In a scan of the world's hottest female hockey players, it became quite clear that some of the absolute finest were goaltenders. While there were some definite stunners up front and on defense, there was something about the crop of goaltenders in women's hockey - and not just mediocre goalies at the collegiate and semi-professional level. Most of the goalies we came across were the stars for their respective national team, while others have potential to assume that role in the near future if their play continues to improve. Is there something about stopping 80-plus mile per hour slapshots that attracts the sport's most beautiful women? We can't be sure about the reasoning behind the fact, but it's clearly not only limited to hockey.

Say what you will about Hope Solo's character, but there's not a single male reader who wouldn't want to spend some alone time with the beautiful goalkeeper. The American is far from the only beautiful protector of the net in soccer, or football as the beautiful European ladies on this list would prefer. The list that follows include an eclectic group of talented and sexy women from a variety of backgrounds and nations who will do whatever it takes to keep you from scoring.

15 15. Siiri Valimaa

Finland isn't necessarily a dominant soccer power given the country's cold climate. Hockey is the preferred team sport (more on that later), but it has produced a number of quality soccer players, including Siiri Valimaa, a 27 year old blonde bombshell who plays for Kolbotn IL of the Norwegian women's premier division Toppserien. She has played for the team since 2013, following a four-year career with the Finnish club NiceFutis. She was on the country's roster for the 2013 UEFA Women's Euro Championship, but didn't appear in a game.

She surprisingly only has 547 followers on Instagram, although perhaps it isn't that surprising given she's a female soccer player currently playing in Norway. However, she's an obvious inclusion on this list and certainly worth of attracting more attention for both her looks and talent.

14 14. Valentina Wallner

We can't get enough of Swedish goaltender Valentina Wallner. The 27 year old was a member of the Swedish national team at both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics and has represented her country at the international level since 2008, when she was a member of the U-18 team. Additionally, she competed in five World Championships and had a particularly-impressive performance at the 2014 tournament, when she recorded a 2.90 goals against average and .915 save percentage, which is quite good for a goaltender not on Canada or the United States.

Whereas the stereotypical Swedish babe might be a blonde-haired beauty, Wallner is a brown-eyed belle with brown hair, but she even puts some of the incredible blondes to shame. Here's hoping she cracks the 2018 Olympic team.

13 13. Viona Harrer

A native of Kolbermoor, Germany, Viona Harrer is a 5-foot-6 goaltender who hasn't played since the 2013-14 regular season, but she's worth including on this list given her credentials. Not only has she represented Germany in eight World Championships and one Olympic Games, but she also happens to be a stunning black-haired babe with eye-popping assets.

If you've never searched YouTube videos of hot German goaltenders, first of all what are you doing with your life and second of all please take a second to do so. While it's not exactly a language or accent that is synonymous with sexy, Harrer is somehow memorizing when she speaks. The 30 year old hasn't played for quite some time, but she was brilliant in her last appearance at the 2014 Olympics, recording a 2.00 goals against average and a .938 save percentage.

12 12. Anna Prugova

Most of the women on this list - if not all of them - are incredibly aware of their own sexuality, although it's not something they flaunt on their social media pages or in photo shoots. They're committed to their respective sport and keep their personal lives separate. That isn't to say Russian hockey goaltender Anna Prugova isn't committed; rather, she's confident in her looks and doesn't mind making extra money for her beautiful body. Lord knows women's hockey isn't the most lucrative career pursuit.

The 23 year old blonde netminder has already played for Russia in two Olympic Games and five World Championships and has actually posted respectable numbers; in fact, she's a two-time bronze medalist at the World Championships. When she isn't covered in full gear on the ice, she certainly doesn't mind stripping down to a bathing suit for photo-shoots.

11 11. Hope Solo

Hope Solo is one of the most fascinating figures in all of sports, let alone women's athletics. The United States national team goalkeeper has long been one of the best in the world and still is despite being 36 years old. She has also made headlines outside of soccer for her appearance on Dancing with the Stars as well as her domestic violence arrest in 2014. The case was eventually thrown out, but it left a black eye on her career.

Regardless, she's still an absolute babe, albeit a little intimidating at times, which probably contributes to her hotness. She often wears a stern or displeased look on her face while between the goal posts and you just know she could be ready to snap at any moment, but that's why we love her.

10 10. Monika Gyomber

Entrants on our list include beautiful women from Canada, France, Germany, Finland, and Sweden, among other nations, all of which have modest hockey and soccer programs. Monika Gyomber, however, is from Hungary, but isn't a soccer goalkeeper as one might expect; instead, the 26 year old beauty is a former goaltender with the country's national women's program who also played for a men's team in Budapest as well as Sweden's Vaxjo Ladies Lakers and Germany's ECDC Memmingen.

Gyomber doesn't appear to be active anymore, but it's hard to keep track of goaltenders at the lower level. She last participated in the Division-III World Championships for Hungary and posted an impressive .947 save percentage through three contests. If she isn't playing hockey anymore, there's a strong chance she could have a career in modeling.

9 9. Eveliina Suonpaa

Earlier we teased the mention of a sexy Finnish goaltender in hockey and Eveliina Suonpaa is more than worth the wait. The 22 year old blonde-haired bombshell plays for Lukko of the top-tier women's league in Finland and has represented her country at numerous international competitions, including the 2014 Winter Olympics and recent World Championships.

She's quite active on social media, especially Instagram, where she posts hockey-related photos as well as several depicting her everyday life. There's no doubt that she has one hell of a body and she's aware of it, given her multiple bathing suit photos, including one in which she's hoisting the Liiga championship trophy over her head. If we're lucky, she'll be starting for Finland during the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

8 8. Sabrina D'Angelo

Like Finland, Canada is primarily known for producing world-class hockey players, but it's surprisingly a solid soccer nation, at least on the women's side. The country's men's team is unable to compete with even the smallest of nations, but the women won the bronze medal at both the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics and hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. It has received great goaltending in recent years from 30 year old Stephanie Labbe and the recently-retired Erin McLeod, but 24 year old Sabrina D'Angelo appears poised to take the reigns in the near future.

A member of the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League, D'Angelo is a bubbly, personable beauty who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2014 following an impressive collegiate career in which she earned SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and SEC Goalkeeper of the Year.

7 7. Emma Byrne

While most of the women on this list are either in their early 30s or 20s, Emma Byrne is a stone-cold fox at 38 years old who is even more sexy given her Irish accent - think WWE's Becky Lynch but blonde. One of the better goalkeepers of her generation, Byrne spent over a decade with the Republic of Ireland women's national football team and appeared in a record-setting 134 games, even serving as captain at one time.

She began her club career in Denmark and later joined the Arsenal Ladies club, where she spent 16 years. She's currently a member of the Brighton & Hove Albion Women's Football Club in England. While she looks good on the field, she's simply stunning off it, whether it's at the beach of hanging with friends in a pub - she is Irish after all.

6 6. Meeri Raisanen

Meeri Raisanen is a 27 year old hockey netminder who is ahead of her country-mate Eveliina Suonpaa both in terms of talent and looks - she started all six games for Finland at the 2016 World Championships, despite not playing at the 2014 Olympics. Yet, the beautiful blonde has come into her prime in recent years (she made the 2015 and 2016 World Championship All-Star Team).

Off the ice, there's no question Raisanen is among the hottest goalkeepers in the world both in hockey and soccer. She's got an infectious smile, a beautiful face, strong arms and legs, and a curvy backside that any fan can appreciate. For our money, she's easily the hottest international goaltender in the world.

5 5. Sarah Bouhaddi

We'll admit, some of the goaltenders on this list are mostly known for their sexuality or looks rather than their talent, but Sarah Bouhaddi isn't one of them. The 30 year old French backstop was the recipient of the 2016 International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) Best Woman Goalkeeper award, ending a four-year run by Hope Solo.

Bouhaddi made her professional debut with CNFE Clairefontaine in her native country of France and currently plays for Olympique Lyon. She has also appeared in over 100 games for the French national team since 2004 and has helped lead the team to Cyprus Cup championship wins in 2012 and 2014. She posted topless - but covered-up - with a pair of teammates for Self Assignment in 2009. Thanks, Sarah.

4 4. Emerance Maschmeyer

One of the top up-and-coming goaltenders in all of Canada, Emerance Maschmeyer is a member of Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Womens Hockey League. She spent the previous season with the Calgary Inferno and recorded an impressive 1.25 goals against average to go along with a .946 save percentage through eight games.

Like most of the more talented women athletes, she played against boys throughout her youth career, even rising as high as the Alberta Junior Hockey League, where she appeared in seven games for the Lloydminster Bobcats and faced opposition players as old as 21 years old. She played her collegiate hockey at Harvard University and has won three silver medals with Canada at the World Championships, primarily serving as a backup to 31 year old veteran Shannon Szabados.

3 3. Karen Bardsley

Despite being born in Santa Monica, California, Karen Bardsley is a 32-year old goalkeeper who stars for Manchester City and England's national team. She actually grew up in the United States and played the bulk of her career there, even enrolling at California State University, but opted to play internationally for England because of her family connections in Stockport, which is near Manchester.

She recently competed for England in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and was one the country's submission for the 2012 London Olympics. She and her Manchester City teammates are, for the most part, just as beautiful as they are talented; if you don't believe us, take a peek at her Instagram account for yourself. There's a reason she has over 25,000 followers.

2 2. Meline Gerard

Sarah Bouhaddi isn't the only beautiful French goalkeeper. In fact, her club teammate, 27 year old Meline Gerard, might be a notch above her in regard to looks and appearance and could soon pass her in terms of talent. Both players are also part of the French national team, but Bouhaddi receives the bulk of playing time. In fact, since 2014, Gerard has only played in 10 games for her club team Olympique Lyon.

However, Gerard takes the cake in regard to social media presence and promotion. Like most committed athletes, her entire life seems to be dedicated to her craft, so her Instagram doesn't necessarily contain many photos in which she's showing off her body at the beach, but we can continue hoping for the day that might come to fruition.

1 1. Maggie Cory

An 18 year old blonde with an All-American look, Maggie Cory received nationwide attention earlier in September after she was featured in a popular sports blog that announced her as the hottest female hockey player and, while we can attest to that claim, she's more than just a cute face and stunning body.

The 5-foot-6 native of Minnesota is a freshman at the Ohio State University and previously played for the Madison Capitals U-19 team, compiling a 21-11-3 record to go along with a .915 save percentage. She's definitely no joke between the pipes. She made her social media accounts private after receiving a boom of recognition, but media outlets captured some of her more revealing photos and, needless to say, we think you'll be following female college hockey this season.