42 Facts About Naomi Girma

Naomi Girma won NWSL Rookie of the Year and was named NWSL Defender of the Year in both of her first two seasons, helping lead San Diego to the NWSL Shield in 2023.

Naomi Girma played for the United States at the under-17, under-19, and under-20 levels before making her senior debut in 2022.

Naomi Girma was named US Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2023.

Naomi Girma won gold with the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, playing every minute of the tournament.

Naomi Girma was born in San Jose, California, to parents Naomi Girma Aweke and Seble Demissie, both Ethiopian immigrants who met in the Bay Area.

Naomi Girma has one brother, Nathaniel, who is three years older.

Naomi Girma attended Hacienda Elementary School and YMCA after-school basketball matches, following in her brother's footsteps in sports.

Naomi Girma practiced gymnastics for five years before settling on soccer in middle school.

Naomi Girma joined local youth club Central Valley Crossfire between the ages of 9 and 17.

Naomi Girma subsequently became a guest player for De Anza Force, and played for the California Thorns Academy and Pioneer High School.

Naomi Girma committed to play college soccer at Stanford University when she was a sophomore.

Naomi Girma was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the fifth-best college prospect of the 2018 class and part of Stanford's top-ranked cohort alongside Sophia Smith.

Naomi Girma played all but one game for the Stanford Cardinal in her freshman season in 2018, making 23 appearances, featuring alongside senior Alana Cook in central defense.

Naomi Girma was named to the All-Pac-12 third team, Pac-12 all-freshman team, and TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI first team at the end of the season.

Naomi Girma became team captain and started all 25 games in her sophomore season in 2019, playing every minute of all but five games, mostly alongside senior Sam Hiatt.

Stanford lost only one non-conference game in the regular season on the way to their fifth consecutive Pac-12 championship, with Naomi Girma scoring in the last two games of the regular season.

Naomi Girma was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Defensive Player along with earning Pac-12 Defender of the Year, first-team All-Pac-12, and first-team All-American honors.

Naomi Girma missed her entire junior season, which was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, after tearing her ACL.

Naomi Girma returned to action as a senior in the fall of 2021, starting all 20 games and playing every minute of all but four of them.

Naomi Girma graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in symbolic systems in 2022 and continued pursuing a master's degree in management science and engineering after becoming a professional soccer player.

Naomi Girma started 19 games in the 2022 regular season, featuring primarily alongside Kaleigh Riehl in central defense after Abby Dahlkemper was injured.

Naomi Girma was named in the end-of-year NWSL Best XI First Team and received both the NWSL Rookie of the Year and NWSL Defender of the Year awards, becoming the first NWSL player to win multiple end-of-year individual awards in her rookie season, and was nominated for NWSL Most Valuable Player, losing to Sophia Smith.

Naomi Girma started 19 games during the 2023 regular season, helping the team concede only 22 goals throughout the season.

Naomi Girma was named in the NWSL Best XI of the Month three times during the season.

Naomi Girma played in a career-high 20 games in the 2024 regular season, but the Wave struggled to repeat their success, finishing 10th of 14 teams and missing the playoffs for the first time.

Naomi Girma was named to the NWSL Best XI of the Month two times and the NWSL Best XI Second Team at the end of the year, and was again nominated for NWSL Defender of the Year, losing to Emily Sams.

Naomi Girma has competed on the United States under-17, under-19 and under-20 and senior national teams.

Naomi Girma captained the under-20 team to win the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship under head coach Laura Harvey.

In December 2020, Naomi Girma won the 2020 US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award.

Naomi Girma received her first call-up to the United States senior team in December 2019 but had to withdraw due to injury.

Naomi Girma debuted for the senior national team on April 12,2022, in an international friendly against Uzbekistan.

Naomi Girma appeared in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, and registered an assist on a goal by Sophia Smith against Jamaica during the tournament.

In June 2023, Naomi Girma was named to the US squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Naomi Girma was named US Soccer's 2023 Female Player of the Year, becoming the first defender to win the award in its history as she was a part of a defense that allowed an average of just 0.17 goals per game during the year, the best in team history.

In 2024, Naomi Girma was called up to represent the US at the inaugural 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup and 2024 SheBelieves Cup.

Naomi Girma was selected to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.

Naomi Girma was widely praised throughout the tournament as the team's most important player.

Naomi Girma scored her first and second international goals in a friendly match against Argentina on October 30,2024, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Naomi Girma was previously a central or defensive midfielder in her youth before being converted to center back at a youth national team camp.

Naomi Girma anticipates play and positions herself well to thwart attackers and can use her speed to beat opponents one-on-one.

Naomi Girma has good technical ability and passes well to set up plays.

In 2024, United States head coach Emma Hayes said Naomi Girma was "the best defender I've ever seen".