Naeher attended Christian Heritage School, where she was a standout player in soccer. She was a three-time All-State and three-time FAA All-Conference selection. In addition to this, she was a Parade All-American and two-time NSCAA Youth All-American. Naeher also was a star basketball player scoring over 2,000 points during her career.[4]
Naeher attended Penn State from 2006 to 2009, she started 74 games during that span with a record of 50–19–5 with 24 shutouts. She was a First Team All-American in 2007 and 2008 and was named the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2007.[5]
Naeher was selected by the Boston Breakers with the 11th overall pick in the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer draft, she was the first goalkeeper selected in the 2010 WPS draft.[6] Naeher recorded her first career shutout on August 4, 2010, against the Atlanta Beat.[7] The Breakers finished second in the WPS standings but lost the Super Semifinal to the Philadelphia Independence.
Naeher had a strong start to the 2016 NWSL season in Chicago as she was named Player of the Month for May as she posted three shutouts and only allowed one goal in four games during the month.[13]
Naeher was named Player of the Week in week 6 of the 2018 season by the NWSL Media Association, she was also named to the Team of the Month in June 2018.[14]
On August 18, 2018, Naeher earned her 100th NWSL cap in a 2–2 draw against the Portland Thorns FC.[15]
On March 23, 2024, Naeher made NWSL history by becoming the first goalkeeper with 50 wins for a single club when the Red Stars defeated Seattle Reign FC in a 2–1 victory.[16]
In 2008, Naeher was the starting goalkeeper for the U-20 squad that won the 2008 FIFA U-20 World CupinChile. She started and played in all but one game during the tournament. She only conceded one goal throughout the World Cup, which was to North Korea, during the final minutes of the championship game. She was awarded the Golden Glove Award as the best goalkeeper in the tournament.[17]
On December 18, 2014, Naeher made her first appearance and start for the United States Women's National Team in a 7–0 win over Argentina in the International Tournament of Brazil. She played the full 90 minutes and earned her first career shutout.
Naeher was on the roster for the 2015 World Cup in Canada as a backup for Hope Solo, but did not play as Solo played every minute in goal as the United States won the 2015 World Cup.[18]
In July 2016, Naeher was named to the United States Women's Soccer Team roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil.
Since the United States' loss at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Naeher has become the USWNT's number one goalkeeper, taking over the spot that had been held by Solo for years.[19]
Naeher was the number one goalkeeper for the United States at the 2018 CONCACAF Championship; she played in four out of the five matches and earned four shutouts. The U.S won their second consecutive CONCACAF Championship with a 2–0 win over Canada.[20]
On May 2, 2019, Naeher was named to the United States roster for the 2019 World Cup; this was her second World Cup. Naeher entered the tournament as the U.S.'s number one goalkeeper.[21] When Naeher started the team's first group game on June 11, it was the first time in over two decades that neither Hope Solo nor Briana Scurry was in goal for the U.S at a World Cup.[22] Naeher recorded three consecutive shutouts in the group stage as the U.S won, 13–0, over Thailand, 3–0 over Chile and 2–0 against Sweden.
In the knockout round, Naeher made four saves against France in the quarterfinals to help the team preserve a 2–1 victory over the host nation.[23] In the semifinals Naeher had three saves and stopped Steph Houghton's penalty kick in the 83rd minute to help the United States to a 2–1 victory over England.[24] In Sunday's final, Naeher posted one save to culminate in a shutout over the Netherlands in the U.S.'s 2–0 victory, resulting in the team repeating as World Cup champions. Naeher played every minute of the United States' successful 2019 World Cup run.
On June 23, 2021, she was nominated for the 2020 Summer Olympics,[25] which were postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Naeher brought her team into the semi-finals with three saved penalties in the quarter-finals against European champions Netherlands: a save in the 81st minute and two additional saves in the penalty shootout.[26] She was in goal until the 30th minute of the semi-final against Canada and then had to be replaced by Adrianna Franch due to injury.[27] Her team won the bronze medal.
Naeher was named to the United States roster for the 2023 World Cup, making it her third World Cup.[28] In the Round of 16 match against Sweden, Naeher saved one penalty kick and almost saved Lina Hurtig's shot, but the ball crossed the goal line by millimeters and knocked the United States out of the World Cup. She was the first goalkeeper ever to take a penalty at a World Cup (women's or men's), and the first to both score from the penalty spot and save a penalty.[29]
On February 7, 2024, Naeher was named to the roster for the inaugural 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.[30] During the tournament Naeher played 5 of the 6 matches and also earned her 100th cap during the Quarterfinal match against Colombia where she kept a clean sheet in a 3–0 victory.[31] Naeher became the third goalkeeper in the history of the USWNT team to make 100 appearances for the senior team, following Brianna Scurry and Hope Solo.
Naeher was highly praised for her performance in the semi-final match against Canada where she saved three penalty kicks and also converted one herself, after the game went to a penalty shootout when the game finished 2–2.[32] Naeher was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament and earned the Golden Glove award for her performances as U.S. went on to win the inaugural Gold Cup, defeating Brazil 1–0.[33]
Naeher is the daughter of John and Donna Lynn Naeher. She has a twin sister named Amanda who played soccer for Messiah College and a younger sister named Abigail. She is of German, English, and French Canadian ancestry.[35] Naeher is a Christian.[36][37]
Following the United States' win at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Naeher and her teammates became the first women's sports team to be honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City.[39] Each player received a key to the city from Mayor Bill de Blasio.[40] In October of the same year, the team was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House.[41]
