Naomi Girma facts for kids

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Naomi Girma

Girma with the San Diego Wave in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Naomi Haile Girma
Date of birth	(2000-06-14) June 14, 2000 (age 25)
Place of birth	San Jose, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Playing position	Center back
Club information
Current club	San Diego Wave
Number	4
Youth career
2010–2017	Central Valley Crossfire
2015–2018	Pioneer HS Mustangs
2016–2018	De Anza Force
2016–2018	California Thorns FC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2022–	San Diego Wave	61	(0)
National team‡
2016	United States U17
2017	United States U19
2017–2020	United States U20
2022–	United States	44	(2)
Honours Women's soccer Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2024 Paris Team CONCACAF W Gold Cup Winner 2024 United States CONCACAF W Championship Winner 2022 Mexico
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 30, 2024. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of December 3, 2024

Naomi Haile Girma (born June 14, 2000) is an American professional soccer player. She plays as a center back. Naomi plays for San Diego Wave FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She also plays for the United States national team.

Girma played college soccer for the Stanford Cardinal. She was the team captain and led them to win the national championship in 2019. The San Diego Wave team picked her first in the 2022 NWSL Draft. She won the NWSL Rookie of the Year award. She was also named NWSL Defender of the Year in her first two seasons. She helped San Diego win the NWSL Shield in 2023.

Naomi Girma played for the United States at different youth levels. She played for the under-17, under-19, and under-20 teams. She made her debut for the senior national team in 2022. In 2023, she was named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year. She won a gold medal with the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She played every minute of that tournament.

Early Life and College Soccer Journey

Naomi Girma was born in San Jose, California. Her parents, Girma Aweke and Seble Demissie, came from Ethiopia. They met in the Bay Area. Naomi has an older brother named Nathaniel. Her family speaks both Amharic and English.

When she was young, Girma played for Maleda Soccer Club. Her father started this club in 2005 for the Ethiopian community. She went to Hacienda Elementary School. She also played basketball after school, just like her brother. Before choosing soccer in middle school, she did gymnastics for five years.

Youth Clubs and High School

In 2010, Girma joined Central Valley Crossfire, a local youth club. She played there until 2017. Her coach, Bob Joyce, encouraged her to join Olympic Development Program events. She was then invited to the United States under-14 national team camp.

Later, she played for De Anza Force as a guest player. She also played for the California Thorns Academy. She attended Pioneer High School. When she was a sophomore, she decided to play college soccer at Stanford University. TopDrawerSoccer ranked her as the fifth-best college prospect in her class. She joined Stanford with other top players like Sophia Smith.

Playing for Stanford Cardinal

Naomi Girma played almost every game for the Stanford Cardinal in her first year (2018). She started 22 games and played as a central defender with Alana Cook. Her team, who were the champions from 2017, finished the regular season without losing a game. They won the Pac-12 Conference for the fourth time.

In the NCAA tournament, Girma played every minute. She scored her first two college goals in a 4–1 win against Ole Miss. Stanford reached the semifinals but lost to Florida State. At the end of the season, she was named to the All-Pac-12 third team. She also made the Pac-12 all-freshman team.

Girma (right) playing for Stanford in 2019

In 2019, Girma became team captain. She started all 25 games and played almost every minute. She often played alongside Sam Hiatt. Stanford lost only one game in the regular season. They won their fifth Pac-12 championship in a row. Girma scored in the last two games of the regular season.

In the NCAA tournament, Stanford reached the championship game. They beat UCLA 4–1 in the semifinals. In the final, Girma helped keep North Carolina from scoring. The game ended in a 0–0 tie after extra time. Girma scored her penalty kick in the shootout. Stanford won their third national title. Girma was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Defensive Player. She also won Pac-12 Defender of the Year.

Girma missed her entire junior season because she tore her ACL. This injury happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. While recovering, she joined the Mayfield Fellows Program for entrepreneurship at Stanford.

She returned to play in the fall of 2021 for her senior year. She started all 20 games. Stanford finished fourth in the Pac-12. They lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Despite this, Girma was named Pac-12 Defender of the Year for the second time. After the season, she decided to become a professional player. She graduated with a degree in symbolic systems in 2022. She also started working on a master's degree.

Professional Club Career

Playing for San Diego Wave

Girma with the Wave in 2024

The new team, San Diego Wave FC, chose Girma as the first pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft. She played her first professional game on March 19, 2022. This was the Wave's first game, a 1–1 tie against Angel City FC.

In the 2022 season, she started 19 games. She mostly played as a central defender with Kaleigh Riehl. San Diego finished third in the league. They were the first new team to reach the playoffs in their first season. They won against the Chicago Red Stars but lost to the Portland Thorns in the semifinals.

During her first year, Girma was named NWSL Rookie of the Month twice. She was also chosen for the NWSL Best XI First Team. She won both the NWSL Rookie of the Year and NWSL Defender of the Year awards. She was the first NWSL player to win multiple awards in her first season.

On her birthday, June 14, 2023, the Wave announced a new contract for Girma until 2026. She started 19 games in the 2023 season. She helped her team allow only 22 goals, which was the second-best in the NWSL. San Diego won the NWSL Shield for having the best record. However, they lost to OL Reign in the semifinals. At the end of the year, she was again named to the NWSL Best XI First Team. She also won NWSL Defender of the Year for the second year in a row.

In 2024, Girma helped her team win the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup. They beat NJ/NY Gotham FC 1–0. She played in 20 games during the 2024 season. However, the Wave did not do as well and missed the playoffs. Girma was still named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team.

International Career

Naomi Girma has played for the United States at different levels. She played for the under-17, under-19, and under-20 national teams. She was the captain of the under-20 team that won the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship. In December 2020, Girma won the 2020 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award.

Girma was first called to the United States senior team in December 2019. But she had to withdraw due to an injury. She made her debut for the senior team on April 12, 2022. This was in a friendly game against Uzbekistan. She also played in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship. She helped set up a goal for Sophia Smith against Jamaica.

In June 2023, Girma was chosen for the US team for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. This tournament was held in Australia and New Zealand. She started as a defender in the first game against Vietnam. The US won 3–0. She helped create the second goal by passing the ball to Alex Morgan. Morgan then headed it to Sophia Smith to score.

Girma was named U.S. Soccer's 2023 Female Player of the Year. She was the first defender to win this award. She was part of a defense that allowed very few goals, which was the best in the team's history.

In 2024, Girma played for the US in the first 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup and the 2024 SheBelieves Cup. She was also chosen for the 18-player team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. Many people praised her as the team's most important player during the Olympics. She was the only player on the field to play every minute until the gold medal game. The United States won 1–0 against Brazil. She scored her first two international goals in a friendly game against Argentina on October 30, 2024. In December 2024, The Guardian newspaper ranked her 10th among the top 100 women footballers in the world.

Style of Play

Naomi Girma is known as one of the best center backs in the world. She is known for being calm, smart, and a great leader. When she was younger, she played as a central or defensive midfielder. She became a center back at a youth national team camp.

She is good at predicting what will happen in the game. She positions herself well to stop attackers. She can also use her speed to beat opponents one-on-one. She has good technical skills and passes the ball well to start plays. In 2024, the United States head coach, Emma Hayes, said Girma was "the best defender I've ever seen."

Career Statistics

Club

International

International goals scored by Naomi Girma

No.	Cap	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	42	October 30, 2024	Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.	Argentina	1–0	3–0	Friendly
2					3–0

Honors and Awards

Stanford Cardinal

• NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament: 2019

San Diego Wave

• NWSL Shield: 2023
• NWSL Challenge Cup: 2024

United States U17

• CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship: 2016

United States U20

• CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship: 2020

United States National Team

• Summer Olympic Games Gold Medal: 2024
• CONCACAF Women's Championship: 2022
• CONCACAF W Gold Cup: 2024
• SheBelieves Cup: 2023, 2024

Individual Awards

• CONCACAF W Championship Best XI: 2022
• U.S. Soccer Player of the Year: 2023
• U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year: 2020
• NWSL Defender of the Year: 2022, 2023
• NWSL Rookie of the Year: 2022
• NWSL Best XI: 2022, 2023
• NWSL Second XI: 2024
• NWSL Team of the Month: May 2022, June 2022, August 2022, September/October 2022, March/April 2023, May 2023, September/October 2023, March/April 2024, September 2024
• NWSL Rookie of the Month: June 2022, September/October 2022
• NCAA Division I Tournament Most Outstanding Defensive Player: 2019
• Pac-12 Defender of the Year: 2019, 2021
• The Best FIFA Women's 11: 2024
• ESPN FC Women's Rank: #2 on the 2024 list of 50 best women's soccer players
• IFFHS Women's World Team: 2024

See also

In Spanish: Naomi Girma para niños