World Cup champion and Pittsburgh native Meghan Klingenberg announces retirement
Pittsburgh native and World Cup champion Meghan Klingenberg announced her retirement from soccer on Wednesday.
The announcement came via an open letter on her and the U.S. Soccer's Instagram pages.
"This sport has been the stage of a lifetime," Klingenberg wrote. "It gave me the chance to test myself, expand my world, and discover who the f**k I could become. I've grown in ways that are so unexpected."
The 36-year-old was an All-American during her high school playing career at Pine Richland, where she led the Rams to back-to-back state championships in 2005 and 2006.
From there, she went on to the University of North Carolina, winning two national championships and scoring 18 goals in the process.
During her high school and collegiate days, she was also a part of the U.S. National Program, playing for the U-16, U-17, U-20, and U-23 teams. Then, in 2011, she got her first call-up to the main roster for the Four Nations Tournament, where she earned her first two caps with the senior squad.
In 2013, she was officially named to the senior team.
When the U.S. Women's National Team won the 2015 World Cup, Klingenberg played every minute of every game during the team's run to glory.
As the women's national team went on their victory tour following the World Cup victory, Klingenberg returned home to Acrisure Stadium, then Heinz Field, for a friendly against Costa Rica.
In what could only be described as storybook, she would score in her hometown, celebrating the goal with a Terrible Towel wave.
Klingenberg's success didn't just come on the international stage. During her time in the National Women's Soccer League, she won the championship twice with the Portland Thorns. She also started 135 of 149 matches with the Thorns, logging 11,619 total minutes with the club.
"Now, I feel full, grateful, at peace," Klingenberg wrote. "It's time for something new to excite me the way soccer always has. Because the purpose hasn't changed, just the stage."
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