U.S. Soccer Stars Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger Announce Engagement
National Women’s Soccer League stars Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris are engaged, the couple confirmed to PEOPLE on Wednesday.
Krieger, a defender on the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup championship team, and Harris, a goalkeeper, are teammates on the Orlando Pride. The two met nearly a decade ago while playing for the U.S. national team but had not previously publicly confirmed their engagement.
They kept their romance under wraps to "be professional," Krieger said. Harris added that the reveal felt “like it’s a massive weight off of my shoulders.”
“Finally, after all these years, I just feel like I don’t have to hide anything or feel like I’m not living up to the community I’m in,” she said.
The 33-year-old goalie proposed to Krieger, 34, in September during a picnic in Clearwater Beach, Fla.
“It was a really good time because I felt really on the same page with her, and really excited about our future and talking about our future plans with kids, and family, and things like that,” Krieger told PEOPLE of the proposal. “It just was a really good time. I was really surprised because it just seemed like another weekend getaway for us. I wasn’t really thinking about it at all!”
Harris added: “It was just us and this beautiful scenery, and I was just like... she was making me laugh, she wanted me to take pictures, and here I am. This is what I’m gonna be doing the rest of my life. It just all froze and I was like, ‘this is it.’"
Harris told the publication that the couple has planned a wedding for later this year. She is poised to be on the USWNT Women's World Cup team this summer.
