Catholic soccer star Rose Lavelle followed her hero’s footsteps to World Championship

The St. Vincent Ferrer school alum will be an inspiration to many student athletes.

The US Women’s soccer team has won the FIFA World Cup for the fourth time in their 28 year history. With the 2019 championship secured, the team has become the winner of half of the Women’s World Cups in the history of FIFA.

The first half of the game was like watching an unstoppable force meet an immovable object, as neither team allowed a single point to score, but after a penalty shot by Megan Rapinoe gave the US team the lead in the second half, the Netherlands players fought harder than ever.

It was with just a little more than 20 minutes left in the game that Rose Lavelle took the ball and began a mad dash to the enemy goal. With a kick from her trusty left leg, Lavelle sent a shot hurtling into the goal and gave the US a safety point. The team, however, didn’t need the help, as they were able to hold off Netherland’s advances and win the game 2-0.

Rose, a Catholic who attended St. Vincent Ferrer School, in Cincinnati, is known to tweet faith-based messages, such as:

I'm really not looking forward to kneeling during church tomorrow..but hey happy bday Jesus, I do it fo you #homeboy

— Rose Lavelle (@roselavelle) December 24, 2012

This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad #ChurchFlow

— Rose Lavelle (@roselavelle) April 8, 2012

On their Facebook page, St. Vincent Ferrer is lauding Lavelle’s part in the team’s incredible run through the finals, in which they won 14 games and only lost 1. In the midst of their celebration, they noted a time when Lavelle dressed up as her long-time hero, Mia Hamm — Women’s FIFA player and Olympic Gold Medalist. They wrote:

In an interview with SBNation, Lavelle spoke of the victory with humility. She said:

“The whole experience hasn’t really hit me yet,” she says. “I think I have such amazing players around me, it’s easy to look good when you play with all these incredible players, and I feel so lucky to be a part of this group.”

We congratulate the entire US Women’s team on their incredible performance and look forward to seeing them again at the next World Cup, in 2023. If you missed Lavelle’s kick, you can watch below.