Retiring star Megan Rapinoe was honored by club team OL Reign on Friday night in front of a National Women’s Soccer League-record crowd of 34,130 fans, many of whom wore pink wigs in her honor.
With her family and fiancée Sue Bird looking on, Rapinoe started for the Reign in a scoreless draw against the Washington Spirit. Lumen Field’s public address system played “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” when she took to the field with her teammates.
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Rapinoe had already played her final match with the United States women’s national team last month in Chicago, but Friday marked her final regular-season home game for the Reign.
A video played before the match included well-wishes from such luminaries as Abby Wambach, Ken Griffey Jr. and Magic Johnson.
Rapinoe has played in 114 regular-season games for the Reign and scored 49 goals. Her club career isn’t quite over: Next week the Reign wrap up the season on the road against the Chicago Red Stars.
And there’s a possibility the Reign make the playoffs. With Racing Louisville’s 3-2 victory over the Orlando Pride earlier Friday, the Reign moved into sixth place in the standings, just above the playoff line.
Rapinoe announced before this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand hat she was stepping away from the game after an illustrious career that included two World Cup titles, an Olympic gold medal and an Olympic bronze.
At the 2019 World Cup in France, Rapinoe scored six goals, including a penalty in the final against the Netherlands. Her victory pose with arms outstretched became one of the iconic images of the dominant U.S. run.
