The USWNT and Chicago Stars goalkeeper, 38, announced the news in an Instagram post on Friday.
Alyssa Naeher is done. The 38-year-old goalkeeper announced her retirement from professional soccer on Friday, closing out a 17-season career that began back when the NWSL itself was brand new.
Naeher was one of the few players still around from the league's first season in 2013, and she spent 11 seasons anchoring the net in Chicago. Along the way she became a fixture for the U.S. women's national team, building a reputation as the calm, steady presence behind a roster full of attacking stars.
"It's hard to put the last 17 years into words. I've given everything I have to this game, and it's given me memories and experiences that I will never forget," Naeher wrote on Instagram. She added that she was grateful for the career, the friends the game brought her, and the memories she is walking away with.
Her resume includes a distinction no other keeper can claim: shutouts in both an Olympic gold medal match and a World Cup final. That combination, built over nearly two decades, is what made her exit something more than just another retirement announcement.