Riley Tanner: Alabama Alumna's Journey to World Cup a Dream Come True

It's been a busy year for former Alabama soccer star Riley Tanner, who had her dreams come true at the World Cup this summer.

Will Miller | Sep 7, 2023

Riley Tanner: Alabama Alumna's Journey to World Cup a Dream Come True /

As the saying goes, life comes at you fast.

A year ago today, Riley Tanner was playing as a forward on the Alabama soccer team. Over the course of the past 365 days, she has won a second SEC championship, helped lead the Crimson Tide to its first College Cup appearance, gotten drafted into the National Women’s Soccer League, and taken the pitch at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia as a member of the first Panama side to make it to that stage.

Life comes at you fast, indeed.

“It’s definitely been a crazy year, but it’s been a lot of fun, and I’m definitely super blessed for every opportunity that I’ve been given,” Tanner said. “Just to share all these moments with friends and family has been super, super amazing. I couldn’t be more grateful.

“I had an absolute blast [in Australia], and I think holding on to that thought that it’s everybody’s dream to be at that stage, is honestly what got me through everything. Just super grateful for the opportunity, and to play for Panama was just something so, so special. The girls were absolutely amazing, and the fans, and the coaching staff. The whole entire trip was just so unbelievable, and it’s a dream come true.”

The Caledonia, Mich., native, whose mother was born in Panama City, joined the Panama national team in January. In February, the team completed its final step towards Australia with a victory over Paraguay in qualifiers, solidifying the country’s first appearance in the World Cup.

“In that moment, we were like, ‘Alright, now we mean business. We have so much more to give.’ Honestly, I think going through each game, I think we got progressively better. Going through the entire journey was just so special.”

Panama played three matches in Australia. The first was in Adelaide, South Australia, against Brazil. The second was in Perth, a sizable distance from the team’s base camp in Adelaide. That match gave Western Australia’s capital city a second major closely contested battle of wills this year (after UFC 284’s razor-close main event) between Panama and Jamaica. The grand finale, in which the country notched its first-ever World Cup goals against France, was in Sydney.

“My base camp was in Adelaide, so we stayed right outside of their indoor-outdoor mall," she said. "We did a lot of shopping and stuff. We didn’t get to go to the beach, but I heard their beaches are absolutely beautiful. My parents were there with me, and they were able to go to the beach, and they were showing me pictures. It’s definitely a really cool area. I had so much fun there, and the hospitality was actually amazing.

“For our second game, we flew out to Perth, which is on the opposite side of the country. It was really pretty there, too. Didn’t get to do too much, it was more strictly business, flew in, flew out, but then I got to do our last game in Sydney. Walking around Sydney was super, super cool, and all the architecture and stuff was really awesome. Obviously, Sydney Harbor and those types of things. It definitely made more of the experience, just being in a different country and getting to see what they have to offer.”

Tanner isn't fluent in Spanish, the official language of Panama, but still enjoyed her time with her teammates and getting to experience everything with them. With an eye toward the future, she added that the experiences the players shared together in Australia will help them build to more success and growth in future tournaments.

“I don’t speak too much, which always changes the dynamic a little bit, which is why I’m so grateful for the girls. I’m definitely looking to learn more,” Tanner said. “It was all of our first ever World Cup. Just to share all those small little moments with each other was really, really cool, and then throughout the entire trip, just learning more about each other and getting closer with them. I think all of us having these opportunities together is bringing us closer together as a team, which I think is a step in the right direction. I think this was just a stepping stone, and we have so much more to give. To have those opportunities to learn more about each other, and be together every single day… It’s so important, and it was unbelievable because they’re all so fun.”

The highlight of the trip in Tanner’s eyes was the team's final match, played against France. In front of 40,000 spectators, Panama scored its first goals in World Cup history and earned the respect of those in attendance, proving it can match up against players and teams at the highest level of the sport. That mettle did not go unnoticed by the spectators who crowded the facility.

“The whole crowd, we played in front of 40,000-plus people, and by the end, I think we gained all 40,000 of those fans,” Tanner said. “Any time we touched the ball towards the end, they were cheering for us. It was really special, and I’m so unbelievably proud of the team. It was such a big, defining moment for us. To show that we can play at that stage was something super, super special to me. There were a few times throughout the entire journey that I just looked around and was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m here. I can’t believe this is truly happening.’ I think the reason why the last game was so, so special was because it was such a huge crowd, and the biggest crowd we played in front of. For them to cheer for us, and know that soccer means so much more for the world, women’s soccer at that stage. To have that meaning behind soccer was so special, and [a] dream come true.

“To end the tournament the way we did, I think, just wraps it all up in such a surreal moment. Getting those three goals, even though it was a 6-3 loss, just meant so much for the team and even for the country and our fans.”

Every journey starts somewhere, and Tanner’s journey to Australia passed through Tuscaloosa. For two seasons, she played at Alabama, eventually becoming part of the best team in program history. She came to the program by way of South Carolina, where she won her first SEC title in 2019, and kept her impact going and her list of accolades growing at her new stop. Earning respect from those around her isn’t any kind of new thing, and that respect comes from teammates, coaches, opponents and fans.

“Having played with Riley, she’s someone who is going to make you work so hard to defend her and then still gets by you,” former Crimson Tide goalkeeper McKinley Crone said. “She gives her all every time she plays. She has this ‘I’m going to win and I’m going to be part of the reason we do’ attitude, which is why I think she’s so successful. I think the first time Riley and I practiced together still stands out to me. We didn’t really know her, but she kicked everyone’s butt, and I knew ‘Yeah, okay, this girl is legit.’ I love being able to see the success Riley has had at this level. She is inspiring myself and lots of other young athletes that they can achieve anything and I’m so proud to say I know her.”

Her playing style fit right in with last season’s Alabama team, which ran through the SEC, scoring on everybody’s heads like it was going out of style. Tanner led the Crimson Tide in game-winning goals in 2021, and then followed it up by making the All-SEC Second Team in 2022. She kept the soccer Iron Bowl trophy in Tuscaloosa, where it has been since 2020, with a late goal to break a scoreless tie against Auburn last season. That moment is one of many that endeared her to the fans.

“Seeing Riley Tanner compete in the World Cup was beyond amazing,” said Crimson Tide soccer fan Mauricio Gomez, who coined the phrase Tanner Takeover as a nickname for one of his favorite players.

“The best is yet to come for her. I think she’s going to accomplish a lot with both the Washington Spirit and Panama... Witnessing her dribbling skills front row for a majority of the games felt so surreal.”

Crimson Tide head coach Wes Hart has been building the program since 2015, and Tanner is one of his best success stories. He describes her as a special player whose one-on-one ability commands respect, someone on the pitch whom opposing defenses always had to account for.

“I was so excited for Riley,” Hart said. “To see her contribute in the World Cup this summer was incredible. Panama had a very difficult group with Brazil, France and Jamaica. I thought Panama played quite well, and Riley certainly contributed to that. I saw Riley’s confidence grow leaps and bounds during her time at Alabama. She was a talented player before she arrived here, but at Alabama, we allowed her to play with more freedom and create more. She came out of her shell a bit and showed a lot more personality on and off the field.”

The legacy of last season’s Alabama soccer team, and by extension the program, is decorated with transfers. Crone (Oklahoma) holds career school and NCAA records. One of the two players to score 10-plus goals last season, Ashlynn Serepca, was a transfer from Virginia. Some, like Marianna Annest (Northwestern), still wear crimson. Similarly, Tanner said she doesn’t regret trading in the garnet of South Carolina for a stint at the Capstone one bit.

“I give a lot of credit to Alabama,” she said. “I credit a lot to [the coaches] but I also credit a lot to my teammates. Having such a good training environment amongst everybody was definitely something that prepared me so well for all of these different stages. I’m absolutely blessed to have transferred to Alabama, not [only] on the field, but outside of the field. I have gained so many friendships, and all those things from Alabama, and getting my degree from there. It was just the time of my life… It was truly amazing. It was also a dream come true. I couldn’t have asked for a better college experience.”

Lessons learned at Alabama translated to the World Cup. For Tanner, the things she learned about herself as a player during her tenure in Alabama endure to this day. In 26 starts last fall alone, she scored five goals and finished third on the team in assists.

“Learning from Wes and [assistant coach] Mike [Piserchio] a lot about heart, and giving it your all, and learning from all of my teammates, it was definitely something super cool to be a part of,” Tanner said. “Buying into what the team had planned, it was so easy to be a part of that team. A lot of our principles [carried over]. The SEC, we’re very physical. Gotta be a little bit on the athletic side. Playing within the SEC and having to work so hard during those seasons, being a team player, and owning your role within the team, is something we really harped on. No matter what your role is, it means so much to the team, so just having those type of little things in your brain, it’s something that I hold on to forever.”

Virtually every collegiate athlete at any level has dreams of hearing his or her name called in the professional draft. Only a select few do. Tanner’s name was one of them, called in January by the Washington Spirit, where the general manager and president of soccer operations is Mark Krikorian. He’s a familiar, iconic name to college soccer fans, and is spoken of in Tuscaloosa with great respect by Hart, the man alongside whom he won a national championship at Florida State. Now, one of Hart’s players is a part of a new era for women’s soccer in the United States capital, which boasts recent pro titles in hockey and baseball.

“Our owner, Michele Kang, has just done a tremendous job with the club, and has such a huge vision for the club, and has put so many resources throughout the coaches and other things that it’s just an unbelievable experience to be. Also, my teammates, learning from so many great players and learning from our coaching staff, which is just so amazing. It’s such a good coaching staff. So many people to just learn from. I’m lost for words that this is the team that I end up at,” Tanner said. “It’s one of a kind and amazing.”

She has donned many a jersey in the last calendar year, from her No. 12 at Alabama to No. 13 on the Panama national team, to the No. 27 she now wears with her pro club in D.C. As for her college affiliation, even though she played for more than one and still appreciates what South Carolina did for her? It’s not really a question.

“Alabama, all the way,” Tanner said. “I’m incredibly blessed to [have been] at Alabama, and I wouldn’t change that for the world, either. I, to this day, claim Alabama first.”

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