role of the hunted and the expectations that it brings.
Ali Krieger’s tale is well-known to those who have followed the Alexandria native throughout her rise to the national team. Now 32, Krieger is a seasoned veteran who has spent nearly a decade competing internationally at the highest level. Yet, Rio marks her first chance at a gold medal. Krieger’s Olympic dreams were derailed four years ago, when she tore a pair of knee ligaments in the lead-up to London.
Crystal Dunn is an adopted Washingtonian, originally from New York but now at home in D.C. in her third season with the Spirit. Dunn encountered a similar disappointment last year, when she was left off the final World Cup roster. Each has only used those disappointments to fuel their success — Krieger to the World Cup title last year, and Dunn to the MVP of the National Women’s Soccer League.
But the two are not only teammates of club and country, they are also close friends, representing the established success and the next wave of talent on the USWNT.
“Crystal’s been such an honor to play with as a teammate, but also to grow as a friend,” said Krieger when both she and Dunn joined WTOP for a conversation earlier this year. “I think sometimes the most important part about playing soccer is some of these friendships you make, these lifelong friendships.”
The two bonded right away after Dunn was first called up to the national team, and their relationship only got stronger after Dunn was drafted by the Spirit.
“I get to be with my favorite person all the time!” Dunn practically sang as the two reminisced.
Now, the two share the international stage in Brazil. Neither Krieger nor Dunn started the team’s opener, a 2-0 win over New Zealand, but both got into Saturday’s nail-biting, 1-0 victory over France that all but assured safe passage into the knockout round. In fact, Dunn got the start, with her teammate and friend Krieger relieving her in the 70th minute.
While they haven’t been dominant yet, they’re accepting of the target on their backs as the gold medal favorites.
“I love that. I love that they expect that from us,” said Krieger. “But I mean, that’s what we expect out of ourselves, too. We have that expectation or else we wouldn’t be here and be in the position that we’re in.”
Krieger survived a scary moment late in the game Saturday, when her clearance on a deep cross sailed just wide of the U.S. goal, striking the outside of the net and actually fooling some fans momentarily into believing she’d scored an own goal to tie the game. But, crisis averted, the Americans hung on for the 1-0 victory, despite being outshot 14-7, allowing more shots on goal, and surrendering more than twice as many corner kicks.
“I also think that it’s important to realize that not every game is going to be perfect,” Krieger said, perhaps presciently. “You’re not going to win every single thing that you can, but you obviously have to bring your best every day, and I think that that is what we do. We’re a competitive group, we’re driven and we are focused. That’s like our American, U.S. mentality on our team.”
It’s been the mentality back in Washington, too, where the Spirit share the lead atop the NWSL table with a game in hand as the league has gone into its Olympic break. It’s a delicate balance to strike, trying to do your best for both your club and your country, trying to stay in top form to play your best at all times.
“It’s always been a challenge being on the National Team, I think, for me, and playing with a club team,” said Dunn. “Because you have two teams that you want to give your all to, and you’re always thinking about one when you should be thinking about the other. I think for me, just personally, I just wake up every day and whatever team I’m with, I give my all to that team.”
Both Kreiger and Dunn will wake up in Rio Monday with the next game on the horizon, a rematch of their World Cup Round of 16 game against Colombia. The expectations will be a high as they’ve always been.
They wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We strive to be great. We strive for success,” said Krieger. “That’s the only thing that we really accept out of ourselves is to be successful.”
Listen to our full conversation with Krieger and Dunn here.
