{"id":35571,"date":"2015-06-08T15:33:27","date_gmt":"2015-06-08T19:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=35571"},"modified":"2015-06-08T16:32:39","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T20:32:39","slug":"a-well-deserved-call-for-naeher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=35571","title":{"rendered":"A Well-Deserved Call for Naeher"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

Photo credit: Kari Heistad\/capturedimages.biz<\/p><\/div>\n

Ask anybody on the Breakers roster for their thoughts on goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher\u2019s selection to the United States Women\u2019s National Team World Cup roster, and the answers are all the same.<\/p>\n

They aren\u2019t shocked. <\/p>\n

Naeher, a native from Bridgeport, Conn., was one of three goalkeepers – including Ashlyn Harris and Hope Solo – called up by U.S. head coach Jill Ellis\u2019 squad for the sport’s biggest tournament. <\/p>\n

Despite making only one appearance for the U.S. prior to her selection to the World Cup roster, the 27-year-old keeper has proven herself as one of the top goalies in the country, most notably winning NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think any of us were really surprised in the Boston area,\u201d defender Kassey Kallman said regarding Naeher\u2019s selection. \u201cShe\u2019s an unbelievable goalkeeper and she works super hard, so we\u2019re super excited that she\u2019s going to be representing the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defender Julie King, who has started in six games on the Breakers backline this year, also believes that Naeher’s selection is well-deserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, she\u2019s a really hard worker,” King said. “Every day she trains 100 percent, and she has put herself in a position where she\u2019s one of the best in the country, if not one of the best in the world as well. She gives her whole heart to everything she does, and is her own toughest critic.”<\/p>\n

As a center back, King acknowledged the boost in confidence knowing a goalkeeper of Naeher\u2019s capabilities is behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can pull out some saves in some crazy places, and is one of the best keepers I have ever played with, hands-down,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

When asked what makes Naeher such a presence in net, Kallman touched on her athleticism and also recognized her abilities to make key saves in big moments. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe pulls out some absolutely amazing saves that you think the shot is going in but she\u2019ll get a hand on it or knock it over the bar,\u201d said Kallman, who is in her first year with the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has unbelievable talent and her shot-stopping, as well as her ability to lead in the back,\u201d she added. \u201cBeing a center back, that communication is really good with her, and just as much as she leads, she listens.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the 2014 season, Naeher achieved several milestones en route to being the league\u2019s best goalkeeper. She was one of two players on Boston to start all 24 games, and also set two NWSL records. She recorded a league best 106 saves, and also saved six out of the nine penalty shots she faced, which was the most in league history.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo get to the level she\u2019s achieved,” King said, “you have to have that balance of knowing that you have great potential, but also being hard on herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kallman said that having a keeper of Naeher’s quality and skill brings a greater level of comfort and reassurance to the back line.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely gives me a lot of confidence knowing that she\u2019s behind me,\u201d she said. \u201cI still don\u2019t wanna make mistakes or mess up, but I know that she can pull out some big saves and she\u2019s already shown that this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, King couldn’t be happier for her shot-stopping teammate, who’ll get the rare – and well-deserved – opportunity to represent her country on the game’s biggest stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so excited for Alyssa, we all are, the whole team and organization,\u201d King said. \u201cWe\u2019re really excited for her to get this kind of experience. Hopefully, it\u2019s not a once-in-a-lifetime experience and she\u2019ll be going to more, but it\u2019s absolutely incredible for her to get to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A tireless worker behind the scenes, Alyssa Naeher was was rewarded with her first World Cup call-up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":31888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1151,1075],"tags":[392,1282,891,230,892,1287,1147],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Naeher-10.png?fit=600%2C416&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35571"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35571"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35584,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35571\/revisions\/35584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}