Megan Rapinoe⁠

Soccerplayer

Megan Rapinoe

Megan Anna Rapinoe (born July 5, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger and captains OL Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States national team.

Winner of the Ballon d’Or Féminin and named The Best FIFA Women’s Player in 2019, Rapinoe won gold with the national team at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and she played for the team at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup where the U.S. finished in second place. Rapinoe co-captained the national team alongside Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan from 2018 to 2020, with the team earning the Bronze medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

She previously played for the Chicago Red Stars, Philadelphia Independence, and MagicJack in Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), as well as Olympique Lyon in France’s Division 1 Féminine.

Rapinoe is internationally known for her crafty style of play on the field. Her precise cross to Abby Wambach in the 122nd minute of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal match against Brazil resulted in an equalizer and eventual win for the Americans after a penalty shootout. The last-minute goal was awarded ESPN’s 2011 ESPY Award for Best Play of the Year. During the 2012 London Olympics, she scored three goals and tallied a team-high four assists to lead the United States to a gold medal. She won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.

Rapinoe is included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

The ACL injury

Megan Rapinoe is widely considered to be one of the greatest American soccer players of all time. Rapinoe has been through the trials and tribulations of injuries many times, including three separate ACL tears during her career. ⁠

It all started in 2006

Rapinoe tore her left ACL for the first time during her sophomore season at the University of Portland in 2006, which promptly ended her season.

2007: She returned in 2007 but again tore her ACL in the same knee only two games into the new season. Despite only playing 60 games in total for Portland, she ranked tenth in the school’s history with 30 goals and 28 assists.⁠

In 2009, Rapinoe would say that getting injured was “one of the best things that ever happened” to her, simply because she felt it “grounded” her and she became stronger during the rehab process. ⁠

2015: Rapinoe tore her ACL for the third time (right knee) in her career in 2015 while training in Hawaii for a match that was part of the U.S.’ Victory Tour after winning the Women’s World Cup. Even though she was 30 years old at the time, she still did not let the injury cut her career short. ⁠

Megan Rapinoe remains one of the biggest stars of the United States Women’s National Team. She boasts more than 60 international goals in more than 185 appearances for the U.S., including two Olympic medals and two World Cups. Rapinoe also has several individual honors to her name, most notably the prestigious Ballon d’Or in 2019, which she won alongside Lionel Messi. ⁠

Highlights & Awards

Titles
Lyon

  • Division 1 Féminine: 2012 – 2013
  • Coupe de France Féminine: 2012 – 2013

Reign FC

  • NWSL Shield: 2014, 2015

United States

  • FIFA Women’s World Cup: 2015 & 2019
  • Olympic Gold Medal: 2012
  • Olympic Bronze Medal: 2021
  • Algarve Cup: 2011, 2013, 2015
  • CONCACAF Women’s Championship: 2014, 2018, 2022
  • Tournament of Nations: 2018

Individual

  • Algarve Cup MVP: 2013
  • NWSL Best XI: 2018
  • IFFHS World’s Best Woman Playmaker: 2019
  • IFFHS Women’s World Team: 2019
  • The Best FIFA Women’s Player: 2019
  • FIFA Women’s World Cup Golden Ball: 2019
  • FIFA Women’s World Cup Golden Boot: 2019
  • FIFPro World XI: 2019,[242] 2020
  • FIFA Women’s World Cup Final Player of the Match: 2019
  • Ballon d’Or Féminin: 2019
  • IFFHS CONCACAF Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020
Specialist card image

Become a member at Team ACL

Are you a physical therapist, an athletic trainer, a mental performance coach or a doctor and do you want to increase your visibility for ACL patients and professionals?