Michele Kang on growth of women’s sports
Michele Kang walks the Women Sports Foundation’s red carpet and answers questions on her vision of women’s sports.
Sports Seriously
U.S. women’s national team great Crystal Dunn has surprisingly announced her retirement from soccer at age 33.
Dunn made the announcement with a post on her Instagram account, saying she wanted to spend more time with her husband Pierre Soubrier and 3-year-old son Marcel.
“This decision has not come easily, but I am at peace and deeply fulfilled with all that I have accomplished,” Dunn said. “I’ve achieved nearly everything I dreamed of in this sport and gave all I had to give.”
“I’m ready to embrace the life that awaits me on the other side. I look forward to spending more time with my family and being a more present mom. This was not a decision made lightly, but was one made with immense gratitude for everything I’ve experienced as a professional soccer player.”
Dunn signed with Paris Saint-Germain in January 2025, but played only sparingly for the French side. She made just one appearance in the 2025-26 season.
Dunn barely missed the USWNT’s roster for the 2015 World Cup, then famously used that snub to spur herself on to one of the most successful careers in national team history.
Playing a variety of positions, including a left-back role that wasn’t her natural spot but one she made her own, Dunn earned 160 caps, scored 25 goals and was integral to the 2019 World Cup-winning side as well as the team that brought home a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics.
Dunn was an attacking force at the club level, winning the NWSL Golden Boot and NWSL MVP honors in 2015 with the Washington Spirit, who selected her first overall in the previous year’s draft.
The New York native went on to win three NWSL titles, two with the North Carolina Courage (2018, 2019) and one with the Portland Thorns (2022).
Dunn also played for Gotham FC in 2024, in addition to a stint with Chelsea in 2017 and 2018 playing under future USWNT coach Emma Hayes.
While she excelled in an attacking midfield role at the club level, Dunn spent much of her USWNT career playing out of position as a left back.
Though she was initially unfamiliar with the role, Dunn would eventually find a way to thrive in a defensive role. She played every minute of the 2019 World Cup at left back, then played all but 75 minutes at left back in 2024 as the USWNT won gold in Paris.
She also helped the U.S. take home a bronze medal at the Olympics in 2021.
Dunn also enjoyed a decorated college career at the University of North Carolina, winning the MAC Hermann Trophy as college soccer’s top player as a junior, when she also helped lead UNC to the NCAA title.
