Heather O'Reilly

Heather O'Reilly
Heather O'Reilly with her 2012 Olympics gold medal
Personal information
Full name Heather Ann O'Reilly[1]
Date of birth (1985-01-02) January 2, 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth East Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position(s) Midfielder/winger
Team information
Current team
 North Carolina Courage U23
Number 9
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2006 North Carolina Tar Heels
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 New Jersey Wildcats 9 (8)
2009–2011 Sky Blue FC 50 (4)
2012–2014 Boston Breakers 44 (14)
2015–2016 FC Kansas City 27 (3)
2017–2018 Arsenal 24 (3)
2018–2019 North Carolina Courage 21 (1)
2022 Shelbourne 4 (0)
2023– North Carolina Courage U23
International career
United States U-19
United States U-21
2002–2016 United States 231 (47)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Team
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Team
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Team
FIFA Women's World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2015 Canada Team
Silver medal – second place 2011 Germany Team
Bronze medal – third place 2007 China Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Heather Ann O'Reilly (born January 2, 1985) is an American professional women's soccer player who plays as a midfielder. She played for the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT), with whom she won three Olympic gold medals and a FIFA Women's World Cup. From 2003 to 2006, she played college soccer for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). During her club career, O'Reilly played for the New Jersey Wildcats (USL W-League), Sky Blue FC (WPS), Boston Breakers (WPSL Elite and NWSL), FC Kansas City (NWSL), Arsenal (FA WSL), North Carolina Courage (NWSL), and Shelbourne (WNL).[2][3]

Upon her initial retirement from international play in September 2016, she is one of the world's most capped soccer players with over 230 international appearances to her name. She is a skilled flank player, currently tied for fifth with Julie Foudy in USWNT history for assists. She is also the eighth most capped player in USWNT history. On October 27, 2019, she played her final match for the North Carolina Courage before retiring, winning the 2019 NWSL championship.[4]

She is currently an analyst for Fox Sports. O'Reilly announced on July 28, 2022, that she would be coming out of retirement to play for Women's National League side Shelbourne and take part in their upcoming UEFA Women's Champions League campaign.[3] She scored a match-winning goal against ZNK Pomurje on her debut.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference HAO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Heather O'Reilly reflects on superb career featuring 231 USA caps & three Olympic golds". BBC Sport. November 4, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Fitzmaurice, Aidan (July 30, 2022). "How American World Cup winner Heather O'Reilly ended up signing for Shelbourne". Irish Independent. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  4. ^ Wahl, Grant (October 27, 2019). "O'Reilly Embodies Relentless Courage as Her Storied Career Ends With NWSL Title". Sports Illustrated. Cary, North Carolina. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  5. ^ O'Donoghue, Conor (August 19, 2022). "37-year-old Heather O' Reilly scores on her Shels debut". The Irish Post. Retrieved June 9, 2023.