A women's soccer star scored a screamer from more than 40 yards out, and it was uncannily similar to her World Cup goal from nine years earlier

• Sky Blue FC star Nahomi Kawasumi scored on a blast from more than 40 yards out in one of the most impressive goals of the NWSL Challenge Cup thus far.
• The 34-year-old midfielder scored a remarkably similar game-winning goal nine years earlier during the 2011 World Cup in Germany.
• Sky Blue secured a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dash to earn their first win of the Challenge Cup thus far.

Nahomi "Naho" Kawasumi scored an absolute golazo for Sky Blue FC Wednesday night, and though it was a remarkable goal, it looked strikingly familiar.

That's because the Japanese international had scored in nearly identical fashion almost a full decade earlier.

Kawasumi booted a blast from more than 40 yards out to beat Houston Dash keeper Jane Campbell and put her Sky Blue squad up by two in their third match of NWSL Challenge Cup.

Sky Blue held on for the 2-0 victory — the club's first win by multiple goals since June of 2017, per The Equalizer's Dan Lauletta.

As for the goal, it may be time to start referring to long-range rockets from the left flank as "The Naho."

Nine years ago, Kawasumi put the icing on the cake of Japan's come-from-behind 3-1 victory in the semifinals of the 2011 World Cup with a remarkably similar shot to the one she scored on Wednesday night. The goal was the then-25-year-old's second of the match and all but locked in Japan's spot in that year's World Cup final against the United States.

Though Kawasami's most recent NWSL goal came nearly 10 years after her famous World Cup strike, many women's soccer fans were quick to point out how closely the two strikes resembled each other. Kawasumi hit the ball from almost exactly the same spot on the pitch, catching both netminders well off their lines.

Kawasumi and Sky Blue will face off against the top-ranked North Carolina Courage Monday night for their final match of the qualifying round of the NWSL Challenge Cup.

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