(Photo credit: Mark Smith)

Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher announced her retirement from professional soccer after 16 seasons that included two World Cup titles in that span with the United States women's national team and a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

A product of Penn State, the Connecticut native began her professional career with the Boston Breakers in Women's Professional Soccer then moved to Germany to play professionally when the league folded. Naeher returned to Boston's entry in the National Women's Soccer League after the league was formed.

Naeher, 38, has played the past 11 seasons with the Chicago Stars, seeing time in 179 games and even scoring a goal. After competing with the United States' U-17, U-20 and U-23 teams, she made 115 appearances with the USWNT.

'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. I feel incredibly blessed to have shared the field with so many amazing teammates over the last 11 years.'

Naeher retired from international competition in 2024 but remained in NWSL where she is the league's career leader in appearances from a goalkeeper (224) and saves (765) in regular-season play.

Naeher's time in Chicago included a 485-minute scoreless streak, she helped the Stars reach the playoffs in six consecutive seasons (2016-22) and finished off 50 clean sheets in NWSL regular-season play. There was no 2020 NWSL regular season.

--Field Level Media