Heather O'Reilly

At 39 years old, Heather O'Reilly has this physical status:

Heather Ann O'Reilly (born January 2, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who played as a midfielder.

She competed for the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT), winning three Olympic gold medals and a FIFA Women's World Cup.

She played college soccer for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2003 to 2006.

O'Reilly starred for the New Jersey Wildcats (USL W-League), Sky Blue FC (WPS), Boston Breakers (WPSL Elite and NWSL), FC Kansas City (NWSL), Arsenal Ladies (FA WSL), and the North Carolina Courage (NWSL) during her international career, earning her over 230 international appearances to her name.

She is a natural flank player who is currently ranked fifth in the USWNT for assists, behind Julie Foudy.

She is also the eighth most capped player in USWNT history.

She appeared in her final match for the North Carolina Courage on October 27, 2019 before retiring and winning the 2019 NWSL championship.

Early life

Heather O'Reilly, the youngest of four children, was born to Andrew and Carol O'Reilly. O'Reilly, a boy growing up in East Brunswick, New Jersey, attended Saint Bartholomew's School and later competed on the girls soccer team at East Brunswick High School. She scored 143 goals in her four-year career. She led the team to the New Jersey state high school championship as a junior in 2001.

O'Reilly was a member of the National Honor Society and competed on the school's basketball team throughout high school. By Parade Magazine, she was named All-American and National Player of the Year during her senior year. She was named National Soccer Coach of the Year and the National Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2002. Soccer America has also ranked her as the country's best college recruiter.

O'Reilly, a student at the University of North Carolina, where she played forward for the North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team from 2003 to 2006. She appeared 97 times for the Tar Heels, scoring 59 goals and assisting on 49 others. In 2003 and 2006, she led her team to the national Championships.

Following her senior year, ESPN the Magazine named her the All-American Player of the Year and was named the NCAA's Top VIII Award. As a senior, she received the Honda Sports Award as the country's best soccer player.

O'Reilly's No. 1 in 2006 was No. 136. April Heinrichs, Lorrie Fair, Tisha Venturini, Kristine Lilly and Mia Hamm were among the 20 jerseys to leave the program, as well as 13 others.

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Club career

From 2004 to 2005, O'Reilly served with the New Jersey Wildcats of W-League, winning the Championship in 2005.

On September 16, 2008, O'Reilly and fellow U.S. national team players Natasha Kai and Christie Rampone were added to Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer. She appeared in 17 games as co-captain during the 2009 inaugural season, leading Sky Blue to an unexpected playoff appearance. She scored the only goal helping her team clinch the Championship trophy during the championship's 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Playoffs match against Los Angeles.

O'Reilly trained with and played two games with the Boston Breakers of the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite in 2012 after her husband's retirement from Harvard Business School. At the start of the new National Women's Soccer League in 2013, she was assigned to the Breakers in 2013.

FC Kansas City reported on October 27, 2014 that it had acquired O'Reilly in a trade that brought Morgan Marlborough and Kassey Kallman to the Breakers.

Arsenal revealed on January 18, 2017, they had signed O'Reilly. The club is a member of the Football Association Women's Super League's top division, the highest level of women's professional soccer in England. Arsenal revealed that she would leave the club in the summer of 2018 after 38 appearances in all competitions and four goals.

The Utah Royals FC retained O'Reilly's NWSL rights after FC Kansas City's operations were suspended. The Courage exchanged Makenzy Doniak and a 2019 3rd round pick for O'Reilly and a 2019 2nd round pick on June 28, 2018. For the Courage, O'Reilly appeared in 8 regular season games as well as two playoff games. The NWSL Shield & NWSL Championship was won by North Carolina.

North Carolina played in the 2018 Women's International Champions Cup, O'Reilly started in the Championship Game and scored a goal in the 10th minute. The Courage won the inaugural version of the tournament after defeating Olympique Lyonnais 1–0.

O'Reilly revealed on social media on April 12, 2019 that she would leave professional soccer after the 2019 NWSL season comes to an end.

O'Reilly, a 2022 native of Ireland, announced on July 28, 2022, that she would play for Shelbourne's Irish champions, fulfilling her dream of playing in the UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL). Arsène Wenger, a soccer Aid 2022 participant, had suggested that O'Reilly continue his playing career, which led her to search for a good UWCL club. Shelbourne's bid was appealing because she is an Irish American.

On July 30, 2022, O'Reilly made her Shelbourne debut against Sligo Rovers.

International career (2002–16)

O'Reilly was named to the US national team in 2002, when he was still in high school. O'Reilly made her debut against Sweden on March 1, 2002 against Sweden.

O'Reilly was a key player in the USA's U-19 triumph team, scoring four goals and seven others. The United States youth secured their first World Championship ever held at this level.

O'Reilly made the national team roster for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens after recovering from a broken fibula from a match the year before. She was the youngest player on the roster when she turned nineteen years old. She scored the match winning goal against Germany on August 23, 2004, propelling the US into the final, where they defeated Brazil for the gold medal.

In the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, O'Reilly scored a vital goal against North Korea in the 69th minute, tied the game at 2–2 and saved the Americans from a humiliating first-round loss. The United States gained the bronze medal after losing 4–1 against Norway, with O'Reilly scoring a goal. She was selected as Sports Illustrated's 2007 Sportsman of the Year.

In 2008, O'Reilly participated in the Beijing Summer Olympic Games. She defeated New Zealand in the Olympic women's soccer tournament for the first time in history against New Zealand, progressing to the quarterfinals. In the semi-final match against Japan, she also scored a goal. The team continued to triumph the gold medal over a 1–0 victory over Brazil. Time magazine ranked her number 15 on its list of 100 Olympic Athletes to Watch prior to the Summer Games.

In the first match of the group stage, O'Reilly was selected for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, and he scored the first of three goals for the United States against Colombia.

She earned a cross from the right to Alex Morgan in London's 123rd minute of the semi-final match against Canada, sending the ball from the right to the goal over Erin McLeod's hand, propelling the team to the gold medal match against Japan.

In 2015, O'Reilly was chosen for her third World Cup appearance. She did not appear in any games during the tournament, but she became a World Cup champion on July 5, when the United States defeated Japan 5–2 in the Women's World Cup final. Following their World Cup victory, O'Reilly joined the national team on a Victory Tour.

Despite having the most caps of the squad at the time (229), she was kept off the squad by Jill Ellis and made an alternate for the 2016 Rio Olympics. The US national team went on to place its lowest-ever Olympic finish after being knocked out by Sweden in the quarterfinals.

O'Reilly resigned from the Women's National Team after 15 years on September 1, 2016. After the USWNT scored 9 goals in a friendly match against Thailand held in Columbus, Ohio, she retired on September 15 after a friendly match against Thailand.

Heather O'Reilly is one of the top ten players of the United States women's national soccer team in terms of assists.

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