Her Story: What can you really say about Mia Hamm that hasn’t already been said. She was, quite simply, the greatest women’s soccer player ever. Born in Selma, Alabama, Hamm has become a global icon for women’s sports. Her leadership and skill would ignite the incendiary rise of the WNT and establish the squad as the world’s greatest.

Her Stats: Hamm’s stats aren’t eye-popping, they are downright absurd. 275 appearances (second all-time), 158 goals (1st) and 144 assists (also 1st). Her goals scored tally isn’t just the most for a woman, but a man as well. She had no equal, and she may never. You could call her the “Michael Jordan” of soccer, but he doesn’t compare.

Her Trophies: Hamm collected trophies like most kids used to collect baseball cards. Two World Cups (1991, 1999) in four tries. Two Olympic Golds (1996, 2004) in three tries. Four NCAA Championships. Two-time FIFA World Women’s Player of the Year (2001, 2002). Oh yeah, and she was selected as one of FIFA’s Players of the Century.

Her Legacy: Hamm is probably the most important athlete in perhaps the entire world over the last twenty years. She showed a generation of girls from around the globe that they too could achieve unthinkable athletic feats. Her leadership and ability has made her an icon for women’s soccer, so it is fitting the new WPS logo bears her silhouette. She is America’s greatest soccer player ever, so she deserves every accolade she has received, including this one.

I hope you have enjoyed my jaunt through WNT history and my ranking of the eight best players in that squad’s history. I know I omitted some worthy players, so tell me about them in the comments, and I will be sure to update this list with numbers 9-16 in the near future.

Until then, please keep coming back to STO for the best news and commentary on the interwebs.

Her Story: Michelle Akers should very arguably be a top 2 player on this list, but I like her here at #3. She grew up in Washington State and was a four-time All-American at UCF. In 1985, she was one of the first ever members of the WNT and she would remain with the team until the turn of the century. She was America’s first soccer superstar.

Her Stats: Akers was capped 136 times for the WNT, good for 13th all-time. Though she didn’t play as much as the other ladies on this list, she still amassed 105 goals (third all-time) and 37 assists. The reason she didn’t have as many caps was likely because there was less games played back during the early part of her long era of WNT dominance.

Her Trophies: Akers won the Golden Boot at the inuagural Women’s World Cup in 1991, scoring 10 goals, including five in one game. She was also a member of the 1999 WC squad that greatly popularized women’s soccer in America. FIFA even voted her Women’s Player of the Century, so I am really starting to doubt my own ranking on this list.

Her Legacy: Akers was the player who led the US to the 1991 World Cup and she also played a role on the legendary 1999 WC squad. In addition, she contributed to the team’s Gold Medal in 1996. She continues to promote the game today, and I believe there would have never been a Mia Hamm if there had not been a Michelle Akers first.

Her Story: I know what you’re thinking. How does Julie Foudy miss out on the top three? Well, again, that’s just how darn good the WNT has been over the last two decades. Foudy grew up in California and she would go on to serve as the WNT’s Co-Captain from 1991-2000 and Captain from 2000-2004. She was the team’s emotional leader for years. 

Her Stats: Foudy is third all-time in appearances with 272, ninth in goals with 45, and fourth in assists with 59. She was also a tenacious defender, and I won’t hesitate to say she was one of the most “complete” players in WNT history, meaning she was equally good on offense and defense. While her offensive stats aren’t huge, you can’t measure her D.  

Her Trophies: Foudy played in four WCs (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003) and played a good deal in all four, including the two wins. She also won Gold at the 1996 and 2004 Olympics. Thus, few others players have won as many trophies as Foudy. Since her playing days ended, she has become a fantastic announcer, and I think she should call MNT games.

Her Legacy: Foudy never had the most gaudy stats, but she led by example and she was one of the WNT’s best assist artists ever. She could also hunker down in defense, making her perhaps the greatest “box to box” player in WNT history. I really do wish ESPN would let her call MNT games, as it would be amazing to see a woman calling men’s games from the skybox and not the sidelines. I think she’s good enough to do it, too, but even if they never give her the chance, she still has influenced generations of girls by showing them true leadership on and off the pitch.

Her Story: You can’t make a list like this without including Brandi Chastain, the author of the most pivotal moment in US WNT history. She grew up in California and played her college years in that state. She was first capped by the Lady Nats in 1991, and I don’t think she has technically retired from US Soccer since. She’s deserving of this spot.

Her Stats: Chastain was one of the US’s most formidable defenders for over a decade. Though she was a fixture in the back, she also had the versatility to play mid when called upon. She is sixth all-time in appearances with 192, twelfth in goals (30, the most of any defender in team history), and she shut down some of the world’s best scorers for the squad.

Her Trophies: Chastain was a member of both the 1991 and 1999 World Cup champion squads as well as the Gold Medal winning teams in 1996 and 2004. She especially played a huge role during the 1999 WC campaign, and she notched the final PK that resulted in the team winning the title. She was an important cog in the WNT machine.

Her Legacy: Chastain will always be best remembered for ripping off her jersey to reveal her sports bra after notching her game winning PK in 1999. In that moment, she went from little-known defensive stalwart to worldwide celebrity. Her play was always stellar, but that single instant showed girls all over the world that they could be strong and achieve great feats of athletic skill, just like the boys. She still plays in the WPS today, so her influence grows.

The US Women’s National Soccer Team is perhaps the most dominant squad in all of soccer history. I am not talking about just women’s soccer, I am talking about all soccer. Over the last two decades, the team has risen from obscurity to become a national treasure and a force to be reckoned with in every major tourney. Yes, they are that good.

The key to their initial ascendency and eventual dynasty is undoubtedly their talented players. You don’t win two World Cups, three Olympic Golds, and six Algarve Cups with mediocre squads, so it is without question that the US WNT has featured some of the best soccer players in world history. But, who were the all-time best eight players?

Well, over the next week and a half, I will be ranking the finest eight players in WNT history. Now, this was no easy list to concoct, and I can already tell I will have to add a few more names in the future simply because there are some ladies that were left off who deserve the honor. But, I will first tell you about the elite eight. How did I rank them?

Well, I used three criteria when selecting the eight best WNT players:

1. Her career stats (appearances, goals, clean sheets, etc.)
2. Her role in winning trophies (bench warmers need not apply)
3. Her legacy (influence on playing style and popularity of the sport)

While I am sure #1 will come as no surprise to anyone who follows the Women’s Nats, I think #2 through #8 will shock a few of you out there, and I know I will omit some of your favorites, so please let me hear about it in the comments. Until then, please come back to STO over the next week and a half to learn about these players’ fantastic feats (with their feet, no less).