Death, Taxes, and Kristine Lilly

By Eric Slack

January 5, 2011

The word legend gets tossed around like free candy so much it has almost lost its meaning. But Kristine Lilly is the textbook definition of legend. When she announced her retirement from soccer on January 5, 2011, she left behind a legacy that will not easily be topped.

Lilly is 39 and made her debut with the national team way back in 1987 at the age of 16. That began a career that would span more than two decades and 352 appearances for the US women. That is more than any other soccer player in history, male or female.

She made her final appearances for the US in 2010, playing in 10 matches and helping the team qualify for the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany. She was even called in to the national team training camp scheduled for this weekend by head coach Pia Sundhage. Had she continued her career, perhaps one more Women's World Cup would have been on the schedule.

"I told myself I would take until the end of the year to make a decision after some time off, so I wasn't just retiring because of the long year and the fact that I was tired," said Lilly in a Boston Breakers press release. "I'm at the point in my life with my family and career where it was the right time. I never knew what the right time was going to feel like, but I finally got there."

She appeared in five FIFA Women's World Cups and three Olympics. She was not only part of the 1999 World Cup winning team, she literally saved the game when she headed a certain game-winner off the line in overtime before burying the third US penalty kick during the shootout. She was also a part of the 1991 championship team and a two time Olympic gold medalist. Lilly won four NCAA titles and the Hermann Trophy at UNC as well.

About the only thing she never won was a domestic club championship with the Boston Breakers in either the WUSA or WPS, but she has been the rock the Breakers were built on and a tremendous ambassador for the sport in New England. It is tough to imagine a Breakers team without Kristine Lilly.

The Wilton, Conn., native will undoubtedly remain a much sought after figure in the soccer world in these parts. The Breakers release said she is developing TeamFirst soccer camps with Mia Hamm and Tisha Venturini and running the Kristine Lilly Soccer Academy, and there are bound to be many public appearances in Lilly's future, so its not like we'll never see her again. But we won't get to see her play, and no one who ever saw her play will soon forget her skill, poise, and work rate.

The Breakers intend to honor Lilly during the 2011 season. It is sure to be a fitting tribute, however there is nothing more meaningful they can do to honor her than to survive and thrive as an organization well into the future. Kristine Lilly poured her heart and soul into the sport and did everything that was ever asked of her when it came to meeting with her legions of young fans. She is a pioneer, a trailblazer, a true legend in every sense of the word. May her legacy be lived out on the soccer fields of New England and in the stands at Harvard Stadium for many years to come.