Tierna Davidson is a big loss for the U.S. women’s Olympic soccer team. Here’s why

As the U.S. Olympic women’s soccer team continued its impressive run to the knockout stage, one of the biggest blows was the injury to Tierna Davidson, a key member of the U.S. backline.

Davidson was sent off in the 40th minute of Sunday’s 4-1 win after a collision with Germany’s Yul Brand. She suffered a knee injury so severe she had to be replaced by fellow defender Emily Sonnett. It’s a big blow for the U.S., who have relied on Davidson throughout the qualifiers, and even tougher for Davidson, who has been underwhelming since being sidelined with a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2022.

Who is Davidson and why is she so important to the team’s plans? Here are five things to know about her ahead of the USA v Australia final on Wednesday (1 p.m., Peacock):

She’s spent nearly half her life on the USWNT circuit.

Davidson, 25, has been with the United States Soccer National Team at both the youth and senior levels since 2014. She played four years (2014-2018) with the Under-20 youth team and has made over 60 appearances for the senior national team since making her debut on January 21, 2018. In doing so, she became the youngest player on a team qualifying for the 2019 FIFA World Cup.

She wanted to be an astronaut

Davidson, a Stanford University graduate, took flight training. I dreamed of working at NASA. Before instead pursuing a career in soccer, Davidson turned professional after the 2019 NWSL Draft, but after just three years with the Cardinal, he forfeited two more years of collegiate eligibility to be drafted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She says the Corbin-Albert case affected her too

Davidson, who is openly gay and engaged, said on the Good Game podcast that teammate Corbin Albert’s homophobic posts “were obviously a difficult situation that affected her personally, based on what she was talking about.” But Davidson also said Albert “has learned a lot from it and must continue to do so,” adding, “As humans, we all have.” Well said.

He was the top pick in the 2019 NWSL Draft…

Defenders aren’t typically first-choice picks, but Davidson ended up being a defender after forgoing the remainder of her eligibility at Stanford to enter the NWSL draft. She was selected by the Chicago Red Stars. After playing out her contract with Chicago, she was drafted as a free agent by NWSL’s Gotham FC in January.

Photo: Karen Hickey/ISI Photos/Getty Images

…and led Stanford to a national championship.

Prior to being the top draft pick, Davidson was riding high after playing a key role in Stanford’s 2017 NCAA Division I championship. He was on the field during Stanford’s Final Four win over Florida State, 1-0, in the semifinals and Penn State, 4-0, in the finals. Davidson was named the tournament’s Defensive Player of the Year.