Abby Wambach is a retired American soccer player whose accomplishments have left us in awe of her athletic prowess. Wambach, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, has had an incredibly successful career, punctuated by a long number of triumphs and achievements. Wambach has been unstoppable since receiving her first cap in 2001. She continues to act like a magician on the pitch, scoring goal after goal and writing triumphs for the US National Women’s team. She now holds the record for the most goals ever scored by a forward for the national team. With 184 goals, she also holds the record for most international goals scored by a female or male soccer player. From her early years until her final game, she played with the hallmark technique of scoring goals with diving headers. Even though all of her goals have been outstanding, the best and most famous was the one she scored against Brazil in the quarterfinal of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the 122nd minute. She was awarded the Silver Ball and the Bronze Boot that year for her performance. Wambach was one of the most productive and outstanding soccer players in history thanks to her goal-scoring prowess, physical vigor, good positional knowledge, and exceptional work ethic.
Early Childhood & Life
Pete and Judy Wambach welcomed Mary Abigail Wambach into the world on June 2, 1980, in Rochester, New York. Of the seven siblings, she is the youngest.
Wambach has loved soccer since she was four years old. Interestingly, her older sister made the initial decision to participate in the sport. She became interested in the sport after being inspired by her.
She attended Our Lady of Mercy High School from 1994 to 1998. Her game significantly improved during the academic year. Throughout her time in high school, she scored 142 goals. Wambach spent a lot of work honing her diving header technique during this period, which ultimately became her international player-defining move. She rose to become the best high school player thanks to her incredible records.
She was named the Rochester Spirit club team’s captain. She also participated in the National U-20 Player Pool and the U-16 National Team of the Olympic Development Program (ODP). She even participated in training and matches with the American women’s soccer squad. She also joined the first youth soccer squad from the United States to play in Beijing, China.
It was only natural for Wambach to become highly sought after by prestigious universities in the nation due to his reputation as the best college recruit. She was offered a full athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville from 1998 to 2001, which she eventually accepted after much deliberation.
Wambach coached the Florida Gators to their first NCAA national championship in their first season, defeating the 15-time champion North Carolina Tar Heels. The Florida Gators won numerous tournaments and championships while she was a member of the squad. She also contributed to breaking school records for hat tricks, goals, assists, points, and game-winning goals. She scored 96 goals during the decade, making her the top scorer.
The career of Abby Wambach
Abby Wambach was invited to the national team training camp in 2001 due to her extraordinary skills and technique. At the Nike US Cup in Chicago, she played in her first game ever against Germany. The game was won 4-1 by her squad. Later, in a game against Finland in San Jose, Wambach scored her first goal for her country, assisting her team to a 3-0 victory.
Her club career, meanwhile, began in 2002 when Washington Freedom chose her for the team’s second season of Women’s United Soccer Association. With ten goals and eight assists, she took over as the team’s leading scorer and was voted WUSA Rookie of the Year.
Wambach assisted the Washington Freedom in winning the Founders Cup III during the 2003 campaign. She not only scored the second-fastest goal in Founders Cup history against Atlanta Beat, but she also scored the game-winning goal to seal a 2-1 victory.
Wambach’s international career officially began in 2003 when she was selected for the US roster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup squad. Wambach’s performance at FIFA 2003 was on par with her prior best. She performed remarkably well, scoring three goals during the competition, the most among the US team.
She began working out with the national squad for the 2004 Summer Olympics after FIFA 2003. In each game, Wambach was an important player. Her last-second 10-yard header off a corner kick helped the US win the match against Brazil 2-1. Later, it was ranked as one of the top five goals ever scored by the U.S. women’s national team.
Wambach set a new mark for the most goals by a single US player at an Olympic competition with four goals at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 30 games for the national team, she recorded 31 goals and 13 assists on the international stage. For FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, she came in fourth place.
Abby Wambach scored a goal in each of the matches against North Korea, Sweden, Nigeria, and England at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. After defeating Norway, they finished the competition in third place before losing to Brazil in the semi-final. Wambach scored six goals in six matches for the championship. She became the 20th player in the history of the United States women’s national soccer team to amass 100 international caps.
Wambach was selected for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, but was unable to participate because of a broken left leg. The injury came as a shock since he was the team’s top scorer and was just one goal away from reaching 100 goals for his country.
She was spirited, but she also boosted the team’s spirits, and they went on to win the competition’s gold medal.
On July 19, 2009, Wambach scored her 100th goal against Canada in a friendly game played in Rochester, New York, her birthplace. She achieved 100 goals on the international stage, becoming the fifth American player and the ninth female in history to do so. She also accomplished the mark faster than any of the four other American players who had done so before, scoring 100 goals in fewer games.
Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), a new professional league for women, was established in 2008.
Wambach was assigned to the Washington Freedom in the new league. With eight goals, she rose to the top WPS Player position in 2009, and in 2010, she was selected for the WPS All-Star Team. She was selected as one of two captains for the 2010 WPS All-Star Game thanks to her outstanding performance.
The US roster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011 included Wambach. She broke the previous record for the earliest goal ever scored in a FIFA competition when she scored a header goal in stoppage time during the quarterfinal match against Brazil.
She scored in the first half of the final match against Japan, giving the United States the all-time scoring lead at the FIFA Women’s World Cup with 13 goals. However, the US fell to Japan in the game. At the competition, she won a bronze boot, silver ball, and silver medal.
Wambach was one of the few players from the national team to be selected for the new women’s soccer league that was announced in 2012. She was assigned as part of the NWSL Player Allocation to Rochester, New York’s Western New York Flash of the National Women’s Soccer League. On April 14, 2013, she played against Sky Blue FC in her debut.
Wambach scored both goals in the win over FC Kansas City to earn NWSL Player of the Week honors for week 5. After contributing an assist and scoring a goal in the Flash’s victory over Sky Blue FC, she became the first player in the league to receive the honor twice.
Wambach scored five goals in every game at the 2012 Summer Olympics, with the exception of the championship. During the competition, she also scored her 140th goal for her country.
2015 saw Wambach compete in her final FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada. The US easily won the competition and took home the World Cup. She made her retirement announcement in October of the same year. She played her final game on December 16 in New Orleans.
Recognition & Achievements
The entirety of Abby Wambach’s career has been astoundingly great. She played for her country in 255 international games, scoring 184 goals along the way to claim the record for most goals scored by men and women in international play.
She received the US Soccer Athlete of the Year Award from the US Soccer Federation six times (in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2013).
At the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011, Wambach won the famous Bronze Boot and Silver Ball. She received the ESPY Award for Best Play the same year for her equalizing goal against Brazil in the 122nd minute.
At the Athens and London Summer Olympics in 2004 and 2012, she won gold. She received the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2012, making history as the country’s first winner in ten years.
Wambach and her team became the first women’s sports team to be recognized with a Ticker Tape Parade in New York City thanks to the US’ triumph at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the White House, President Barack Obama also gave the squad a commendation.
She was included in the 2015 Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people.
Personal Legacy & Life
In October 2013, Abby Wambach wed Sarah Huffman, her longtime lover, in Hawaii. The couple announced their divorce in September 2016—three years later.
Wambach revealed that she was dating author Glennon Doyle Melton in November 2016. In May 2017, they exchanged vows of marriage.
Wambach is a committed philanthropist who has donated money to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Epilepsy Foundation. She participated in the Bank of America philanthropic effort at the Chicago Marathon with her teammates. She even represented Athlete Ally as an ambassador.