Squad Goals

For a new generation of US women's soccer stars, this summer's World Cup is everything. Alessandra Codinha reports.

It's an atypically sunny spring day in Beaverton, Oregon, and four of US Women's Soccer's brightest rising stars are wondering what it will look like when they win. This is not an unusual train of thought for Sophia Smith, Alyssa Thompson, Naomi Girma, and Taylor Kornieck, who between them represent a new generation of standout scorers, defenders, and in this World Cup year, possible household names. But at this moment, under Vogue's lens, they are more preoccupied with the granular realities of celebration than usual. Will they attempt an ironic gesture, à la Alex Morgan, miming drinking tea after America's victory over England in the last World Cup? Will they whip off their shirts and fall to their knees like Brandi Chastain did in 1999? Will they collapse, or cheer, or cry? They arrange themselves in an open semicircle, arms loosely linked over one another's shoulders. "Okay, you've just scored the winning goal," photographer Brian Finke prompts them from behind his camera. "Who scored?" Thompson asks. "Me!" Smith shouts, backing up to gleefully launch herself into her teammates' huddle as the shutter clicks. And with that, one of soccer's most exciting young talents delivers a reminder-invaluable in any sport that timing is everything.