Legendary USWNT player Crystal Dunn retires from professional soccer

ATLANTA – Crystal Dunn, one of the legends in the history of the Women’s National Team and one of the few Americans to win a FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, a FIFA Women’s World Cup and an Olympic gold medal, has officially announced her retirement from professional soccer.

Dunn, 33, calls time on a brilliant 12-year senior international career which also saw her play in the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, at which she helped lead the USA to the top of the podium in Japan. Her effervescent personality, selflessness for her team and penchant for dancing at the drop of a beat always endeared her to teammates and coaches for club and country.

As one of the first Black stars of the U.S. Women’s National Team, especially as a field player, Dunn has long been a role model to many young players of color across the country who aspired to reach the highest levels of the game.

Dunn’s career will be remembered for her versatility, her tremendous one-on-one defending, her ability to perform far above her size (5-foot-1), her popularity among her teammates, her ability to inspire generations of U.S. Women’s National Team players and for a heck of a lot of winning.

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“I leave the game with a sense of peace and deep fulfillment for all that I’ve accomplished,” said Dunn, who was one of the U.S. National Team’s most beloved teammates during her career. “I’m grateful for the incredible people I’ve had the privilege to work with, from teammates and coaches to family and friends, and all the amazing moments we’ve shared. I’m very much looking forward to my next chapter ahead.”

Mere months after assisting Kealia Ohai (now Kealia Watt) on the game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory over Germany during the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Final, Dunn made her debut for the senior National Team on Feb. 13, 2013, vs. Scotland.

She was an outside back and a center back during her Youth National Team Career, but when she emerged as a key player for the WNT at the end of 2015 after a stellar NWSL season, she played as a winger/striker. In the final game of the 2018 SheBelieves Cup against England, she played left back, a position she then held for most of 2018-2021 and the final two years of her career 2023 to 2024.

Dunn was off the field in 2022 as she was pregnant and then gave birth to her son Marcel on May 20 of that year.

Known as one of the best “big-game players” in U.S. history, Dunn played all but 75 minutes of the 2024 Olympics, played every minute of her six games at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and played every minute at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, helping consistently shut down world class forwards while contributing to the U.S. attack down the wings in every match she played.

Dunn, who started her international career in the U.S. U-14 ID camp in 2006, also played in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics (in which she scored against Colombia), the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She played in seven total Concacaf tournaments during her youth and senior career, winning them all.

At the 2008 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship, Dunn scored the game-winning goal in the 1-0 semifinal against Mexico to send the USA to the first-ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. She would help the USA to the championship game where it fell to North Korea, 2-1, in overtime.

She finishes her WNT career tied for 22nd on the USA’s all-time caps list and tied for 27th on the all-time goals list, an impressive feat for someone who was primarily a defender for the majority of her WNT career.

Dunn grew up in the U.S. Women’s National Team youth setup and finished her U-20 WNT career as one of the most capped players all-time at that level with 39 games played. She finished her U-17 career with 13 caps and one goal.

Dunn did not make the roster for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team, but that spurred her to further dedicate herself to the game and she had a spectacular club season with the Washington Spirit, winning the NWSL Golden Boot and earning NWSL MVP honors in 2015, along with a return to the U.S. National Team. From then on, she was a regular call-up for three different USWNT head coaches.

Dunn played for six different professional clubs in her career, starting with the Washington Spirit, before heading overseas to Chelsea FC for a stint with now-USWNT head coach Emma Hayes, then coming back to the NWSL where she played for the North Carolina Courage, Portland Thorns FC and Gotham FC. She finished her career in France with Paris Saint-Germain.

She helped the Courage win the 2018 and 2019 NWSL Championships. In 2019, she scored in both the semifinal and the final. She also helped the Thorns win the NWSL title 2022 and won the NWSL Shield three times (2018, 2019 and 2021).

Dunn was selected by the Spirit as the first overall pick out of the University of North Carolina in the 2014 NWSL Draft. She won the MAC Hermann Trophy as college soccer’s top player as a junior, when she also helped lead UNC to the NCAA title, and finished second to future USWNT teammate Morgan Brian as a senior. For the Tar Heels, she was a four-time All-American, garnering three First-Team selections and one Third-Team. She was the first player to win ACC Player of the Year honors three times since Mia Hamm completed her trifecta in 1993.

Crystal Alyssia Dunn was born and raised a New Yorker, hailing from Rockville Centre, N.Y. where she attended South Side High School and had a decorated prep career. She was a Parade All-American and led her team to three New York state championships — 2006, 2007 and 2009 – losing only two games in three school seasons. In 2008, she was dedicated to National Team commitments for the U.S. U-17 WNT.

She married Pierre Soubrier on Dec. 29, 2018, and the couple had Marcel about three and a half years later.