Red Stars' Alyssa Naeher, Mallory Swanson Win SheBelieves Cup During International Window

Five members of the Chicago Red Stars were with their respective national teams during the international window, with Alyssa Naeher and Mallory Swanson taking home hardware after winning the SheBelieves Cup with the United States Women’s National Team.

Naeher, Swanson (USWNT), and Julia Bianchi (Brazil) competed in the SheBelieves Cup in Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio while Natalia Kuikka (Finland) and Nádia Gomes (Portugal) were helping their sides qualify for the W EURO.

Naeher made headlines once again with the USWNT after her heroics in their win over Canada in the SheBelieves Cup final.

Here’s a look at the performances of each member of the Red Stars on international duty.

Alyssa Naeher

The Red Stars' captain made four saves in the USWNT’s 2-1 win over Japan in the semifinal in Atlanta and made two saves in regulation in the final. She saved three in penalty kicks to propel the USWNT to a title while, of course, scoring from the spot as well. Naeher saved the spot kick from Harvard’s Jade Rose, walked to the spot, hammered her own PK past Kailen Sheridan, and then saved the subsequent effort from Cloe Lacasse. Naeher sealed her seventh SheBelieves Cup title when she denied Evelyne Vynes’ spot kick in the seventh round.

Mallory Swanson

Swanson’s inclusion in the final changed everything for the USWNT. Chicago’s attacker checked in after halftime and Sophia Smith scored both goals to give the USWNT the SheBelieves Cup after defeating Canada 2-2 (5-4 PKs) in Columbus. Swanson started and played 78 minutes in the USWNT’s win over Japan in Georgia, leaving the match right after Lindsey Horan scored the match-winner.

Julia Bianchi

Bianchi, a last-minute addition to the roster, only featured in Brazil’s SheBelieves Cup third-place match in Columbus, Ohio. The midfielder started and played 85 minutes in Brazil’s 1-1 (3-0 PKs) win over Japan after not coming off the bench in her country's 1-1 (4-2 PKs) loss to Canada.

Natalia Kuikka

Kuikka started and played the entirety of both of Finland’s W EURO Qualification League A matches at center back during this window. Finland lost its match in Group 1 4-0 to Norway in Oslo before defeating Italy 2-1 in Helsinki.

Nádia Gomes

Gomes was an unused substitute in Portugal’s 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and 2-0 win over Malta in W EURO Qualification League B. Portugal sits atop Group 3 table with six points after the first window of matches.

What’s On Tap Next?

The Red Stars return home on April 13 when they host Angel City FC. The match kicks off at 8:30 PM CT (yes, you read that correctly) and will air on ION.