LI native Crystal Dunn has won almost every women's soccer honor — except Olympic gold
Over the course of her remarkable career, Crystal Dunn has pretty much done it all.
She won a national championship at North Carolina, she won three National Women’s Soccer League championships and she was a member of the U.S. National team that won the 2011 World Cup. She won the Hermann Trophy, collegiate soccer’s version of the Heisman, and in 2015 was the youngest player in the history of the NWSL to win the MVP.
Only one thing is missing. The Rockville Centre native has never won an Olympic gold medal.
There’s nothing Dunn would like more than to patch that hole in her resume when she plays in her third Olympics with the U.S. women’s national team this summer in Paris.
Although the USWNT is always expected to be a force to be reckoned with at the Olympics, the team has a lot of proving to do this year. The United States is the winningest women’s soccer team in the Olympics, with four gold medals, but its most recent came in 2012.
Things didn’t go as planned for the team in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as its bid for a third straight title ended when it was knocked out by Sweden on penalty kicks. The Americans recently fell to No. 5 in FIFA’s global rankings, their lowest ranking ever.
The Americans will open play against Zambia on Thursday in Group B, which also includes 2016 Olympic gold medalist Germany and Australia.
The recent struggles led to the hiring of coach Emma Hayes in November. Hayes, who led Chelsea to five straight Women’s Soccer League titles, set about remaking Team USA’s roster.
“We stepped out of the World Cup not feeling too amazing about our performance,” Dunn said at a recent news conference, “but I think at the end of the day, we knew we had an incredible opportunity to regroup and get back to it.”
While that regrouping has included an infusion of youth — with an average age of 26.8, this U.S. team is the youngest since 2008 — Dunn was able to secure her place on the 18-woman roster. At age 32, she is the third-oldest player on the team. United States forward Crystal Dunn, left, battles for the ball with Mexico forward Myra Delgadillo, right, during the second half of a women's international friendly soccer match on July 13 in Harrison, N.J. Credit: AP/Pamela Smith
Dunn, known for her versatility, played a year under Hayes in 2017-18 at Chelsea. One of the first things Hayes did when she took over the team was move Dunn to forward for the first time since the summer of 2017. It’s a move soccer fans have been pushing for years, and it paid off in the team’s 3-0 friendly win over South Korea as Dunn scored her first international goal in more than five years.
“I know what Crystal Dunn’s all about,” Hayes said in that post-match news conference. “She’s played for me before and she’ll do whatever the team needs . . . I’m happy to be back coaching her.”
Dunn is one of six players from NWSL’s Gotham team selected to represent the United States in the Olympics. The others include Jenna Nighswonger, Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle, Lynn Williams and Tierna Davidson.
Dunn also is thrilled to be back in the Olympics for a third time, but she concedes it has not been an easy year.
On July 3, her birthday, Dunn posted on Instagram that the past year had been one of the “most challenging” of her life. Shortly afterward, she elaborated on that in a Zoom news conference. Dunn said there had been “a lot going on” with the national team, and at the same time, she was playing with a new team in the NWSL.
She said the biggest thing that has helped her is the support of her family and friends. Dunn’s parents still live in Rockville Centre and she maintains close ties to the community.
“The one thing I’ve been able to lean into is that I have friends and family who know me as more than a soccer player,’’ she said. “They know me as the goofy kid who was running around Rockville Centre. I think it’s really nice to be surrounded by people who keep you grounded and remind you that soccer is what you do and not what you are.”
This Olympics is particularly special, given that it is in Paris. Dunn’s husband, Pierre Soubrier, is French. That means he and their son, Marcel, will get a chance to visit with family when they come to cheer her on.
“I’m just excited,” Dunn said. “Every Olympics is different. With this one, it’s my first as a mom. It’s in France, so I get to see all my friends and family. I’m also excited to help this team and make an impact the best way I can.”
Especially if that impact can help the team win a gold medal.
WHEN TEAM USA PLAYS
Thursday vs. Zambia, 3 p.m.
July 28 vs. Germany, 3 p.m.
July 31 vs. Australia, 1 p.m.
Aug. 3 Knockout round
Aug. 6 Semifinals, Noon, 3 p.m.
Aug. 9 Bronze medal game, 9 a.m.
Aug. 10 Gold medal game, 11 a.m.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.