Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe has become an unstoppable force on and off the field. Raised in a small rural town in Northern California, the youngest of six, Megan Rapinoe was four years old when she kicked her first soccer ball. Her parents encouraged her love for the game but taught her that winning was much less important than how she lived her life. From childhood on, Rapinoe always did what she could to stand up for what was right. Since 2018, she co-captains the national team alongside Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan. One of the biggest, most memorable moments was during overtime against Brazil in the quarterfinals of the 2011 World Cup. Rapinoe sent a fifty-yard wonder-cross to teammate Abby Wambach in overtime. This goal holds the record for the latest goal ever scored in a World Cup match.

Following the match against Brazil, Rapinoe was named ESPN’s Next Level Player of the Week for completing 5 of 10 crosses while the rest of the team was 0 for 18. She helped lead the United States to win the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The United States team won the gold medal after defeating Japan 2-1 at Wembley Stadium in front of 80,203 spectators- the largest crowd ever for a women’s Olympic soccer game. Rapinoe assisted Carli Lloyd’s second goal of the final in the 53rd minute. She ended the tournament with three goals and a team-high of four assists (tied with Alex Morgan). Widely regarded as one of the top players of the Olympics, Rapinoe was named on a few ‘Team of the Tournament’ lists include those selected by the BBC and All White Kit. Rapinoe achieved a career-best of 8 goals and 12 assists for the United States in 2012.

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