Ali Krieger


Alexandra Blaire Krieger is an American former professional soccer player who played as a right back or center back. She made more than 100 appearances for the United States from 2008 to 2021, with which she won two FIFA Women's World Cups.
Krieger played collegiately for the Penn State Nittany Lions, where she was named
a first-team All-American as both a midfielder and defender. After college, she joined Frauen-Bundesliga club 1. FFC Frankfurt, helping win the league title, national cup, and UEFA Women's Cup in her first season in 2007–08; during her five years in Germany, she was the only member of the United States national team that played overseas. She left for the Washington Spirit of the new National Women's Soccer League in 2013. She later played for the Orlando Pride and NJ/NY Gotham FC, which she captained to an NWSL Championship in her final season in 2023. She was named to the NWSL Best XI four times.
Krieger made her senior international debut for the United States in 2008. She represented the team at three FIFA Women's World Cups: 2011 in Germany, where she played every minute of the tournament and reached the final; 2015 in Canada, where she started every match as part of the defense that held opponents scoreless for a record 540 minutes and helped lead the United States to become champions; and 2019 in France, where she made three appearances as the United States defended their title. In 2012, she sustained a serious knee injury at the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament and did not recover in time to be selected for the 2012 Olympic team; she was named to her only Olympic team at the 2016 Olympics, becoming the oldest first-time Olympian for United States women's soccer.

Early life

Born to Debbie Alongi and Ken Krieger in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, Ali was raised with one older brother, Kyle in Dumfries, Virginia. Her father played professional soccer and was a soccer coach in Virginia. Her brother, Kyle, was the reason she started playing soccer. Krieger played youth soccer for the Prince William Sparklers, where she was coached by her father for 12 years. She played with the team from age seven to 19 and was one of the eight players that stayed with the Sparklers for the entire twelve-year run.
In high school, Krieger spent one year at Hylton High School before transferring to newly opened Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, Virginia. At Forest Park, she was a three-year team captain, led her team to their first undefeated regular season and was a three-time, first-team all-district player. She was twice named an All-Virginia AAA selection and was an All-Met Honorable mention during her sophomore year. During her junior and senior years, she was a first-team All-Met selection and as a senior was named The Washington Post's Player of the Year, Krieger was also honored as Gatorade's Virginia Player of the Year in her final year at Forest Park.

Penn State Nittany Lions, 2003–06

Krieger attended Penn State University from 2003 to 2006 where she played for the Nittany Lions women's soccer team. She was an advertising and public relations major.
In 2003, Krieger started in all 25 matches for Penn State, ten of those appearances being in conference matches. She ranked fifth in number of shots in the season at Penn State with 24 and third in assists with nine. Penn State was the 2003 Big Ten Conference regular season champion and was No.1 seed in the Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament. Krieger started in the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they faced Wisconsin on November 6. Wisconsin advanced in the tournament on penalty kicks after the scored was tied 0–0. Penn State earned the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, its highest seed up to that point. They made it to the quarterfinal round, when they were defeated by UCLA on November 28, 2003. At the end of the 2003 season, Krieger was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Krieger broke the big ten record for numbers assist in one game with four against Bucknell on September 17, 2003.
In 2004, Krieger started in all 23 matches for Penn State, ten of those appearances being in conference matches. She ranked fourth in points for the season with nine, fifth in goals with three, sixth in assists with three, fourth in shots with 35, and third in shots on goal with 16. Penn State was the 2004 Big Ten Conference regular season champion and was No.1 seed in the Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament. Krieger started in all three matches of the tournament for Penn State. Penn State faced Ohio State on November 7 in the final of the tournament, which ended in a 0–2 defeat for Penn State. Penn State earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, its highest up to that point. They made it to the second round, where they were defeated by Maryland on November 14. At the end of the 2004 season, Krieger was given NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team honors, All-Big Ten First Team honors, and Academic All-Big Ten honors.
In her junior year, Krieger made 20 appearances for Penn State, ten of those appearances being in conference matches. She made seven goals in the season, which tied for second in the season at Penn State. Three of those goals were game-winning goals. Penn State was the 2004 Big Ten Conference regular season champion and was No.1 seed in the Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament. They made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament, when they were defeated by Michigan on November 3. Penn State earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, its highest seed ever. However, two days before the tournament, Krieger broke her leg while playing against a men's soccer team in preparation for the tournament. The injury required surgery, where they inserted a plate and five screws in her leg. A few months later in January, after traveling to visit her family, Krieger began experiencing shortness of breath and checked into the hospital as a precaution. As a result of her broken leg and subsequent plane rides, she had developed blood clots in her legs that traveled up to her lungs and caused a pulmonary embolism, affecting her blood flow and triggering six mini-heart attacks. The doctor informed her that if she had gone to sleep that night, there was a high probability that she would not have woken up. She was required to do a series of self-injections of enoxaparin for several months, but eventually made a full recovery and joined the Nittany Lions for her senior season. At the end of her shortened 2005 season, Krieger was given NSCAA All-America First Team honors, NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team honors, All-Big Ten First Team honors, and Academic All-Big Ten honors.
During her senior season, Krieger was named captain of the team and switched from the midfield position to defense. She played in all 19 games for Penn State, eight of those being in conference matches. She made one goal and two assists during the season. Penn State was the 2006 Big Ten Conference regular season champion and the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament. Krieger appeared in all of the team's matches in the tournament, including the final against Illinois on November 5, helping Penn State win the tournament. Penn State earned a No.2 seed at the NCAA Tournament and made it to the quarterfinals, when they were defeated by Notre Dame on November 24. At the end of the 2006 season, Krieger was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Penn State's Most Valuable Player. She also received NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team honors, NSCAA All-America First Team honors, All-Big Ten First Team honors, Big Ten All-Tournament Team honors, and Academic All-Big Ten honors. After being named to the NSCAA All-America First Team in both 2005 and 2006, Krieger became the only Nittany Lion to be given All-American honors at two different positions.

Penn State summary

Updated through July 28, 2016

Club career

Washington Freedom, 2004

Following her freshman year at Penn State, Krieger joined the Washington Freedom for exhibition matches in the summer of 2004.

Northern Virginia Majestics, 2005

Krieger played as a midfielder with the Northern Virginia Majestics in the W-League during the summer of 2005. The W-League was often used by college players as a summer playing option because of its status as an open league, allowing college players to maintain eligibility. Krieger made one appearance for the team, playing 110 minutes.

Washington Freedom, 2005 & 2007

Following her short time with the Northern Virginia Majestics in the summer of 2005, Krieger returned to the Washington Freedom in July 2005 for more exhibition matches with the team. In November 2005, Krieger sustained a broken leg while with her collegiate team and eventually developed a pulmonary embolism, which kept her off the pitch that summer. In order to recover and refrain from further traveling, Krieger remained at Penn State and did not join the Washington Freedom for their 2006 season. Krieger joined the Freedom during the summer of 2007 for their first season as a full W-League team.

1. FFC Frankfurt, 2007–08

In August 2007, immediately following the W-League season, Krieger signed a two-year contract with 1. FFC Frankfurt in the Frauen-Bundesliga, the highest division of women's soccer in Germany. Her first season with the team was the 2007–08 season, which ran from August 19, 2007, to June 15, 2008. During the season, Krieger helped FFC Frankfurt become Bundesliga Champions, Frauen DFB–Pokal Champions, and UEFA Cup Champions. Krieger and teammate Gina Lewandowski became the first Americans to win the UEFA Women's Cup.
In September 2008, Krieger was one of the 21 United States national team players who was allocated to a team in the newly formed Women's Professional Soccer league. However, due to her commitments with FFC Frankfurt, Krieger was unable to join the team at the time. Instead, she stayed in Germany for the 2008–09 Bundesliga season, which ran from August to June. Early on in the season, Krieger sustained an injury to her foot that limited her movement. At the end of the Bundesliga season in June 2009, Frankfurt allowed Krieger to join the Washington Freedom on loan for the 2009 season, where she could adequately recover and regain fitness for the following Bundesliga season.