015: Lydia Williams of the Matildas

During the 2017 Tournament of Nations, veteran goalkeeper Lydia Williams captained Australia to an improbable win over the United States, and the Matildas rode that momentum to three straight victories and a tournament crown. Since then, Lydia has joined the Seattle Reign, but she is still the Matildas #1 as they seek to retain their Tournament of Nations title in 2018.

In today’s episode, Lydia talks about growing up in rural Australia, where she played soccer and AFL (Australian rules football), studied zookeeping and even raised a couple kangaroos. She talks about her professional start in Australia, her eventual move to the U.S., and her success on both the club and international stages.

Among other highlights, Lydia discusses the dramatic win over the U.S. last year and her experience in the 2015 World Cup, which remains the only time an Australian side – men or women – has won a World Cup knockout round game.

Lydia also talks about overcoming a serious ACL injury suffered in 2014, and about the common goalkeeping experience of sharing minutes. I hope you enjoy the show!

Special thanks to Lydia Williams for joining me!