RICHMOND, VA. – Alumni from a dozen different ECNL clubs shined at this summer’s Olympic games, with 14 former ECNL athletes leading the United States to the gold medal on Saturday, August 10, in Paris with a 1-0 win over Brazil. The gold medal-winning goal came courtesy of Mallory Swanson, assisted by Korbin Albert, and clinched the best Olympic finish for the Americans in 12 years, since the team won gold in 2012.
Alums Korbin Albert (Eclipse Select SC), Croix Bethune (Concorde Fire), Jane Campbell (Concorde Fire), Sam Coffey (Match Fit Academy), Tierna Davidson (De Anza Force), Emily Fox (FC Virginia*), Naomi Girma (De Anza Force), Hal Hershfelt (Concorde Fire), Casey Murphy (PDA), Jenn Nighswonger (Slammers FC), Trinity Rodman (So Cal Blues), Jaedyn Shaw (FC Dallas/Solar SC), Sophia Smith (Real Colorado), and Mallory Swanson (Real Colorado) all won the gold medal for the United States, representing 12 ECNL clubs.
Murphy, Nighswonger, and Rodman combined for seven ECNL National Championships in their youth careers and have now added Olympic gold medalists to their resumes, while Nighswonger has now won an ECNL National Championship (Slammers FC, 2015), an NCAA National Championship (Florida State, 2021), an NWSL Championship (Gotham FC, 2023), and an Olympic gold medal (2024).
Throughout the Olympic tournament, ECNL alumni logged over 4400 minutes played, including 45 starts. Impressively, ECNL alumni accounted for 11 of the 12 goals the United States scored in France, as well as six assists. Swanson led the United States with four goals, while Rodman and Smith each scored three goals. Smith and Swanson also had two assists in the tournament, while Rodman had one. Rodman’s start in the Gold Medal Match also gave her the most starts (9) for a United States player in a major tournament before the age of 23.
While Swanson scored the gold medal winner, Smith scored the overtime winner in the semifinal, Rodman scored the winner in the quarterfinal, and Albert scored the winner in the United States 2-1 group stage win over Australia.
The United States backline was also exceptional throughout the tournament and featured three ECNL alumni. Davidson, Fox, and Girma helped hold the United States opposition to just two goals through six games, including keeping clean sheets in all three knockout stage games for the first time. In addition, Girma is the only United States field player to have played every minute of all six games.
Around the Rest of the Women’s Tournament
Five additional ECNL alumni represented other nations at this summer’s Olympic games. For Canada, Janie Beckie (Real Colorado) registered 206 minutes in the tournament, starting one game, and scored a penalty in their quarterfinal shootout loss to Germany.
For Nigeria, Toni Payne (Concorde Fire) started all three of the country’s group-stage games and registered 247 minutes on the field, while Nicole Payne (Concorde Fire) played in all three games and saw over 78 minutes of action. Ifeoma Onumonu (Arsenal) saw action in two of the three games, appearing for 50 minutes. Angela Baron (DKSC) was also rostered for Colombia, who fell to Spain in the quarterfinals.
*Former ECNL Club
