Time has flown since Megan Rapinoe played her last USWNT game and Alex Morgan is not a part of the USWNT squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics. But their legacy will resonate within the US squad, as they lace up for their Olympic opener against Zambia on July 25th. US captain Lindsey Horan recently sat down with former teammate Sam Mewis and laid bare the influence of Rapinoe and Morgan on her leadership skills.

Lindsey Horan, Crystal Dunn, and Rose Lavelle all appeared on Sam Mewis’ ‘The Women’s Game’ podcast and spoke at length about the USWNT’s preps for the Olympics. At one point Mewis asked Horan how former USWNT skippers, including Rapinoe and Morgan, influenced her.

“The few names you just mentioned, I think they all bring their leadership style, their own people. And that is one thing I always said, I want to remain Lindsey. But there is a lot of learning and growing in that,” said Lindsey Horan.

She added, “What I can do on the field… Be a role model, be that player you can always look to. That is always working as hard as possible. I will do anything possible to win.” 

Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Carli Lloyd, notably, co-captained the USWNT from 2018 to 2020. 2019 saw these skippers lead the USWNT to a record fourth World Cup title. Thereafter, Morgan and Lindsey Horan co-captained the US team in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as well. While sharing the captain’s armband, Morgan must have passed some leadership lessons to Horan.

“It’s incredible because I’ve had players in the past that I could look up to and learn so much from,” Lindsey Horan added.

As senior superstars during their prime, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan did some ‘heavy lifting’ to ensure fellow US stars bonded and relaxed before heavyweight campaigns. While speaking to Mewis, Rose Lavelle mentioned she inherited this legacy from these US soccer icons.

Lavelle goes the extra mile to compensate for Rapinoe and Morgan’s absence in the USWNT

Sam Mewis asked Rose Lavelle if she, as a senior player, had made reservations for a team dinner and arranged goodies for her teammates before the Olympics.

“Me and [Emily] Sonett were like okay I feel like usually Pinoe [Megan Rapinoe] and Alex [Morgan] do the heavy lifting on that stuff. So we’re like, let’s try to plan a team dinner. And then Lindsey has been helping out with all the goodies too,” said Rose Lavelle.

Moreover, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan appeared in four World Cups and three Olympics. They won the 2015 World Cup and captained the USWNT in their second straight WC win in 2019. Rapinoe picked her first Olympic gold in 2008, during her debut. Morgan’s Olympic debut was in 2012 and she helped earn the US team a second straight gold medal.

It remains to be seen how much the USWNT would miss Rapinoe and Morgan in Paris.