USWNT icon Alyssa Naeher announces retirement from professional soccer after historic goalkeeping career

The legendary netminder steps away after 11 seasons anchoring Chicago, concluding an iconic career as the only keeper with shutouts in both an Olympic gold medal match and a World Cup final

Nov 13, 2026 at 12:23 pm ET • 6 min read

On a hot day in Paris during the 2024 Summer Games, the U.S. women's national team had one thing standing between a pressing Brazil and a gold medal -- Alyssa Naeher.

With a one-goal lead and the USWNT scrambling as the game wound down, Naeher did what she did best and made the hard thing look routine. With stretched-out limbs, she made a late-game save that secured a 1-0 gold medal win, with little theatrics afterward. Now, one of the most decorated goalkeepers in United States history is officially hanging up her cleats. Naeher, whose international career ended in 2024, announced her retirement from professional soccer.

When Naeher announced her retirement from international soccer later that year, in November, she left as the only goalkeeper to record a shutout in both a World Cup final and an Olympic gold medal match. She played on with Chicago, where her club career already had a long history of its own, but now the goalkeeper and former team captain is stepping away from the game, leaving behind a legacy.

From Connecticut to Penn State to Boston and then Chicago, Naeher covered the posts in the Windy City in a way that reflected Chicago's landscape -- a humble demeanor, broad shoulders as vast as its 77 neighborhoods and the type of brag that came through only in the work she put in on the pitch.

"The decision to retire is never an easy one, but after a lot of prayer and reflection, I feel like it is the right time," Naeher said.

"When I got traded from Boston to Chicago at the end of 2015, I felt like my world got turned upside down, but Chicago very quickly became my home away from home. I feel incredibly blessed to have shared the field with so many amazing teammates over the last 11 years, and have created a lifetime of memories on and off the field that I will always cherish. I want to thank the coaches and the organization for their support and belief in me. Captaining this team has been a great honor of my career, and shoutout to the fans for their continued support of me and the team."

A long NWSL career

Naeher's club story spans multiple clubs, one that winds through Boston, Germany and finally Illinois. She played for the Boston Breakers in Women's Professional Soccer and again in the NWSL's early seasons, and in between she featured for Germany's Turbine Potsdam.

She was traded to Chicago in the fall of 2015, months after she was part of the goalkeeping corps that won the World Cup. Since then, she has become the franchise's standard-bearer, the longest-tenured player in club history and captain of the team now known as Chicago Stars FC.

Naeher established herself immediately in her first season in Chicago. She finished the year with NWSL Second XI recognition, and, with Chicago's backline, sustained a 485-minute scoreless streak that set a league record at the time and remains a landmark achievement in club history.

She made six consecutive NWSL playoff appearances from 2016 to 2022 and reached the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup final during the league's COVID-19-affected season. She started in the club's first NWSL Championship final in 2019 and helped the group reach the 2021 NWSL Championship but missed out on game action due to an injury she picked up during the Tokyo Olympics.

Over 11 years with Chicago, she became the club's all-time leader in regular-season appearances, starts, minutes played, saves and clean sheets. With 179 regular-season appearances, 16,012 minutes, 558 saves and 45 clean sheets for Chicago, she closes the NWSL chapter on the pitch with 223 starts in 224 regular-season career appearances, 765 saves, 50 clean sheets and nearly 20,000 minutes played.

But she'll be remembered most for the lore she left behind. Like when she scored her first-ever NWSL goal in August 2025 in stoppage time to rally Chicago to a 3-3 draw against Seattle. 

USWNT accomplishments

Naeher's international resume probably reads more like a checklist of accomplishments by now. Her successful stint as the nation's starting goalkeeper ran alongside her career with Chicago. She retired from the international stage in 2024 with 115 caps, 112 starts, 89 wins and 69 clean sheets, ranking third among U.S. goalkeepers in all four categories. She was a member of three World Cup rosters and three Olympic teams.

Her highlights include winning the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the Golden Glove, and then quickly becoming part of the senior team goalkeeping corps. She was a member of the 2015 World Cup-winning roster, took over the starting role for the team after the 2016 Olympics and went on a remarkable championship run during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

As the USWNT No. 1 during the 2019 World Cup, she recorded four shutouts and conceded just three goals, made a penalty save against England in the semifinal and kept a clean sheet against the Netherlands in the final. During the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, she started every game, set a USWNT record with four clean sheets, including shutouts against each knockout-round opponent, and made the gold medal-winning save against Brazil to protect Chicago Stars teammate Mallory Swanson's goal.

Her heroics led to individual accolades as well. She was voted the 2024 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, only the second goalkeeper to win it after Hope Solo, and The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper in 2024.

But again, it's her ability to produce tales of legend just through effort that stands out. At the 2023 World Cup, she became the first goalkeeper to take and convert a penalty in a Women's World Cup shootout. She followed it up with memorable performances in the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup and SheBelieves Cup. She converted her own attempt and stopped three penalties in shootouts against Canada at each tournament. 

Leadership under pressure

Naeher's game overall includes highlight reels and legacy. But it was her ability to win with fundamentals, discipline and positioning that endeared her to Chicago's faithful fan base. If Chicago is the city of broad shoulders, then Naeher's shoulders carried a defense for a decade, with a level of cool and calm under pressure, insane penalty work and the ability to deliver a spectacular moment just when you think there's nothing a game can give.

Her leadership is what will be most missed by teammates and supporters in Chicago. Naeher was the temperature check through poor seasons and the transition to new ownership. Her belief in a new foundation and better future for the club is ultimately what she leaves behind as the franchise welcomes its new chief of soccer operations, Vlatko Andonovski.

It was Naeher that new owners and club executives relied on the most during the period of change and turnover as a new chapter of Stars football was being written.

"There are no words to truly encapsulate what Alyssa has meant to the Chicago Stars," club president Karen Leetzow said.

"She has lived through the greatest achievements and most trying moments in our history, and she has never wavered as a leader. Chicago has been fortunate to enjoy the greatest goalkeeper of all time in its backyard, while also sharing the joys of her journey on the game's biggest stages. She is any teammate's greatest advocate, on and off the pitch, and her partnership has been a gift to me personally in my role at the club. We wish Alyssa all the best, and we're eternally grateful for all she's done for the women's game."

Naeher's professionalism will be missed just as much in Chicago's hallways. She arrived at the club over a decade ago, shorter in answers and to the point in press conferences, and leaves as the player who took on the responsibility to speak on behalf of the locker room in bad and good moments. As the club looks ahead to its next rebuild, it will now do so without its longtime captain. The only real way to honor her is to build something better upon those broad shoulders she used to lift Chicago up for a decade.