Megan Rapinoe, arguably the face of US women's soccer for nearly two decades, has announced that she will be retiring at the end of the 2023 season. Rapinoe's career began in Portland in 2005, when she scored 30 goals in 60 games for Portland Pilots collegiate team across three seasons. Alongside Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair, Rapinoe won an NCAA title during her freshman season. In 2009, Rapinoe was the second-overall pick in the WPS draft, joining the Chicago Red Stars. When the Red Stars shut down a year later, Rapinoe joined the expansion Philadelphia Independence. However, she was subsequently traded to MagicJack, formerly known as the Washington Freedom. However, the MagicJack franchise was terminated at the end of the 2011 season and the league would fold in early 2012.
After brief stints in Seattle, Sydney, and Lyon, Rapinoe returned to the US in 2014 to join the Seattle Reign of the newly formed NWSL. Rapinoe has since played 102 games and scored 47 goals for the Reign, who were acquired by Lyon to become the OL Reign. However, Rapinoe has also been an anchor of the women's national team since 2006. She was a key part of turning the United States into the international powerhouse they are known as today. At the time of writing, she has won two World Cups, two Olympic medals (gold and bronze), and nearly 200 international caps.
Rapinoe Announces Retirement
Rapinoe announced that she would be retiring at the end of the 2023 season on July 8. "It is with a deep sense of peace & gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game. I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape & change my life forever, but by the look on this little girl’s face, she knew all along," she wrote on Twitter. That means the upcoming World Cup will be her last. Furthermore, Rapinoe's final game will occur sometime in October or November, based on how well the Reign performs this season. The team entered as the defending NWSL Shield holders. At the time of writing, the Reign are third in the NWSL standings.
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With the World Cup, Rapinoe will look to help the US make history. They enter as two-time defending champions and could become the first nation to win three tournaments in a row. In the group stage, the US will face Vietnam, The Netherlands, and Portugal. The Netherlands will be an intriguing game especially, as it will serve as a rematch of the 2019 World Cup Final. While the US remains as significant favorites, the landscape is quite different from four years ago. It will likely not be as easy a road as the perennial champions have experienced in the past. While the end of it is still some months away, congratulations to Megan on a truly historic career.
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