Casey Krueger keeps her phone on do-not-disturb mode, but as the Washington Spirit defender awaited a call to learn whether she’d be going to the Olympics in Paris, she kept it in her hand and turned the volume up.
She didn’t know what time the call would be coming, so she waited around for what felt like all day. When her phone finally rang, she ran down to her basement, because her son was making so much noise.
And as soon as head coach Emma Hayes started talking, Krueger lost service. After pacing around nervously, Krueger’s mind was put at ease.
“This is unbelievable,” Krueger said of her immediate reaction. “I got emotional and immediately shared that information with my husband and hugged my son. It was a really cool moment.”
This week, Krueger and forward Trinity Rodman were named to the U.S. women’s national team’s 18-player roster for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Rodman, meanwhile, kept her ringer on and made sure her phone didn’t leave her hand the whole day.
“Then, I finally got it,” Rodman said. “You can kind of gauge off the tone of voice how it’s going to go. I was very hopeful, and it obviously went my way. I was very happy, very excited and called family right after.”
In a news release, the Spirit said midfielders Croix Bethune and Hal Hershfelt have been named alternates for the national team, and defender Kate Wiesner will participate in its July camp before the Olympics.
Krueger has 49 appearances with the U.S. team, recording five assists. Rodman has 38, and has recorded seven goals and eight assists.
Krueger said it’s the first time she’s received a call-up for a major tournament outright. She was an alternate for the Tokyo Games, and joined the roster as a replacement.
“It’s definitely going to be different than the last Olympics, with COVID kind of shutting everything down,” Krueger said. “It was very cool, but definitely a different experience. I’m really excited to experience a true Olympics for the first time. As far as my expectations, I’m open-minded, hungry and ready to go.”
Rodman, meanwhile, considered the call-up “just another thing to check off the checklist, which is amazing.”
Interim head coach Adrián González said the Summer Games will be “a really good experience for them. They are the next generation and the future for this country.”
The U.S. women’s national team will play two friendly matches, including one at Audi Field, before its first Olympic matchup in late July.
WTOP’s José Umaña contributed to this report.