MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine women's soccer alumna Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams) captained her first U.S. Women's National Team match June 29.
This is the first Wave to be named captain of the USWNT and the first member of the West Coast Conference since Megan Rapinoe, a '08 Portland graduate.
The 2015 graduate has scored 25 goals in 75 caps with the national team, being named captain in Sunday's friendly against Ireland. With a 4-0 victory, Biyendolo scored the game winner in the 11th minute.
For Biyendolo, the journey to the top of the national team has been anything but seamless. Earning her first cap in 2016, Biyendolo became the 20th player in history to score in her debut match with the squad on top of being the fastest debut goal ever, scoring 49 seconds after touching the pitch.
After her national team debut, the first major tournament opportunity for the Pepperdine alum came in the shape of the 2019 World Cup. With high hopes despite not being called up all of 2018 after her record-setting debut, Biyendolo was 'devastated' after missing the 2019 roster.
"Looking back now, obviously 2019 was devastating for me," Biyendolo said on her Snacks podcast.
Shifting her mindset, Biyendolo credits her ability to play loose to boost her confidence.
"I'm just going to play. I don't care. I put everything into it. And at the end of the day, it's subjective… But I literally did everything I could possibly do," Biyendolo said on the same podcast.
Even with the attitude shift, Biyendolo had to overcome physical hurdles as well. Completely tearing her hamstring as a forward on the Kansas City Current in
2022, the California native had to have surgery, leaving a tight turnaround for the 2023 World Cup roster.
Despite a 10 month setback from surgery in April 2022, Biyendolo was able to make it back for the January friendlies, putting it all on the line to be where she felt she belonged.
"If I crumble now, then I will never get back into that environment ever again. … I was devastated for myself but I can't stay devastated for too long because then I'll never end up where I want to be," Biyendolo told Just Women's Sports in 2023.
In her first World Cup appearance, Biyendolo proved to be a valuable member of the squad and kept her momentum rolling in league play, scoring in the National Women's Soccer League title match to help NY/NJ Gotham FC to the 2023 championship in a 2-1 victory over the OL Reign.
Biyendolo has only gotten better with age, breaking the NWSL scoring record in May 2024 with 79 goals and earning a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics with a 1-0 win over Brazil. Among all her accomplishments, Biyendolo will be a Waves Hall of Famer by the end of the year, as a part of the 2025 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame class to be inducted Oct. 4.
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