Teenager Lily Yohannes is getting ready to face the Netherlands on Tuesday—the country she turned down in favor of playing for the U.S. women's national team on the international stage.
The midfielder became one of the hottest names in women's soccer last season after her incredible string of performances for Ajax Amsterdam in the UEFA Women's Champions League.
The 17-year-old was born in Virginia, but spent the majority of her life in the Netherlands after her family emigrated—creating a difficult dilemma for her after both nation's head coaches expressed an interest.
Speaking to media this week, Yohannes dismissed any speculation that the fixture between the USWNT and Dutch side forced her make a decision.
"The timing is quite funny," she said. "But no, I don't think that was really a factor in my decision. I think the time felt right, as did the moment. I made my decision and I didn't want to prolong it anymore."
Before making her decision, the teenager was lucky enough to play in noncompetitive games under both the USWNT's former interim head coach, Twila Kilgore, and the Netherlands' Andries Jonker.
"I was called into the full [USWNT] camp in April and that was great, just being able to see the environment," she added. "And from there, I obvioisly was undecided and was still having communication with the Dutch federation. I was given space from both federations, which gave me the opportunity to make a decision.
"I think being involved with the full team in those two camps was a great experience and I'm really grateful for that."
Understandably, there was a lot of commotion around the youngster, but she said "blocking out the noise" was vital in the decision-making process.
"I had a great support system around me with my family and my club. I was asked the question a lot, but I didn't really feel pressure or anything like that.
"So that was really nice. I just focused on the people whose voices matter and blocked the outside noise out. The people I had around me said it was a big decision, and told me to follow my heart and not feel pressured by any external factors."
Emma Hayes's USWNT side will face the Netherlands on Tuesday in their last fixture of the year, in a game that marks the end of goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher's international career.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lily Yohannes ‘Blocked Out the Noise’ When Deciding to Play for USWNT.
