Family Bond: Thompson Sisters Proudly Multicultural

Alyssa and Gisele Thompson have blasted off the starting blocks on the race to elite-level soccer - and life, and business.

Both still teenagers, the sisters have each represented the U.S. in multiple FIFA World Cups: Alyssa was on the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup team in Costa Rica, while Gisele was on the 2024 U-20 WWC side in Colombia. Gisele also played in the 2022 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India, while Alyssa was the youngest member of the USWNT at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand.

The two are also teammates in the National Women’s Soccer League for Angel City FC - just a few years removed from becoming the first high school athletes to sign Name, Image and License (NIL) deals with Nike - while still adding to their business portfolio.

The dynamic duo have reached this point through a lot of hard work and sacrifice, and with the support of a multicultural family they proudly represent in all their successes.

“Family is so important. It can get hard and very stressful - school and soccer, and proving yourself on the field and still being young, and still wanting to have a life,” Gisele told ussoccer.com recently. “It’s very hard to balance all of that.”

Alyssa, 19, and Gisele, 18, were born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Parents Karen and Mario Thompson are of Peruvian/Italian and Filipino decent, respectively. Their Peruvian grandparents, Ramiro and Silvia, moved to U.S. over 30 years ago and have been in the Thompsons’ life all along.

“Having my family behind me - behind us - has been so helpful - especially being so close,” Gisele said. “They help clear my mind, keep calm and have been such an important part of this whole process. They have always supported me in everything, but also have confidence in me that I can do it and that I’m ready for anything that comes.”

Born 13 months apart, the sisters grew up as best friends - and older sisters to Zoe. They have competed together and pushed each other throughout their young lives.

Growing up, the family did not have a TV – highly unusual in this day and age -- so the kids spent a lot of time playing outside and inside. Their parents put them on sports teams - soccer, basketball, volleyball and flag football. They ran track and competed in gymnastics. Sharing a bedroom, they grew up as “twins”, Gisele said, and played with dolls and toys, when they weren’t playing soccer.

"We would have family nights and play games, like Monopoly or Apples to Apples,” added Alyssa. “And we’d get real competitive on those game nights, too.”

By the time they were in high school, they really stood out in soccer. They played on MLS Next side Total Futbol Academy’s boys U-19 and U17 teams, respectively. As a junior and sophomore at LA’s Harvard-Westlake High School, the sisters signed NIL deals with Nike. They would later each sign letters of intent to attend and play at powerhouse Stanford University.

They were good students, too, and grew up listening to their mom and grandparents speak Spanish to each other.

“We’re definitely not fluent, but I feel like I can understand more than I can speak it,” Alyssa acknowledges, noting how they continue taking Spanish-language classes.

Language aside, family was at the core of the sisters’ development.

“Our grandparents live so close to us, that we see them often,” said Alyssa. “We would have dinners at their house and hang out over the weekends. And since they have a TV, we would watch soccer games there, or big events like the Super Bowl.”

“Eating dinner as a family, going to the park, getting out of the house and doing things together -- our parents prioritize having a balance, and not just soccer.,” Gisele added. “So they made sure not only that we spent time as a family, but also having time to spend with our friends and going out together.”

Life has been about more than soccer, and a South American influence has present in their daily lives. Gisele likes to bake, while Alyssa likes to draw, paint and do photography.

“When we were little, our grandma would watch us and she would make us this breaded steak that was soooo good,” Gisele recalled. “That was the one thing I wanted every time I went to their house. It was so good. Me and my mom have tried to make it, but it’s just not the same as grandmas. She doesn’t even measure up the ingredients, she just makes it special.”

While also a fan of that dish, Alyssa has a different favorite.

“Our grandma also makes another dish - its hard-boiled eggs and potatoes and a yellow sauce - that’s really good,” Alyssa countered. "She always makes it for us when we go over.”

Bistec apanado or papa a la Huancaína are traditional Peruvian dishes. But Gisele also has a sweet tooth, perhaps influenced by her grandfather.

“Now they love when I come over, because they love my chocolate chip cookies,” Gisele said, recalling how she would help her grandma bake as a kid. “I perfected the recipe and everyone in my family loves them so much. And my grandpa loves chocolate cake, so I always try to bake that for him, too. I think he’s who I got my sweet tooth from.”

Despite their similarities, they excel on opposites sides on a soccer field. While both stand around 5’4”, Gisele is a speedy outside back, while Alyssa is a goal-scoring forward. Both have taken the next steps in their athletic careers.

Alyssa was selected by Angel City in with the top pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, becoming the youngest player ever drafted into the league, and the first to be drafted straight out of high school. Gisele joined the team in 2024 through the NWSL U-18 initiative that allowed her to sign before turning 18 and not enter the draft.

Alyssa made her USWNT debut in October 2022 against England, coming on as substitute for the legendary Megan Rapinoe in front of 80,000 fans at the famed Wembley Stadium in London.

When Alyssa made the USA’s roster for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, her mom told The Los Angeles Times, “She is a fighter. She doesn’t let anyone push her around. That is part of our culture because we have to work very hard to achieve things,” Karen told the newspaper. “In our community we work very hard and we do everything for our family.”

The sisters now live together in an apartment in LA, and finally have their own TV. Between games and trainings, they take college classes, “because academics is very important in our family,” Gisele adds. They are determined to earn degrees.

They are part of a new generation of women’s soccer, one which is benefiting from the work of past U.S. Women’s National Teams, which has helped the women’s game grow around the world. They are proud United States players - with Peruvian and Filipino roots - and encourage other athletes who look like them to reach for the stars.

“Being able to look at players like Gisele and myself, and see our heritage,” Alyssa said. “(Anyone) can play and go far in the game and have goals and make a name for themselves. The game will continue to evolve and it doesn’t matter where you’re from or where you play, if you’re passionate about it.”

This year, Gisele had her first taste of the USWNT when she trained with the team ahead of the Concacaf Gold Cup. It’s the next goal the sisters have for each other. With the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, they have a target.

“It’s definitely a dream of both of our to play in LA together, on the biggest stage,” Alyssa said. “It’s probably my number one goal for the future. Me and Gisele talk about that. It’s incredible we’re on Angel City together now, but we it’s also a big goal for us to play together with the National Team.”