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Orlando Pride defender Ali Krieger has never been a goalkeeper, but she’s still got the solid hands and reaction time of some of the NWSL’s best.
Krieger was keeping an eye on Sydney Leroux’s 1-year-old son, Cassius, while the latter was riding on a rolling suitcase through an airport before the Pride’s road game against the Washington Spirit. Cassius began to slip off the suitcase, and Krieger caught him before he hit the ground.
The big save was recorded by Leroux and the video is making the rounds on social media.
“I was holding his shirt the whole time,” Krieger said. “I told him to hang on tight, but I knew, just in case something was going to happen, I was there to catch him.
“I think that when he started to see a plane, he started to point and Syd was trying to take a little video for us. As soon as he saw her and the plane, he just kind of got carried away and so I just quickly… I don’t know. My reaction time was pretty good.”
The save was good enough for the NWSL to award Krieger with the league’s first “honorary” Save of the Week award.
It's even better in slow motion.@alikrieger of the @ORLPride takes home the first ever Honorary #NWSL Save of the Week Award for this clutch move. (🎥 @sydneyleroux) pic.twitter.com/jV97ctR5PP
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 2, 2018
Leroux on Friday tweeted the video out and said, “If this isn’t this weeks NWSL Save of The Week then you got it all wrong. I’m voting [Krieger].” As of Monday evening, the video has been retweeted more then 5,600 times and liked more than 27,000 times.
Krieger’s save of Cassius didn’t make the list of three finalists for Save of the Week. The Houston Dash’s Jane Campbell, the Washington Spirit’s Aubrey Bledsoe and the Portland Thorns’ Adrianna Franch — who all had in-game saves — were the finalists this week.
Still, Krieger was pleased with her own effort and laughed when asked if she should be put on the list of finalists for Save of the Week.
“Obviously my handling is pretty good,” she said with a smile.