Abby Wambach celebrates the 5-2 victory against Japan in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup final at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
From her 142 goals in high school to becoming the University of Florida’s career leader in goals (96), assists (49), game-winning goals (24) and hat tricks (10) to becoming the most prolific scorer in international women’s soccer history, Abby Wambach is known for putting the ball in the net.
It’s nothing new. She has been scoring goals, setting records and winning titles in women’s soccer for more than two decades. When the whistle blows to end Wednesday’s game in New Orleans between the United States and China, Wambach will retire with a multitude of all three.
TeamUSA.org has selected a handful of the countless numbers to statistically highlight her career heading into Wednesday’s match.
254 – Games played; fifth most in U.S. team/women’s soccer history. Former U.S. teammate Kristine Lilly holds the record with 352.
211 – Victories played in for the U.S. women’s national team (along with 12 losses and 31 draws), fifth-most in U.S. history. Kristine Lilly holds the record with 278.
184 – Career goals; 36 more than next closest player, Mia Hamm.
117 – U.S. victories in which Wambach has scored a goal (along with two losses and eight draws).
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| Abby Wambach celebrates scoring a goal against Nigeria in the the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup at BC Place Stadium on June 16, 2015 in Vancouver, British Columbia. |
45 – Games with more than one goal, a U.S. women’s national team record.
31 – Most goals scored in a calendar year with the U.S. women’s national team (2004). Wambach scored her 31 goals in 33 games.
27 – Yellow cards received in career, the most in U.S. women’s national team history.
24 – Most goals scored against one opponent, Mexico, in 25 career matches.
18 – Goals scored in CONCACAF Women’s World Cup qualifying, the most in U.S. team history, one better than Michelle Akers.
16 – Goals scored by penalty kick.
14 – Goals scored in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, tied for second-most with Birgit Prinz of Germany, and one behind Marta of Brazil.
9 – Goals scored in the Olympic Games, three fewer than record holder Cristiane of Brazil. Wambach’s goals were scored in 11 matches.
7 – Most consecutive games without a goal. She did this twice: Nov. 20, 2010, to April 2, 2011; and Dec. 10, 2014, to March 4, 2015.
6 – U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year awards, a record.
5 – Most goals scored in a game, which she did in a 5-0 win over Ireland on Oct. 23, 2004. Wambach was the fourth of six U.S. players to accomplish the feat.
2 – Olympic gold medals (2004, 2012).
1 – World Cup titles (2015).
0 – Red cards received in her international career.
Brian Trusdell has covered four FIFA World Cups and six Olympic Games during his more than 30 years as a sportswriter, mostly with the Associated Press and Bloomberg News. He is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.