Naomi Girma

Girma played all but one game for the Stanford Cardinal in her freshman season in 2018, making 23 appearances (22 starts), featuring alongside senior Alana Cook in central defense. The reigning national champions finished the regular season undefeated, claiming the Pac-12 Conference for the fourth time in a row. In the NCAA tournament, Girma played every minute for No. 1–seeded Stanford, scoring her first two college goals in their 4–1 win against Ole Miss in the second round, as they reached the semifinals, losing 2–0 to eventual champions No. 1 Florida State. She 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.

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 Girma scoring in the last two games of the regular season. In the NCAA tournament, No. 1 seeds Stanford advanced to the title game after a 4–1 win against No. 2 UCLA in the semifinals. Girma helped hold No. 1 North Carolina to a 0–0 draw after extra time, before scoring her penalty kick in the resulting shootout as Stanford goalkeeper Katie Meyer made two penalty saves to bring Stanford their third national title. Girma was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Defensive Player along…

San Diego Wave

Expansion side San Diego Wave FC selected Girma with the first overall pick of the 2022 NWSL Draft. She made her professional debut in the Wave's inaugural game on March 19, 2022, starting in a 1–1 draw against Angel City FC in the group stage of the NWSL Challenge Cup. She started 19 games in the 2022 regular season, featuring primarily alongside Kaleigh Riehl in central defense after Abby Dahlkemper was injured. San Diego placed third in the league, becoming the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs in their first season. In the playoffs, they beat the Chicago Red Stars 2–1 in the quarterfinals before losing to the Portland Thorns 2–1 in the semifinals. During her rookie season, Girma was named in the NWSL Best XI of the Month four times and voted NWSL Rookie of the Month two times. She was also 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.

On June 14, 2023, the Wave announced that they had signed Girma to a new contract through 2026. She started 19 games during the 2023 regular season, helping the team concede only 22 goals throughout the season (second in the NWSL). San Diego won the NWSL Shield with the league's best record, but they lost 1–0 to OL Reign in the semifinals. Girma…

Girma has competed on the United States under-17, under-19 and under-20 and senior national teams. She captained the under-20 team to win the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship under head coach Laura Harvey. In December 2020, Girma won the 2020 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award. Girma received her first call-up to the United States senior team in December 2019 but had to withdraw due to injury. She was called up again in October 2020. She debuted for the senior national team on April 12, 2022, in an international friendly against Uzbekistan. She also 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, Girma was named to the US squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She was a starting defender during the team's first group stage match against Vietnam: a 3–0 shutout. During the first half, she started the sequence that led to the U.S.' second goal by lobbing the ball into the box to Alex Morgan who headed it to scorer Sophia Smith. Girma was named U.S. 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, Girma was called up to represent the US at the inaugural 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup and 2024 SheBelieves Cup. Girma was selected to the 18-player…

Girma was born in San Jose, California, to parents Girma Aweke and Seble Demissie, both Ethiopian immigrants who met in the Bay Area. She has one brother, Nathaniel, who is three years older. Her family speaks both Amharic and English. In her youth, Girma played for Maleda Soccer Club, a local club which her father coached. She attended Hacienda Elementary School and YMCA after-school basketball matches, following in her brother's footsteps in sports. She also practiced gymnastics for five years before settling on soccer in middle school. Girma joined local youth club Central Valley Crossfire between the ages of 9 and 17. Playing under Crossfire coach Bob Joyce, Girma was encouraged to participate in Olympic Development Program events and was called into the United States under-14 national team camp. She subsequently became a guest player for De Anza Force, and also played for the California Thorns Academy and Pioneer High School. She committed to play college soccer at Stanford University when she was a sophomore. She 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.