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The U.S. Women’s National Team is off to a strong start at the Paris Olympics, beating Zambia 3 to 0 in the group stage opener on Thursday. The first goal of the match was made by 22-year-old Trinity Rodman, a first-time Olympian and rising star in the sport. She’s one of several new faces helping to revamp the team after a disappointing showing for the U.S. women’s team in the last World Cup, where they fell to Sweden in the round of 16.
“I’d say we’re in a new era—an era of growth and elevation,” Jaedyn Shaw, another first-timer on the world stage tells ELLE. With legendary players like Megan Rapinoe retired, and Alex Morgan not making the squad, this young roster, along with new head coach Emma Hayes, is looking to prove themselves globally and add a record fifth gold medal to the team’s collection.
Just because they’re new to the Olympics doesn’t mean they should be underestimated either. Sophia Smith made her professional debut at 19 years old, as the first teen drafted to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), and has since been named the youngest MVP in league history after leading the Thorns to victory at the league championships in 2022. The following year, Rodman was drafted at an even younger age, 18, and scored a goal within the first five minutes of playing time in the league. While Shaw kicked off her career in the pros in 2022, at 17, on top of that, she’s the youngest player on the 2024 Olympic National team.
With the U.S. facing a tough contest against Germany this weekend, this group has the chance to show the world all that they’re capable of. Below, everything you need to know about Smith, Rodman, and Shaw as they make their Olympic debut.
Sophia Smith
Sophia Smith has been breaking records left and right since making her professional soccer debut as the first overall pick in 2020, and the first teenager to be drafted to the NWSL. In 2022, her second professional season, she scored 14 goals (a club record) and led the team to the NWSL championship, becoming the league’s and game’s MVP. (She is the youngest player to win the title.) In the same year, she also became the first Black woman to be named national league player of the year, and the youngest to lead the U.S. National Team in scoring since Mia Hamm in 1993.
Born in August 2000, the Colorado native began playing soccer in Kindergarten. The former Stanford student-athlete played for two years, leading the team to victory at NCAA Division 1 National Championship in 2019, before leaving Stanford for the 2020 NWSL draft.
In July 2023, ahead of the World Cup, Smith spoke to ELLE about her experience as one of the only Black girls on the field growing up in Fort Collins and her journey to feeling comfortable in her own skin—and hair. “You don’t have to have your hair a certain way….It doesn’t mean anything about who you are or how you’ll play,” she said of being pushed to have a “signature” hairstyle in photoshoots and media opportunities. With confidence in both herself and her capabilities, Smith is planning to “go do what I do, and be Soph” in Paris.
Trinity Rodman
Trinity Rodman made a name for herself in 2021, at age 18, when she became the the youngest person at the time to score a goal in NWSL league history. In her debut match against the Washington Spirit, Rodman scored within just five minutes of being subbed into the game. In 2022, she also became the highest paid player in the NWSL, at just 19 years old, when she signed a monumental four-year contract with the Washington Spirit reportedly valued at over $1.1 million. “She’s an all-out competitor…she’s a change-the-game player. There hasn’t been anyone like her before,” the Washington Spirit’s head coach Kris Ward told ESPN of Rodman at the time.
Rodman grew up in Newport Beach, California; she is the daughter of NBA Hall of Fame player Dennis Rodman, with whom she has said she has a complicated relationship. She attended a year of college at Washington State University, but was unable to play soccer after the season was canceled due to the pandemic. She is the author of Wake Up and Kick It, a children’s book published in partnership with Adidas.
Jaedyn Shaw
After graduating high school in Frisco, Texas, rather than try her hand at collegiate soccer, Shaw went straight to the pros. At 19, she is the youngest player on the U.S. Women’s Olympic roster. She is also the fifth youngest player in history to compete for the U.S. Women’s soccer team. She also holds the record for the most goals scored by a teenager in the NWSL.
The San Diego Wave forward first began playing the sport at age four. When speaking to ELLE about the upcoming games, she said she is, “Making sure I’m doing whatever I can to help my team win, whether it’s scoring goals or bringing the energy off the bench. I want to embrace whatever role is provided and never take anything for granted.” She said this moment means the world to her. Shaw has “always dreamed about playing in the Olympics,” she says. “I’m most excited to just get started and represent Team USA.”
Talia Levine is a Features Intern for ELLE Magazine. She is an undergraduate at Brown University where she studies International and Public Affairs and is a Varsity Division 1 Athlete.
