The character arc of Abby Wambach

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 2 June 1980 in Rochester, New York. Between then and now sit high school from 1994, the University of Florida from 1998, a first international match on 9 September 2001, Olympic gold in 2004 and 2012, a 122nd minute goal in 2011, world player of the year in 2012, the World Cup in 2015, retirement on 16 December 2015, Forward in 2016 and Wolfpack in 2019. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Abby Wambach?

A hundred and eighty four international goals.

She went to Our Lady of Mercy High School from 1994 and played for the University of Florida from 1998. Her first international match for the United States came on 9 September 2001 against Germany, and her first international goal on 27 April 2002 against Finland. She finished with a hundred and eighty four international goals in two hundred and fifty five appearances, which is second all time for any player of any gender.

The record is full of medals. Bronze at the World Cup in 2003 and 2007, Olympic gold in 2004 and again in 2012, silver at the World Cup in 2011, and six times United States Soccer Player of the Year. In 2012 she was named FIFA Women's World Player of the Year. In the 2011 World Cup quarter final against Brazil she scored in the 122nd minute, which remains the latest goal ever scored in a World Cup match.

The thing she had not won was a World Cup, and in 2015, at thirty five, she did, and retired on 16 December of that year. What she did next is why she belongs in this gallery rather than only in a record book. Forward, a memoir, came in 2016. Wolfpack, in 2019, grew out of a commencement address and argues that women have been handed the wrong rules about permission and gratitude. It is a short book and it has travelled a long way.

The moments

Abby Wambach's timeline.

The 1990s

Sep 1998

The University of Florida

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Four years of college football, which is how the American system works.

The 2000s

9 Sep 2001

A first cap

Milestone, and it changed everything. Twenty one years old, and the start of two hundred and fifty five appearances.

27 Apr 2002

A first goal

Milestone, and it changed her direction. The first of a hundred and eighty four.

26 Aug 2004

Olympic gold

Milestone, and it changed everything. A first gold medal at twenty four.

The 2010s

10 Jul 2011

The 122nd minute

Milestone, and it changed everything. The latest goal ever scored in a World Cup match. It is still the record.

9 Aug 2012

A second gold

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A second Olympic gold, and the world player of the year award.

20 Jun 2013

The goals record

Milestone, and it changed everything. A hundred and eighty four international goals. Second all time, for anybody.

5 Jul 2015

A World Cup at last

Milestone, and it changed everything. The one thing missing from the record, won at thirty five.

16 Dec 2015

She retired

Setback, and it changed everything. Five months after winning the World Cup, she stopped.

1 Jun 2016

Stay in the game, or write

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: write and speak, taken, or stay in football. Wolfpack reached a readership well outside sport, which no coaching job would have done.

13 Sep 2016

Forward

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A memoir, in the year after retiring.

9 Apr 2019

Wolfpack

Milestone, and it changed everything. A short book about permission that reached a great many women who had never watched a match.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is a short book about permission that reached a great many women who had never watched a football match.

What she wrote

Books by Abby Wambach

2016
Forward
Her memoir, published in the year after she retired.
2019
Wolfpack
Grown from a commencement address, on the rules women are handed about permission and gratitude. Short enough to read in an evening.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

Hers won the thing she was missing at thirty five, and then started again in words. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

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Abby Wambach: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Abby Wambach's character arc?

A first international cap at twenty one, a hundred and eighty four international goals, two Olympic golds, the latest goal ever scored in a World Cup, a world title at thirty five, and then a second career in words.

How many international goals did Abby Wambach score?

A hundred and eighty four, in two hundred and fifty five appearances for the United States, which is second all time for a player of any gender. She was six times United States Soccer Player of the Year.

What is Wolfpack by Abby Wambach?

Her book of 2019, grown out of a commencement address, which argues that women have been handed the wrong rules about permission and gratitude. It is short, and it has travelled a very long way.

Did Abby Wambach win a World Cup?

Yes, in 2015, at thirty five, after bronze medals in 2003 and 2007 and silver in 2011. It was the one thing missing from her record, and she retired on 16 December of the same year.

What is Abby Wambach's World Cup record?

She scored in the 122nd minute against Brazil at the 2011 World Cup, which remains the latest goal ever scored in a World Cup match. The United States took silver at that tournament.

What is Forward by Abby Wambach?

Her memoir, published in 2016, the year after she retired from football. It came before Wolfpack, published in 2019, which is the book of hers that reached a readership well outside sport altogether.

Where did Abby Wambach play in college?

At the University of Florida, from 1998 to 2001, after Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester, New York. Her first international appearance came in September 2001, straight after.

Where does this timeline of Abby Wambach's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Abby Wambach isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

Abby Wambach, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
FIFA, Women's World Player of the Year, 2012, and World Cup records.
Publisher records for Forward and Wolfpack.