Trinity Rodman was already that player, she just needed that moment.

It arrived, as they so often do for world-beaters, when her team and country needed her the most, and it propelled the USWNT to a 1-0 win over Japan and a place in the women's soccer semifinal round at the 2024 Paris Olympics; the USWNT had been flummoxed by Japan's low block for more than 105 minutes, and questions were dancing through the minds of those judging new coach Emma Hayes' nascent reign as boss of the world's most successful women's national team program.

This was, after all, a team that left Alex Morgan off the roster and was playing its first major tournament without names like Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O'Hara, and Julie Ertz. That leaves space for those next up to become mainstays of this venerated program, one looking to do their best Papillon to the rest of the world's best -- Hey, we're still here.

Rodman, who turned 22 in May, is primed to take the next step on the USWNT stardom ladder, along with defender Naomi Girma (24) and already-celebrated Smith (23). Once a young phenom — 2021 NWSL Rookie of the Year, Best XI, and U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year — Rodman has spent almost the entirety of this Olympics showcasing her complete skill set as part of a 'Trifecta' with Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson. 

Her goal to beat Japan gives her three goals in four matches at the Olympics, and it came on a day that playmakers Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle suffered through rare struggles to set up the forwards (Crystal Dunn's assist to Rodman, however? Chef's kiss to two Player of the Match level performers on that goal).

And with the Yanks now guaranteed to play for a medal under new coach Emma Hayes, a manager known for player and program development from her dominant run in England with Chelsea, Rodman's star appears set to burn brighter over the next week and beyond.

Rodman had already proven herself a tremendous role model, a ridiculous talent who absorbed heaps of pressure and expectation and rarely appeared bothered by it.

She was the youngest player drafted in the history of the National Women’s Soccer League — 2nd overall — and won Rookie of the Year while starring in Washington’s NWSL Championship run, and she's often had to answer that question.

"Is Trinity Rodman related to Dennis Rodman?"

Yes, Trinity Rodman is the daughter of controversial NBA legend Dennis Rodman, but Trinity would much rather speak about her mother Michelle Moyer — Rodman's third wife — who essentially raised her with very little contributed by the father.

Trinity has a relationship with Dennis, but it's not something that would be noticed were it not for his stardom. She's said in recent months that she hopes it grows over time, but that he hasn't played a big role in her life. Here's what Rodman told NBC's ProSoccerTalk before last year's World Cup when asked about folks' perceptions of her.

“I’ve been the first to go from college, well, barely college to pro, and there was a lot of doubt with that,” said Rodman, who committed to Washington State but never played due to the COVID-19 pandemic, going pro before the NCAA resumed competition. “The only video people saw of me was youth camps, so obviously people would doubt me because they hadn’t seen anything, understandably. And no matter what, I can’t get around the name. I think the Rodman name had a lot to do with that, too. Coming from Dennis Rodman there’s a lot of expectations in terms of the athlete that I am.”

She's a heck of an athlete, to be sure, but what makes her special is a relentless engine and that supernatural drive to win often associated with — ironically enough — Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, and Diana Taurasi.

The advanced stats site Football Reference ranks players amongst their positional peers in leagues of similar import. Rodman's stats amongst wingers/attack-minded midfielders are ridiculous. The positional comparison also isn't perfect. Rodman is a forward, she just works back better than almost all of them. But she's very good to elite in shots, expected assists, shot-creating actions, progressive carriers — all of the stats you'd expect — and also between the 85th and 99th percentiles amongst her peers in tackles, interceptions, blocks, clearances, and aerials won.

She's the complete player, and she plays in an attacking position on an attacking team. That's been the recipe for success and the entry to legend status for the very best to do it: Marta, Mia Hamm, Birgit Prinz.

And after Rodman's fantastic winner against Japan, ironically with Hamm and Rapinoe watching in the stands at the Parc des Princes, we might've just witnessed the moment that Rodman took that next step in the public eye. Amongst her peers, it's a step she took well before Saturday's ball spun across goal and just inside the far post.