Trinity Rodman collected the ball just outside the penalty area and needed just one more touch to send it into the lower left corner of the net.
About a month shy of her 20th birthday, she’d scored her first goal for the U.S. women’s national team.
That was April 2022 in a blowout win over Uzbekistan. Now, a far greater stage awaits at the Women’s World Cup beginning later this month. On a U.S. team that will soon have to embrace a new generation of standouts, Rodman belongs on any list of possible breakout stars in Australia and New Zealand.
But with those expectations comes a new kind of pressure. She’s dealt with that in various forms throughout her short career, and now she’s ready for this next challenge.
“I’m so honored, proud, and just excited for this opportunity,” she said. “At this age, there’s so much time to accomplish things, but to experience it this early has been so amazing, and I’m just so excited.”
The daughter of basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, Trinity has become a force for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL. Her confidence and deft footwork make her a highlight waiting to happen, and it feels like only a matter of time before Rodman follows in the footsteps of great American attacking players like Abby Wambach, Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan.
The question is whether she’s ready for that kind of responsibility now, at age 21. On a team that may need her to play a major role.
“Ever since she came in the league, we could see the energy and the creativity and the intensity that she brings,” said Vlatko Andonovski, the coach of the national team. “I feel like every time when she gets the ball, it’s almost like there is a little expectation of, something will happen, something will transpire off of it.”
Born in 2002 — three years after Mia Hamm led the U.S. to a World Cup title at home — Rodman was 13 when the Americans next won. Lloyd had a hat trick in the final that year. One goal in particular stood out.
“The final against Japan, when she scored from half-field,” Rodman said. “Obviously, that was one of the biggest moments in soccer, but obviously that will always be in my head. I mean, that was just inhuman.”
You can imagine Rodman pulling off something similar, given her fearlessness on the field, and her talent has been obvious from the moment she entered the NWSL as the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft. She scored in her pro debut that April and went on to win Rookie of the Year honors — and the Spirit won a championship. In 2022, Rodman signed a contract making her the league’s highest-paid player.
After accomplishing all that while still a teenager — and with a famous last name to boot — it’s fair to say she’s no stranger to a certain level of hype.
“I think for me, trying to block the outside noise has been difficult, but also doable,” she said. “Obviously, coming off of the rookie year that I had, it was more than I ever expected it to be, but that obviously opened up the doors for a lot of attention and a lot of expectations moving into the second season and so on.”
Mark Parsons, Rodman’s coach with the Spirit, has tried to keep the pressure from becoming too burdensome.
“Trin has had a lot of expectation. I also disagree with that, and I think that’s unfair,” Parsons said. “I think that this is a 21-year-old that things are coming thick and fast. She’s taken everything in her stride. I think she’s doing a wonderful job at trying to stay focused on what is most important, which is being a good person, being a good teammate and developing as a soccer player.”
As quickly as she’s become a household name in the sport, Rodman admits to some trepidation about the upcoming World Cup — regarding whether she’d be picked and how she’d perform.
“I think both,” Rodman said. “I think obviously, there’s the initial, ‘Am I going to get that call?’ But also just, like, if I do get that call, I’ve never experienced anything even close to that, so I think the fear of the unknown is definitely in my head.”
She’ll head to the World Cup as part of a U.S. team that’s trying for its third consecutive title. Lloyd is no longer on the roster, but Morgan and Megan Rapinoe are back. Rodman is one of several players going to the World Cup for the first time.
With Mallory Swanson out because of a serious knee injury, Rodman could be even more important in bolstering the U.S. attack. As productive as she’s been at the domestic level, Rodman has only two goals in 17 games with the national team. She said her youth and inexperience made her a bit timid at first.
“The more games I’ve played, the better I’ve gotten. It’s funny to look at one of my first games, I’m like, ‘Who? Was? That?'” she said. “I looked at the way I played the first couple games, and I’m like, ‘I’ve never played like that with the Spirit, so why should I play like that with the national team?'”
When she’s at her best, Rodman makes the game seem joyful. She’ll shoot from long distance if the opportunity is there, and she’s also unafraid to take on defenders. It’s the type of skill set that can lead to stardom — especially if she displays it in the biggest games, with the world watching.
“With Trin, she defends and chases and runs and sprints and presses people like no one else,” Parsons said. “She knows how to beat people 1 v. 1 and run in behind and finish and create goals. They’re the things that make her special.”
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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
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AP coverage of the Women’s World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports