1. Abby Wambach was awarded the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the first American woman to win the award in 10 years.
89 Facts About Abby Wambach
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Abby Wambach was included on the 2015 Time 100 list as one of the most influential people in the world.
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Abby Wambach competed in four FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments: 2003 in the United States, 2007 in China, 2011 in Germany, and 2015 in Canada, being champion of the last edition; and two Olympics tournaments: 2004 in Athens and 2012 in London, winning the gold medal in both.
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Abby Wambach played college soccer for the Florida Gators women's soccer team and helped the team win its first NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship.
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Abby Wambach played at the professional level for Washington Freedom, magicJack, and the Western New York Flash.
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Abby Wambach scored the equalizer in stoppage time helping the Americans to eventually progress to the championship final against Japan after defeating Brazil in penalty kicks.
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Abby Wambach's second book, Wolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power and Change the Game, based on her viral commencement speech at Barnard College, was a New York Times Bestseller in 2019.
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Abby Wambach is the youngest of seven siblings born to Pete and Judy Wambach.
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Abby Wambach began playing soccer at the age of four after her sister decided she wanted to try the sport.
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Abby Wambach got up and he was on the ground, groaning.
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Abby Wambach recalls being toughened up by her elder brothers firing hockey pucks at her for target practice.
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Abby Wambach attended Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester from 1994 to 1998, where she lettered in soccer and basketball.
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Abby Wambach was voted national high school player of the year by Umbro and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
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Abby Wambach was a three-year captain for the Rochester Spirit club team and named All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year in 1995 and 1997.
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Abby Wambach was a member of the Olympic Development Program U-16 National Team in 1996, the 1997 National U-20 Player Pool, and trained and played with the US women's national soccer team while competing in the 1997 US Soccer Festival in Blaine, Minnesota.
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Abby Wambach was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2012.
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In 2002, Abby Wambach was selected second during the first round of the 2002 WUSA draft by the Washington Freedom for the second season of the Women's United Soccer Association.
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Abby Wambach assisted on Hamm's 64th-minute goal, the team's second goal, after the Courage's Danielle Fotopoulos scored an own goal in the 31st minute; however, it was not enough to equalize Carolina's three goals.
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Abby Wambach was Washington's leading scorer with ten goals and ten assists and finished tied for fourth for scoring in the WUSA.
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Abby Wambach scored twice in the inaugural 2002 WUSA All-Star Game, being named game MVP.
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Abby Wambach scored five goals and served three assists in three appearances.
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Abby Wambach was suspended for one game after the challenge was reviewed by the league commissioner.
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Abby Wambach ended the 2009 season with eight goals more than any other American player in the WPS and was named to the 2010 WPS All-Star Team.
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Abby Wambach returned to the Washington Freedom for the 2010 WPS season, winning the WPS Player of the Week award in week 2 for scoring one goal and serving two assists against the Atlanta Beat.
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Abby Wambach was the top overall vote-getter in WPS All-Star voting, making her one of two captains for the 2010 WPS All-Star Game.
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On July 22,2011, Abby Wambach was named the player-coach for the magicJack for the rest of the 2011 WPS season.
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Abby Wambach was named WPS Player of the Week for the seventh time in August 2011.
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On January 11,2013, Abby Wambach was allocated to the National Women's Soccer League club, Western New York Flash, in her hometown of Rochester, New York, as part of the NWSL Player Allocation.
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Abby Wambach dropped to the ground and appeared disoriented after standing up.
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Abby Wambach sat out the next game as a precautionary health measure.
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Abby Wambach announced on March 18,2015, that she was sitting out the entire 2015 NWSL season in order to focus on the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
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Two weeks later, on March 30,2015, Abby Wambach's playing rights were traded along with midfielder Amber Brooks and a first-round pick in the 2016 NWSL college draft to Seattle Reign FC in exchange for forwards Sydney Leroux and Amanda Frisbie.
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Abby Wambach subbed in for Tiffeny Milbrett in the 76th minute.
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Abby Wambach scored her first international goal on April 27,2002, during a friendly match against Finland in San Jose, California after subbing in for Christie Welsh in the 75th minute.
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Abby Wambach scored her third tournament goal during the squad's third Group stage match against North Korea on a penalty kick in the 17th minute.
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Abby Wambach scored the only goal against Norway during the quarterfinal, paving the way for the Americans to the semi-finals.
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Abby Wambach received her first yellow card of the tournament in the 49th minute.
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Abby Wambach received her second yellow card of the tournament in the 49th minute, giving her an automatic suspension for the final group stage match against Australia.
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Abby Wambach finished the tournament with four goals and one assist.
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Abby Wambach finished fourth in voting for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year.
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Abby Wambach was one of twenty players nominated for the 2006 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year and finished fourth in voting for the award.
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Abby Wambach had become a regular on the team for five years and had assumed a new position as leader on the team.
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Abby Wambach was sidelined from the pitch for ten minutes while she received five stitches to the back of her head.
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Coach Greg Ryan decided not to replace Abby Wambach, who had scored 78 goals in 97 games.
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The squad allowed two goals while Abby Wambach was away for those ten minutes.
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Abby Wambach scored two goals and notched up her record to 80 goals in 98 international matches after scoring in the 34th minute on a penalty kick and again in the 58th minute on a left-footed half-volley from a cross from Kristine Lilly.
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Abby Wambach provided the assist with a header off a long thrown-in to Lori Chalupny who settled it off her chest and chipped the ball past Nigeria's goalkeeper.
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Abby Wambach became the twentieth player in US women's national soccer team history to earn 100 international caps.
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Abby Wambach scored a brace with goals in the 30th and 46th minutes.
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Abby Wambach ended the tournament having scored six goals in six matches, despite her head injury and a previous foot injury suffered during a friendly match against Finland just a month prior to the World Cup.
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On June 23,2008, Abby Wambach was named to the US squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
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Thirty-one minutes into the match in San Diego, California, Abby Wambach ran at full speed seemingly to take a shot from about 30 yards and fiercely collided with Rosa.
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Abby Wambach fell to the ground and immediately signaled for assistance.
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Abby Wambach's left leg was put in a brace and she was taken off the field on a stretcher.
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Abby Wambach later underwent surgery to have a titanium rod inserted and was expected to be out of action for three months.
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Abby Wambach was the team's leading scorer at the time and had just reached 99 goals in 127 matches, just one shy of becoming the fifth US player and ninth female player in world history to notch 100 career international goals.
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Abby Wambach scored her 100th goal during a friendly match against Canada in her hometown of Rochester on July 19,2009, her second international match after returning from her injury.
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Abby Wambach's goal set a new record for latest goal ever scored in a FIFA competition.
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Abby Wambach scored the first goal for the US at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London during the team's first group stage match against France on July 25,2012.
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Abby Wambach scored five goals at the 2012 Olympics and scored in every match except the final.
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Abby Wambach was the starting captain in three games, against Australia and Nigeria in the group stage and Colombia in the round of 16.
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Up until January 29,2020, Abby Wambach was the highest all-time international goal scorer for men and women, until surpassed by Canadian National Team Captain Christine Sinclair.
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Abby Wambach competed in four FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments: 2003 in the United States, 2007 in China, 2011 in Germany and 2015 in Canada.
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Abby Wambach played in two Olympics tournaments: 2004 in Athens and 2012 in London.
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Abby Wambach is a six-time winner of the US Soccer Federation's US Soccer Athlete of the Year award.
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In 2011, Abby Wambach was awarded the Bronze Boot and Silver Ball at the FIFA Women's World Cup.
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Abby Wambach was awarded the 2011 ESPY Award for Best Play for her 122nd-minute equalizing goal against Brazil during the quarterfinal.
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Abby Wambach was named the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the fourth woman ever, and the first American since Mia Hamm 10 years earlier, to win the award.
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Abby Wambach received 20.67 percent of the votes from national team coaches and captains as well as select media over teammate Alex Morgan and five-time winner Marta.
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In 2015, Abby Wambach was named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
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Abby Wambach previously lived in Naples, Florida; Portland, Oregon; and Pittsford, New York.
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Abby Wambach was previously married to soccer player Sarah Huffman from 2013 to 2016.
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Two months later, Abby Wambach confirmed she was in a relationship with author and her future wife, Glennon Doyle.
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Abby Wambach was a supporter of Hillary Clinton's 2016 primary election campaign and spoke at several campaign events.
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Abby Wambach was included in the 2022 Fast Company Queer 50 list.
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Abby Wambach was arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants after being pulled over by Portland police on April 2,2016, to which she pleaded guilty.
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Abby Wambach has signed endorsement deals with Gatorade, Nike, MVP Healthcare, and Panasonic.
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Abby Wambach signed a one-year endorsement deal with Bank of America in July 2011.
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In 2015, Abby Wambach starred in a commercial for LED lighting company Cree.
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Abby Wambach has done philanthropic work for the Epilepsy Foundation and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
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Abby Wambach has participated in Mia Hamm's annual Celebrity Soccer Challenge which raises money for Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Mia Hamm Foundation.
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Abby Wambach serves on the board of Together Rising, an all-women-led nonprofit organization founded by her wife, Glennon Doyle, supporting women, families, and children in crisis.
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Abby Wambach appeared in the HBO film, Dare to Dream: The Story of the US Women's Soccer Team.
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Abby Wambach has made appearances on the Today Show, the Late Show with David Letterman, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Good Morning America.
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Abby Wambach was featured on ESPN's In the Game with Robin Roberts in June 2012.
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The Nine for IX documentary, The 99ers, in which Abby Wambach appeared focused on the success and legacy of the national team that won the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.
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In July 2021, Wambach began hosting "Abby's Places", the first new series in the expansion of the Peyton's Places franchise on ESPN+.
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Abby Wambach posed nude in The Body Issue of ESPN The Magazine in 2012.
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Abby Wambach was featured along with her national teammates in the EA Sports' FIFA video game series starting in FIFA 16, the first time women players were included in the game.