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Penn State graduate Ali Krieger settles into football broadcaster role at ESPN

Harry November 8, 2024

For those who have known Ali Krieger for a while, it was no surprise that she took the easy step into broadcasting.

After ending her playing days by winning the NWSL championship with Gotham FC last year, Penn State product (and current university trustees) began making Studio work with CBS. In March, ESPN hired him full time. On Sunday, she will be the studio analyst for ABC’s NWSL playoff quarterfinal game; Washington Spirit will host Bay FC at 12:30 p.m., and Gotham will host the Portland Thorns at 3 p.m.

“You have about 20 seconds to really make your point and express your opinion, but I found it great because I love talking football anyway,” Krieger told The Inquirer. “I think the transition will be easier after retirement. … It’s a very different dynamic, not physically participating but just analyzing and talking about it. “I’m trying to get used to it and I’m getting better every time.”

Krieger began doing some on-camera work in 2021 while still an active player with the Orlando Pride, working with MLS sibling Orlando City for team-produced content. But since he frequently appeared in front of the camera as a stalwart of the US national team, he knew long ago that he could do it one day.

“From day one you’re thrown in front of the camera and you kind of start learning and doing the media training that you’re used to,” the actor, now 40, said. “I watch a lot of matches too, so you pick up little tidbits here and there. But I think it was always in the back of my mind that it would be a better choice.”

Being in the spotlight also allowed him to see the dimensions of his acting career: 2015 and 2019 world cup She became the first American to win championships with the USA, the NWSL title with Gotham, and the European club championship with Germany’s 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2008.

“I needed a break from the game,” Krieger said. “I felt like I would burn out very quickly if I jumped into this, and I guess I just needed some time to do other things, be with my kids, and prioritize myself. And just kind of look back and think about all the career moments I’ve had and let that sink in and process what just happened.

(This was partly a reference to his divorce last year from former U.S. teammate Ashlyn Harris after four years of marriage. They adopted two children and live with Krieger in Northern New Jersey.)

He would like to start coaching one day, perhaps starting as a defensive-minded assistant – naturally since he plays center back and outside back. For now, he said, broadcasting is “a good transition.”

Stars in the play-offs

They have great attacking talent in all four quarter-finals. First, Friday night’s opening game between the No. 1 Orlando Pride and the No. 8 Chicago Red Stars (8 p.m., Prime Video), with Barbra Banda and Brazilian legend Marta as the hosts and U.S. star Mallory Swanson as the visitors.

Saturday’s matchup between the No. 4 Kansas City Current and the No. 5 North Carolina Courage (noon, CBS3) will feature Kansas City’s Temwa Chawinga. Broke the league’s single-season goal record In the NWSL’s first 20-goal campaign, the North Carolina junior faced American Ashley Sanchez and Brazilian Kerolin.

Then comes Sunday and at the top of the tent is No. 2 Washington Trinity Rodman. Three years after helping the Spirit win the 2021 title, U.S. superstar and Colombian point guard Leicy Santos will face the No. 7 Bay team that made the playoffs in its first season. Banda’s Zambian teammate Racheal Kundananji led the San Jose, Calif.-based club to the postseason. Two goals in the regular season final.

The latest is the most star-studded clash of all time. No. 3 Gotham and No. 6 Portland pit Rose Lavelle, Lynn Williams, Crystal Dunn and Esther González against Sophia Smith, Olivia Moultrie and Canadian legend Christine Sinclair in their final postseason showdown before retirement.

If you had chalk bet on all four matches, your chances of winning would have been quite high. Orlando finished the rankings 28 points ahead of Chicago, and Kansas City finished 16 points ahead of North Carolina. But Krieger expects at least one person to be upset.

“Bay FC are actually in pretty good form and knowing DC, they have excellent players – but they are a bit injury prone here and I don’t know if everyone will be fully fit.” he said. “Portland versus Gotham, it’s kind of a revenge game from last year’s semi-final (Gotham’s 1-0 win in Portland). You’re also fighting for Christine Sinclair. “You don’t want this to be his last game, you want to take him all the way to the final and see him come out on top just like Gotham did for me last year.”

A new era on and off the field

It’s been a big year for women’s sports, from the WNBA to the NBA, with prominent platforms. Olympics. American women’s soccer stars have long been familiar with such stages: the historic 1999 World Cup champions, the 2015 squad whose title game drew nearly 27 million viewers, the 2019 squad that won after suing U.S. Soccer and clashing with the then and future President Donald Trump.

Rodman and Smith go towards the tent: they were both there last year’s World Cup squad and this year Olympic gold medal winnersand each already has an NWSL title (Rodman in 2021, Smith in 2022). But they haven’t yet reached the levels that Krieger, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and the rest of that era have reached.

Is this because of football’s location relative to basketball in the US geography, or is it something more? Krieger wondered if that was partly because the U.S. team’s new era of players had not yet been as vocal on the court as they had been in past eras. Over time, he has certainly captured the attention of his team more than results on the field.

“We’ve all had to use our platforms and fight a little bit harder than maybe these younger generations have; Isn’t that what it should be? But it’s also a choice to do that,” Krieger said. “All of these things that we’ve applied to our star power, using the platforms that we’ve had over the years, I think catapulted a lot of these actors, like Megan Rapinoe, to where they are now.”

It can be argued that the new era of players did not need to be so straightforward because the national team has now achieved equal pay. They are still young too, Rodman is 22 and Smith is 24. Although Rapinoe was (and still is) always outspoken, Morgan didn’t break through until late in her career. Krieger admitted that he was the same.

“I don’t think a lot of young players are doing that right now,” Krieger said. “Maybe they will in the future.”

But what is certain is their abilities. This started to show up at the Olympics, and new USA manager Emma Hayes has shown it in games since: The talent pool is even deeper. Now Smith and Rodman have a moment to play for their clubs.

“They are already stars in their own right and are recognized around the world as some of the best players to ever play for the U.S. women’s national team and soccer in general,” Krieger said. “I’m so grateful that they get exactly what they deserve, not only because of the amount of work they put in every day, but because we put in the work and paved the way for them.”

NWSL play-off schedule

Quarterfinals

Friday: 1. Orlando Pride vs. 8. Chicago Red Stars, 20:00 (Prime Video)

Saturday: 4. Kansas City Current vs. 5. North Carolina Courage, noon (CBS3, Paramount+)

Sunday: #2 Washington Spirit vs. #7 Bay FC, 12:30 p.m. (6abc, ESPN+) and #3 Gotham FC vs. #6 Portland Thorns, 3 p.m. (6abc, ESPN+)

semi-finals

16 November: First semifinal, noon (CBS3, Paramount+)

17 November: Second semifinal, 2:30 p.m. (6abc, ESPN+)

Final

Saturday, November 23: Kansas City, Mondays at 8pm (CBS3, Paramount+)

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