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If you were watching the USWNT's winning match against Brazil on Feb. 21, you may have almost missed the sweet moment when Megan Rapinoe paid tribute to Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger's baby girl [3], Sloane. After scoring the team's second and final goal of the game, Rapinoe ran toward the camera, grinning and making a gesture with her arms as if cradling and rocking a baby.
"Yes, we're all crying. We three love you, P [4]!" Krieger wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of Rapinoe. It's just the latest example of the World Cup champions rallying around each other, both on and off the field. When Krieger and Harris announced their adoption of baby Sloane earlier in February, their teammates seemed almost as thrilled as the new parents. "My heart is exploding," Rose Lavelle commented on Krieger's Instagram post [5] introducing them as a family of three. "There is so much joy in this pic," Alex Morgan said about a photo Harris posted [6]. "You will be the absolute best mamas to Sloane."
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Rapinoe has been involved in some of the biggest moments for Harris and Krieger's growing family. In early 2020, when the couple tied the knot, Rapinoe served as maid of honour. She wasn't the only football pal to be part of the wedding, either: Orlando Pride forward Sydney Leroux officiated the ceremony (Krieger and Harris are her son's godparents, too).
"From the youngest player on the team to the oldest, we care about each other [9]. That creates a sense of safety and being comfortable that you can't really put into words," Krieger told Sports Illustrated just after the wedding. "The chemistry that we have off the field is applied on the field, and you can see that. Everything is real, and it's true and it's honest and it's raw." It's clear, from this and so many other moments, that the USWNT truly have each other's backs. After all, they've blazed trails together, both as accomplished athletes and plaintiffs in a historic battle for equal pay [10].