US women’s soccer team headed to Tokyo includes a pair of sisters

When you tune in to the Olympics to see the U.S. women’s soccer team — the favorite to win gold at the Tokyo games — you might notice that two players are sporting the same last name on their jerseys.

The Mewis sisters, Sam and Kristie, have been playing soccer together since childhood, and now they’re at the Olympics together, ready to play their first game on July 21.

Though they were on the same team for the U.S. in the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in 2008, this is the first time sisters have appeared on a senior-level world championship roster for the U.S. They’re both midfielders.

Here they are, “proud and sweaty,” as Sam put it on Facebook:

Sam, 28, and Kristie, 30, grew up in Hanson, Massachusetts, where they were coached by their dad, Bob, in youth soccer. Mom Melissa played basketball and ran track in college. The sisters also played basketball and ran, but soccer was their true talent and passion.

In an interview with Bob and Melissa Mewis, the parents told the Wall Street Journal that the girls were competitive with each other growing up, but became close after high school. Now, though, they seem inseparable, even though they play for professional soccer teams in different cities.

You can see just how close they are as they banter in this video from U.S. Soccer, where they’re quizzed on the other’s Dunkin’ coffee orders, their Boston accents and Facetiming each other … oh, and Sam’s “Tower of Power” nickname.

The U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team tweeted a post for each woman on the roster, including the Mewis sisters — also known as the “Mewies” — and it’s easy to see their different personalities. Kristie is cool and collected, while Sam really does look like a Tower of Power.

Go, Mewies!

The sisters seem to be having a good time in Japan ahead of their first game. Sam has been posting photos of their experience as Olympians on Facebook.

Here they are enjoying the local cuisine — check out those plates of sushi!

Team USA faces Sweden on July 21 in the first round of women’s soccer games. (The U.S. men’s soccer team failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.) We’ll be watching!