On Wednesday, Oct. 15, Christen Press announced that she will retire from professional soccer after her final match in an away game against the Chicago Stars on Nov. 1. The decision marks the end of a remarkable fourteen-year professional career for one of the most influential figures in women’s soccer, both on and off the field, and a pioneer in the sport’s global growth. Press’s announcement makes her the thirteenth out of 23 players from the 2019 U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) World Cup winning squad to retire, marking the end of a legendary era of American soccer.
As a young female soccer player, Christen Press was one of the players that I looked up to the most. Every time I watched the USWNT play, I would look for Press’s creativity and dynamic playmaking ability and cross my fingers that she would score. Press was an offensive force and is inside the top-ten all-time goal scorers — totaling 64 goals in 155 international caps with the USWNT. She is also a two-time Olympian and helped lead the squad to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019.
Beyond her national team accomplishments, Press was incredibly impactful at the club level. Her professional career in the U.S. began with the Chicago Red Stars as the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was created, making her final game against Chicago a fitting full circle moment. After her career in Chicago, she played for the Utah Royals FC and later signed with Angel City FC, where she became a cornerstone of the newly founded team’s cultural identity. Her influence helped establish Angel City as one of the most visible and forward-thinking organizations in women’s sports.
Before her U.S. professional debut, Press played for the Stanford University Cardinals, where she received the 2010 Hermann Trophy. She currently holds the all-time scoring record for the Stanford program. As a young player, I often admired the professional players, like Press, who came from Stanford’s women’s soccer program which made me dream of playing there myself. I’ve since been told the Stanford “S” looks a lot like Swarthmore’s so I guess I wasn’t too far off!
Press’s career on the field has inspired me and numerous others across the world. However, the work that Press has done off the field is arguably even more influential in the development of women’s soccer. Alongside her wife and former U.S. teammate Tobin Heath, she co-founded RE-INC, a lifestyle and social impact company created to “reimagine the status quo.” As co-CEO, Press has helped turn RE-INC into a platform that uses women’s sports as a vehicle for social change, promoting equality, creativity, and inclusion. Her work through RE-INC reflects the same principles that guided her career: challenging social norms, amplifying women’s voices, and redefining success on her own terms, while inspiring a new generation to do the same.
Press has long been a vocal supporter of gender equity and mental health awareness, helping open conversations around the challenges modern athletes face today. I’ve seen firsthand how these conversations have slowly been incorporated into my own soccer teams throughout the years. When I was younger, it was common for athletes to push through challenges to show their “toughness.” While this mindset still exists, it has become more normal to openly talk about the challenges of being a high-level athlete and to seek support. While there is still more progress to be made, this shift shows how Press’s impact expands far beyond the scope of professional soccer, but to youth soccer as well.
When Christen Press steps off the field for the last time in Chicago on Nov. 1, she will leave as more than a two-time World Cup champion, Olympian, and impactful player. She will also leave her legacy that transformed the landscape of women’s soccer — a player who showed how being a professional athlete is measured not just by goals scored, but by the opportunities and inspiration created for those who follow. Christen Press redefined what it means to play and lead in women’s soccer.
