Christen Press welcomed herself to the U.S. women’s soccer team by scoring twice in her debut in the first game of 2013. The team said goodbye Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park, honoring Press before its first game of 2026, a 6-0 win over Paraguay.
In between, Press played 154 more times for the U.S., winning two World Cups, an Olympic bronze medal and scoring 62 more goals, retiring as the ninth-leading scorer in team history.
But those are just numbers because as good as Press was, she wants to be remembered for the legacy she left behind, for the barriers she broke, for the inspiration she continues to provide for players who followed her to the national team.
“Well, it’s sort of the point, right?” she said ahead of Saturday’s farewell ceremony before a crowd of 19,397. “I feel really lucky that I had the opportunity to play long enough to overlap with some of these young players and be able to see the growth of the game, how far it’s come, and be able to see what the next generation of player feels like.
“It’s different, and it’s going to take different things for people to have success.”
Talk about following in Press’ footsteps: The first score Saturday came from Reilyn Turner of the Portland Thorns, like Press a Southern California native who scored her first U.S. goal on a left-footed shot in the first half of her international debut. The second goal, less than two minutes into the second half, came from Kansas City’s Ally Sentnor.
And that opened the floodgates, with the U.S. getting an own goal from Paraguay’s Fiorella Martínez followed by scores from Trinity Rodman — who was celebrating the three-year contract, reported to be worth a record $6 million, she signed Thursday with the Washington Spirit — a second goal from Sentnor and another from Emma Sears.
Press scored her final international goal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Ten months later, playing with Angel City FC in the NWSL, she shredded the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, an injury that required four surgeries and nearly 25 months to repair. She never played another game for the national team and made just three more starts for Angel City before announcing her retirement last October.
By then Press, 37, had made the transition from soccer star to businesswoman and media personality with Re-Inc, a gender-neutral community-driven fashion brand, and the Re-Cap Show, an award-winning soccer podcast, both of which she runs with wife and former teammate Tobin Heath.
That, Press said, will continue to provide her with a link to the game.
“We’re so integrated into the women’s sports ecosystem, through podcasts, through merchandise and through the women’s soccer community,” she said. “I have spent a lot of time looking at the business of women’s sports and how we need to reimagine it.
“In a dream world, I’d be able to continue to influence the ecosystem as a businessperson.”
Press got her start in soccer in the Palos Verdes Peninsula, about a dozen miles from where her career officially ended Saturday in Carson. As a preschooler she played with older kids in co-ed league because one team was short a girl.
“I didn’t touch the ball once,” she remembered years later. “I picked daisies and waved to my mom.”
She went on to win two CIF Southern Section titles at the Chadwick School and a Hermann Trophy at Stanford before starting a club career that took her to eight teams in three countries. With the national team she went to three Olympics, won World Cups and played a key role in the landmark lawsuit against U.S. Soccer that ended with the women earning equal pay with the men’s team.
It’s a résumé that already is challenging the next generation of national team players.
“I admired her for a long time,” said Seattle Reign winger Maddie Dahlien, 21, who made her national team debut Saturday. “She made a name for herself a little later. You never know when your opportunity will be. So make the most of it when it comes.”
U.S. coach Emma Hayes never had a chance to work directly with Press, though she wanted to bring her overseas to Chelsea FC when Hayes managed there and Press was looking to move to the Women’s Super League.
“I’ve always admired her and thought what a fantastic football player she is. Very different to what was a more traditional American forward at the time,” Hayes said. “What she’s achieved, as well-traveled as she is, what an honor to be coaching on the day she gets celebrated in her hometown.”
For Press, it was a celebration that marked the transition from one stage of life to the next. And, she acknowledged, there are a few things she’s going to miss.
“I am so sad that I don’t play soccer anymore,” she said. “I miss training. I miss being on a team, being around young people. I miss being outside every day. I miss the grass. I miss the discipline and ritual that football brings to my life.”
“I like to talk about all the things that I miss, because I think ‘I’m retired. It’s easy now.’ No. I had the best job in the world. And it’s an irreplaceable job.”
The post Christen Press wants to be a game-changer for women’s sports in retirement appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
