Oct 16, 2025
3 min read
Two-time World Cup champion Kristen Press announced on Wednesday that she will retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 NWSL season.
Two-time world champion Kristen Press announced on Wednesday that she will retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 NWSL season, ending a 14-year professional career.
The press will be honored by Angel City FC, his current club, on Sunday, at BMO Field, in Los Angeles (5pm Brasília time).The striker helped the United States win the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and scored in the 10th minute of the semi-final victory over England in 2019.
Press retires with 64 international goals – ninth-most in USWNT history.She last played for the United States in 2021, helping the team win a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.She was also an alternate for the 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning team.
"I have been restored from football and the decision, my last few times and last games,"
"I thought I would wait until I didn't want to play anymore. But if I never come, I won't be able to play. It's very important for me to make this decision for myself.
The Los Angeles native, known for her innate goalscoring ability, creative play and versatility in the forward position, ends her decorated career with her hometown.She was the Angel City's first official signing in 2021 ahead of next year's expansion season.
Press, who turns 37 in December, has seen his time limited mostly to a backup role this year.He scored one goal in 399 minutes.He returned to action in 2024 after missing more than two years with a knee injury and subsequent surgeries.
Prior to joining Angel City, she played for the Chicago Red Stars and Utah Royals in the NVSL and also served in various roles overseas.The press release follows the retirement of her husband and former American teammate Tobin Heath earlier this year.
The press acknowledged that Heath's retirement played a role in his decision to walk away from the game.
"She absolutely hates me to say this, but [it had a big impact on me],"
Press and Heath signed with Manchester United in 2020 around the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.Under head coach Casey Stoney, United challenged for the Women's Super League title that year and finished fourth.
Press first played overseas in 2012 in Sweden when there was no professional league in the US.In 2013, Press joined Tyresö FF in the Swedish Damallsvenskan alongside superstars like Marta.She became the first American to win the Golden Boot in the league in 2013 when she scored 23 goals.
Tyressö met in the UEFA Champion League final in 2014, losing 4-3 to VFL Wolfsburg.The club followed soon after.
Press returned to the United States to join the Chicago Red Stars in 2014 at the request of U.S. Soccer, which at the time paid contracts to national team players. She was developing in Chicago through the 2017 NWSL season before the Red Stars traded her rights to the Houston Dash prior to the 2018 season.
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Press refused to settle for breaking and decided to do it briefly in Sweden for Götebor FC, where he appeared in NWSL rights to press, and in 2018 he joined the development team in May.
She began her professional career in women's professional soccer (WPS) in 2011, where she was named the 2011 rookie of the year for the Magicjack team.
Press had joined that team as the No. 4 draft pick after a standout career at Stanford, where she won the MAC Hermann Trophy in 2010 as college soccer's best player. She is still the career leader for the Cardinal in several categories, including points (183) and goals (71).
U.C.C.Women's National Team Coach Emma Hayes first saw the press when I was playing at Standard and was impressed by his education and nerve.
But Hayes said the picture is about more than just talent on the field.
"I think a lot of what people don't see in this generation of players is how much they've suffered to get to where they are today," Hayes said.
"They had to sacrifice or put themselves in a position that put everybody else in a better position, whether it was fighting for a level playing field, whether it was fighting for equality, just the right conditions, whether it was the right level of play, whether it was creating the right environment around the players.
This report uses information from the Associated Press.
