The longtime anchor of the USWNT backline won two World Cups and an Olympic gold in addition to three NWSL titles. But her trophy case is only the tip of her influence

On Tuesday an American soccer icon who left an indelible mark on the USWNT’s back-to-back World Cup-winning era announced her retirement from the game. At 39, Becky Sauerbrunn leaves behind a 16-year professional legacy as an Olympic and (twice) World Cup champion, a NWSL lifer and undisputed leader for club and country, whether with a ball at her feet or a book in her hand.

“It’s time,” she wrote, in a beautifully composed social media post that felt reflective of the voracious reader and effective communicator we knew her to always be.