Graphic: Hannah Anderson/The Olaf Messenger
Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz announced their retirements from professional soccer this year. Read on for a look back at their impressive careers and legacies in the sport.
In 2009, 23-year-old Megan Rapinoe was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars for the club’s first season in the developing National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The Redding, Calif. native had just rounded out four years as a midfielder for the University of Portland. During her freshman season as a Pilot, the team won the NCAA Division I championship. Though she battled ACL injuries during her sophomore and junior seasons, Rapinoe rallied to start in every game as a senior in 2008, when the Pilots went 20-2.
Following her time on the Red Stars’ roster, Rapinoe represented the NWSL’s Philadelphia Independence, Seattle Sounders, and magicJack clubs before joining Seattle’s OL Reign in 2013, her current team. Simultaneously, the star was making appearances with the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT). As a forward, she and the squad took gold in the London Olympics and won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in both 2015 and 2019.
In addition to her fast footwork and impressive knack for netting goals from the corner-kick zone, Rapinoe has garnered attention for her steadfast activism off the field. In 2012, she publicly came out as gay, and since then has become an outspoken icon for the LGBTQIA+ community. In 2016, Rapinoe displayed her support for the Black Lives Matter movement when she kneeled for the national anthem in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick’s protest initiative. For years, she has fought for equal pay for women in sports and been a voice for athletes struggling with their mental health. For her advocacy, Rapinoe was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden in 2022.
In July, Rapinoe announced that the 2023 World Cup would be her last, and that the end of this year’s NWSL season would close out her professional career. “I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape [and] change my life forever,” Rapinoe said in an X post announcing this decision. It’s pretty safe to say that soccer, too — as well as women’s sports across the board — have been changed forever by Rapinoe’s legacy.
In 2014, 21-year-old Julie Ertz was the third overall pick in the NWSL College Draft, and — just like future USWNT teammate Megan Rapinoe — was selected by the Chicago Red Stars to begin her professional club career. This followed a four-year, extremely decorated collegiate performance as a midfielder for Santa Clara State University.
As a Bronco, Ertz was recognized over 17 times divisionally and nationally for her achievements. These awards include being named the U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year in 2012. In 2015, Ertz was the second-youngest member of the USWNT squad that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and she played every minute of every game in the tournament as a center-back. In 2017, following a switch to the defensive midfield position, Ertz was named the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, which she would go on to win a second time in 2019 — the same year in which she and the USWNT reclaimed the World Cup title.
In August 2022, Julie and her husband Zach Ertz — a tight end for the Arizona Cardinals — gave birth to their son, Madden. After just a year-and-a-half of maternity leave, Ertz returned to the field in 2023 with the NWSL’s Angel City FC and joined the USWNT for their World Cup run. Following the USWNT’s Round of 16 loss to Sweden, Ertz made the difficult decision to step away from the game, citing that her role as a mother and family member took precedence at this stage of her life.
“These girls gave me a gift I could never repay and I got to live out a dream I wish for everyone: falling in love with a sport you have played your whole life and getting to share it with your son,” Ertz said of her career in a Aug. 31 X post.
Her goal of making this dream a reality for others has now taken flight. In 2019, she and her husband founded the Ertz Family Foundation. The nonprofit’s mission statement is to “empower others by sharing faith, learning through sports, and advancing education to build supportive communities.”
