Hope Solo defends the goal during the first half of a friendly match against Japan on June 5, 2016 at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.
Hope Solo made history Saturday afternoon, recording her 100th career shutout in a 1-0 win over South Africa at Soldier Field in Chicago. She becomes the first goalkeeper in the world ever to achieve the 100-shutout milestone.
With 10 shutouts in 11 wins this season, Solo has the opportunity to surpass her career high of 13 in a single calendar year at next month’s Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The 13 shutouts came eight years ago and included play at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Ironically, Solo began her playing career in youth soccer as a forward, but when her team’s regular goalkeeper went down with an injury when Solo was 15, she was pressed into service. It wasn’t until she was recruited to play at the University of Washington that she made the decision to commit to goalkeeping full-time.
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Solo recorded her first U.S. national team shutout in her first appearance with the team on April 5, 2000, against Iceland, and since has accumulated 150 career wins, more than any other U.S. goalkeeper. Along the way she has won two Olympic gold medals (Beijing 2008 and London 2012) and the 2015 World Cup title. She has not missed a minute of action in the past two Olympic Games.
The U.S. women’s national team recorded 91 wins and nine draws as part of the 34-year-old Solo’s 100 shutouts. Forty-five of her shutouts came in the U.S. and the other 55 abroad.
