Heather O’Reilly, a reputation synonymous with girls’s soccer, remains to be making waves on and off the sector.
A extremely adorned participant with three Olympic gold medals, a FIFA Ladies’s World Cup win, an NWSL championship win, an NWSL Defend Win, and a surprising 231 worldwide appearances beneath her belt, O’Reilly’s on-field achievements are legendary. And even now, her impression continues.
Though formally retiring in 2019, O’Reilly by no means stopped working. She got here out of retirement in 2022 to play for Shelbourne Soccer Membership, based mostly out of Dublin and contributed to the 2022 Ladies’s Nationwide League title.
“I didn’t assume that the workforce would imply a lot to me, and that I might actually wish to come again and assist them win the league. I stored an eye fixed on issues after I went again dwelling and, when the title race was heating up, I wished to come back again and assist in any means that I might,” she stated about her return.
She coaches the North Carolina FC Youth workforce, based the Heather O’Reilly Soccer Academy, co-hosts Sirius XM’s “Performed In” with fellow USWNT star Lori Lindsay, and in 2024, she stunned followers once more by popping out of retirement to signal a one-day contract to play for Gotham FC of their match in opposition to Chelsea on August 19, though was finally unable to play after not passing her bodily. In August, O’Reilly additionally introduced that she would function an advisor to Italian Membership Como 1907.
“Collectively, we’ll try to succeed in new heights and make historical past,” she stated within the announcement.
O’Reilly additionally helped lead and finally win The Soccer Event (TST) for its inaugural season. TST brings well-known golf equipment, gamers, and retired athletes collectively for a 7×7 event with a grand prize of $1 million. The 2024 U.S. Ladies’s Squad, coached by legends Mia Hamm, Carli Lloyd, Michelle Akers, and Carla Overbeck, was made up of formal nationwide workforce gamers, together with O’Reilly, Ali Krieger, Lori Lindsey, Allie Lengthy, and Lori Lawson. The workforce beat the North Carolina Braveness 6-3, claiming the $1 million prize.
O’Reilly’s contributions to soccer lengthen past the pitch, as nicely. She is a vocal advocate for gender equality in sports activities, and has been actively concerned with nonprofit organizations equivalent to Proper To Play, Athlete Ally, and America Scores.
And when she’s not in skilled soccer mode, O’Reilly is a proud mother of two and spouse to former UNC lacrosse participant Dave Werry.
Heather O’Reilly’s legacy continues to be outlined not solely by her exceptional profession on the pitch but in addition by her tireless efforts to develop the sport and pave the way in which for future generations of feminine athletes.
Featured picture by way of @comofootball on Instagram
