Goaltender Alyssa Naeher retires after a 17-year professional career.
The veteran goalkeeper for the U.S. women's national team ended her career at 38, after winning two Women's World Cups and a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher retires after 17-year professional career (Photo: NYTimes)
On November 13, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher announced her retirement from professional soccer after a 17-year career, 11 of which were spent with the Chicago Stars of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
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Naeher has earned 115 caps for the U.S. women's national team, keeping 69 clean sheets. She was part of the team that won the Women's World Cup in 2015 and 2019. At the 2015 World Cup, Naeher was the second-choice goalkeeper, behind Hope Solo. In 2019, she became the starting goalkeeper, playing in all seven matches and keeping a clean sheet in the final against the Netherlands .
Notably, Naeher is the only goalkeeper in women's soccer history to have kept a clean sheet in both a World Cup final and an Olympic gold medal match. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she contributed to the U.S. national team's 1-0 victory over Brazil in the final.
At club level, Naeher also made her mark with exceptional statistics. She finished her NWSL career with 224 appearances and 765 saves, both all-time records for a goaltender in league history.
After retiring from the national team at the end of 2024, Naeher played for the Chicago Stars for two more seasons. This decision to retire marks the end of the career of one of the most talented goalkeepers in American women's soccer.