Three starters on the USA’s gold medal team — Tierna Davidson, Naomi Girma and Sophia Smith — played for Coach Paul Ratcliffe at Stanford University, as did alternate goalkeeper Jane Campbell.

Catarina Macario, who was named to the Olympic roster but because of injury was replaced two weeks before the opening game, played for Stanford and was a teammate of Girma and Smith on the 2019 national championship-winning team.

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Soccer America Executive Editor Mike Woitalla has written freelance articles about soccer for more than 30 media outlets in nine nations. The winner of eight United Soccer Coaches Writing Contest awards,...