Julia Grosso: Canada and UT's penalty queen, who didn't feel the pressure

The moment Julia Grosso will always be remembered for began at a time when she had been forgotten.

In February 2021 Grosso travelled with the Canadian national team to compete at the She Believes Cup in Orlando, FL. In the thick Florida humidity Canada played three matches, a 1-0 loss to the USA, a 2-0 loss to Brazil and a 1-0 win over Argentina. However, Grosso accumulated zero minutes in the tournament.

Unused and frustrated, things needed to change for the midfielder to achieve her international potential.  

“After that moment, something in me switched,” said Grosso, speaking to the Texas media on Thursday. “After the She Believes Cup I didn't even go home to Canada, I just went straight to Austin and I wanted to focus there. I knew what I had to do. I needed to get stronger and fitter.”

Six months later and Grosso is sitting in her parents' living room in Vancouver undoubtedly stronger, undoubtedly fitter and undoubtedly an Olympic gold medalist. The 20-year old University of Texas senior not only secured 245 minutes across five appearances for Canada in Tokyo this summer but she calmly dispatched the decisive penalty kick in the final shootout against Sweden. 

With all of Canada’s hopes resting on her shoulders, Grosso explained that a combination of personal preference and a goalkeeper's tell were the ingredients to placing her kick where she did. “I don't know if I should be saying this, but I usually go a certain way,” said Grosso. “Once I got to the penalty spot, I was certain which way I would go because I saw her [Hedvig Lindahl] feet move a little bit.”

“Once I took the kick, I saw that she [Hedvig Lindahl] got a little bit of a hand on it. I thought to myself “oh my gosh.” But then I saw that it had gone in. I turned around and it took me a second. That was it, we had won. We had won gold. All my teammates were going crazy. It was this sigh of relief, after all the hard work we had put in.”

In captain Christine Sinclair, 38, Canada boasts the greatest international scorer the game has ever known. Sinclair’s 187 goals for her country eclipses Abby Wambach’s 184 on the women’s side and far exceeds Ali Daei and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 109 on the men’s side. Sinclair made her debut for Canada in March 2000, five months before Grosso was even born. 

Yet it was the young players like Grosso and her teammate Jess Fleming, 23, who were entrusted with the duty of scoring the crucial penalty kicks. Putting the pressure on the unproven was a risk that ultimately paid off for head coach Bev Priestman.

'Just shoot it hard'

Before that night in Yokohama, Grosso had previously never taken a penalty kick for Texas or Canada. So what was her secret to remaining so calm? 

“I remember thinking to myself there’s no pressure. Just shoot it hard, there’s no pressure. I tried thinking about that in my mind. I tried thinking that this kick was not for Olympic gold. If I thought about that, I would be nervous. I tried thinking that I was just at practice shooting the ball.”

Overnight, Grosso’s profile back home has been transformed. She is now a recognizable face in her home country, after an estimated two million Canadians watched the final that kicked off at 8am ET.

Flying back from Tokyo this week, she was overwhelmed by the greeting she received at Vancouver international airport. Mobbed by strangers and family in the arrivals lounge, that was the moment that the triumph of the gold medal finally sunk in for Grosso.

“It was a surreal feeling. There were people waiting for me at the airport, cameras and stuff. And I just keep thinking, is this for me? What?”

“People asked if they could try on the gold medal at the airport. I didn’t really know them, but I let them put it on. It’s really heavy. My whole family has already taken millions of pictures of it.”

It’s at this moment the gold medal appears on the video call, handed to Grosso by her mother off screen. “Thanks Mom,” Grosso says with a smile that conveys both pride and bashfulness. “Let me just finish the questions and then I will show it off.” 

In the aftermath of The Reds’ unprecedented victory in Tokyo, there has been a growing conversation around the lack of a professional women's soccer league in Canada. Unlike in MLS, where three Canadian teams compete (Montreal CF, Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC), the NWSL currently has no Canadian clubs participating.

Canada — currently ranked 8th in the FIFA rankings — is the only nation in the top 10 not to have their own professional league. Grosso, who grew up playing in the Whitecaps’ youth programs, believes that is the legacy this gold medal team wants to leave behind. “The biggest thing for me to come out of this is to inspire younger generations to come. I used to coach some players here in Canada and I hope it inspires them to keep dreaming big.”

I asked Grosso if she would be interested in helping Vancouver become the first professional women’s soccer destination north of the border. 

“I think it would be an amazing thing. I would personally love to play here. After winning this gold medal it feels even more important now. We need to start making some changes in Canada so younger generations here have more to look up to. I think it’s so important that we have a team here in Canada.”

'I have to switch my mindset'

Next up for Grosso is finishing her college career both on and off the pitch. The UT midfielder has been a standout for her team year after year, but ultimately the program has fallen short of head coach Angela Kelly’s lofty ambitions.

The Longhorns haven’t won the Big 12 conference since 2007 and missed out on the NCAA tournament last season for the first time since Grosso joined the team in 2018. UT’s most recent attempt at competing for the College Cup was in 2019, when they were eliminated in the first round by local rivals Texas A&M. Grosso had helped give the burnt orange an early lead in the 7th minute of that match, but the Aggies responded emphatically with four unanswered goals.

 Could returning to play NCAA soccer feel like a comedown for Grosso after making history with her national team at the Olympics? 

“I don't think about returning to NCAA soccer that way,” said Grosso. “I have to switch my mindset. We want to go win an NCAA championship and win the Big 12. It’s great now that I’m celebrating, but as soon as I go to Texas I’ll be focused on that.”

Grosso is set to fly back to Austin, from Vancouver, this weekend. There she will reunite with her teammates and begin her final season wearing the number seven for the Longhorns. Even with the arrival of Austin FC, Grosso is arguably now the most world renowned soccer name currently playing in the 512.

That being said, keeping her proverbial feet on the ground doesn’t seem to be an issue for Grosso, who comes across as a very even-keeled person. Whether it is the Olympic campus or the 40 Acres, she appears passionate about applying herself equally to both. 

“The journey for me has been great. I love representing my country and I love representing Texas. I love doing both, to be honest. School wise it can be really tough but I have no problem with all the work.”

As the call began to wrap up, Grosso paused to make sure everyone in the Texas media had got their screen shot of the medal. She then thanked the media for their time, and apologised for her phone constantly blowing up during the meeting. “I’m sorry, it’s just been crazy,” Grosso said with earnest disbelief. 

Texas or elsewhere, Grosso’s best soccer is still yet to come. For now though, in her words, that night in Yokohama will remain “the best feeling in the whole world.”

The University of Texas soccer season begins Thursday, Aug. 19 in Orlando against the University of Central Florida.