Alyssa Naeher, USWNT and Chicago Stars goalkeeper, announces retirement from professional soccer

Alyssa Naeher is hanging up her gloves. The legendary United States women's national team and Chicago Stars goalkeeper announced Friday that she is retiring from professional soccer after 17 seasons. "It's hard to put the last 17 years into words. I've given everything I have to this game, and it's given me memories and experiences that I will never forget," Naeher wrote in a post on Instagram . "God has blessed me with a career far beyond anything I could have dreamed of; I am truly grateful for the game and for the lifelong friends it brought into my life and abundance of memories." View this post on Instagram Naeher, 38, started her career during a tenuous time in professional women's soccer in the U.S., and was one of few players remaining from the NWSL's first season in 2013. For the first two years of the league's existance, Naeher played for the Boston Breakers before being traded to the Stars (then the Chicago Red Stars) before the 2016 season. In her 11 seasons with Chicago, Naeher racked up 203 appearances and spent several years as team captain while leading the Stars to two runner-up appearances in the NWSL playoffs (2019, 2021). Last season, she also became one of few NWSL keepers to flip the script and score a goal herself . "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 in a team release . "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. … Captaining this team has been a great honor of my career." Naeher retired from international play in Nov. 2024 after helping the USWNT to a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. After six years as the USWNT's starting keeper, Naeher left the team as a two-time World Cup Champion and two-time Olympic medalist. Her heroics, especially in high-intensity matchups and penalty shootouts, have cemented her as one of the greatest goalies in U.S. Soccer history. In a move fitting for a player known to avoid the spotlight, Naeher's announcement comes after the end of the NWSL regular season, depriving fans of a chance to properly celebrate her before her final game. Though Naeher spent the season sharing starting goalkeeping duties with Katie Atkinson, she played the Stars' last regular-season game in a 2-0 loss to the Washington Spirit on NWSL Decision Day . The Stars, who have spent the past two years struggling at the bottom of the table, finished dead last in the 2026 standings, with Naeher and Katie Atkinson allowing 71 goals over the course of the season.