For the fourth time, the United States Women’s National Team are World Cup champions.
With a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands on Sunday, the USWNT took home the 2019 trophy (and will probably not be going to the fucking White House, thank you very much). And while much has been made about the play of established stars like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, one of the real heroes of the team’s run was former Badger Rose Lavelle.
A native of Cincinnati, Lavelle played college ball at UW from 2013-16. The 24-year-old midfielder proved invaluable to the United States, scoring two goals in the team’s 6-0 rout of Thailand and one in the final to put them over the edge against the Dutch. This was Lavelle’s first World Cup.
Unsurprisingly, the crowd that gathered at the Rathskeller to watch the game collectively lost their shit when Lavelle punched in the dagger:
Lavelle’s stellar play has won her some high praise, too. Here’s what U.S. soccer legend Landon Donovan had to say:When @roselavelle scores, the @WisconsinUnion Rathskeller goes nuts!
Congratulations to our @USWNT superstar and the newest @UWBadgers champion! #onwisconsin pic.twitter.com/YMOI4LyWsk
— UW-Madison (@UWMadison) July 7, 2019
And here’s Lavelle’s own teammate Sydney Leroux-Dwyer, away from the team so she could have a baby:Rose LaVelle is my favorite soccer player in the world 🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸⚽️🇺🇸
— Landon Donovan (@landondonovan) July 7, 2019
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, the King of Cool, chimed in as well:Take a bow @roselavelle. 🔥🔥🔥
— Sydney Leroux Dwyer (@sydneyleroux) July 7, 2019
But I think The Athletic’s Molly Knight said it best:Congratulations to @UWBadgers’ Rose Lavelle and the entire @USWNT! 🇺🇸🇺🇸 #OneNationOneTeam https://t.co/0FXwViSf5J
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) July 7, 2019
Here’s a video of Lavelle’s absolute laser of a goal against the Dutch:Rose Lavelle is the most innocent looking assassin I’ve ever seen tbh.
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) July 7, 2019
MRW I watch the replay of that goal:Nothing controversial about this one. What a goal from Rose Lavelle!
(via @TelemundoSports) pic.twitter.com/et3Ee7wd71
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) July 7, 2019
If you’re feeling nostalgic, here’s Lavelle from her Badger days:@roselavelle is a true Cincinnati hero pic.twitter.com/Jd0uaknatG
— Emerald Fry (@emeraldfry14) July 7, 2019
But soccer isn’t her only skill. She’s also arguably the goofiest member of the USWNT:Wisconsin Badger 🌹👐
World Cup Champion! 🇺🇸🏆
Congrats to @roselavelle and the @USWNT on winning the #FIFAWWC#OnWisconsin #OneNationOneTeam pic.twitter.com/ZG1AvhXPte
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) July 7, 2019
I remember one #USWNT video had a question where they asked who had the best Twitter account, and they said Rose Lavelle. What a gem. pic.twitter.com/1DMdbtTJvz
— Sarah Lerner (@SarahLerner) July 7, 2019
(Teammate and roommate Lindsey Horan called her “one of the most strange girls I know” and “the funniest girl I know,” and yeah, I can see that.)I’ve never related to anything harder than I do Rose Lavelle’s tweets 😂 pic.twitter.com/9x4YRvzH79
— Erin B. Underwood (@ErinBUnderwood) July 7, 2019
And now that the World Cup is finished, Lavelle can finally get home to her extremely good dog, Wilma:
Wilma has her own Twitter account, by the way:Bought Wilma rain boots but she’s ungrateful and hates them pic.twitter.com/YLEQNCpYnW
— Rose Lavelle (@roselavelle) January 26, 2017
Party hard, Rose. You deserve it:THAT’S MY MOM https://t.co/X4GXglyaF5
— Willma Jean Lavelle (@WilmaLavelle) July 7, 2019
@roselavelle is a MOOD #USWNT pic.twitter.com/0hPP8VBKx7
— Colleen Hope (@Coll_Hope13) July 7, 2019
🗣 EQUAL PAY #USWNT pic.twitter.com/hQMGz6q54H
— Mina Park (@minapark) July 7, 2019
Comments