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Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to remain with the NWSL’s Chicago Stars through 2026
Women’s World Cup winner and Olympic gold medalist Alyssa Naeher has re-signed with the Chicago Red Stars through 2026.
The Stars announced Wednesday that the 37-year-old goalkeeper would return for her 10th season with the National Women’s Soccer League club.
Naeher retired from the U.S. team at the end of 2024 after the team won gold at the Paris Olympics.
“I feel like I still have more to give and want to be out there competing with my teammates and continue to push this organization forward,” Naeher said in a statement released by the club. “We made a lot of positive strides to close out last season and I want to build on that.”
Naeher is one of just three players remaining in the NWSL who have played since the league’s first season in 2013, and the lone goalkeeper in the group. Before she joined the Stars, she played for the Boston Breakers.
In August, she became just the third goalkeeper in NWSL history to score a goal, pulling the Stars into a 3-3 comeback draw against the Seattle Reign with a goal in the final minute of stoppage time.
She’s the first NWSL goalkeeper to amass 60 career wins and 45 shutouts with one club.
“Alyssa has had an immeasurably important impact on the Stars and our fans, and we look forward to her continuing to lead and set the standard for what it means to be a Chicago Star both on and off the pitch,” Stars general manager Richard Feuz said.
Naeher was named the U.S. Soccer Player of the Year and the FIFA Best Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year for 2024.
She made a key one-handed save in stoppage time to preserve the Americans’ 1-0 victory over Brazil in the Olympic final in Paris. She had four shutouts over the course of the tournament.
She allowed just 11 goals in 2024 with the U.S., finishing with a 13-1-3 record. For her career, she played in 115 games with the national team with 69 clean sheets.
She’s the only U.S. goalkeeper to earn a shutout in both a World Cup and an Olympic final.
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