Megan and her twin sister, Rachael, were born on July 5, 1985, in a small Northern California town called Redding. It was a quiet place to grow up, surrounded by mountains, and full of green, open space.

Most days after school, Megan and her five siblings explored the sprawling land around their little blue ranch home. There were dogs, cats, sheep and horses. There was a giant oak tree… a creek… and as luck would have it, an empty field across the street.  Perfect, as it turns out, for playing soccer. Megan would run and roam until she heard her mom’s distinct whistle… calling them all in for dinner. Her big family would crowd around the kitchen table, catching up and telling jokes to end the day.

Megan and her sister were athletically gifted from an early age. After just a few tries, both girls mastered riding bikes when they were only four years old. And if they weren’t out playing sports, they were watching them with the family. Of everyone, though, it was Megan’s older brother, Brian, who helped ignite her passion for soccer.

Brian loved to teach his younger sisters about the game.

After school, they’d ride their bikes to the local soccer field, drop them in the grass, and get right to kicking the ball around.

Brian coached as Megan and Rachael played one-on-one, sprinting up and down the field for hours, only stopping when it got too dark to keep playing. 

 Megan lived for soccer. She loved the crisp feel of her uniform. She loved psyching herself up for the games. She loved the clicking sound her cleats would make across the tile floor of the kitchen. But most of all, she loved to play.

Every weekend she piled into her parents’ minivan and traveled for tournaments around California. She had so much energy — dancing around her opponents and striking the ball with incredible force. When she wasn’t scoring herself, Megan was cheering on her teammates. Loudly!

Megan was riding high on the field, but at home, things weren’t going as great.

 One night after dinner, Megan’s parents sat the girls down and told them that their brother was going to be in the newspaper. “Cool!” they thought – they were used to seeing their own pictures in the local paper from winning games. But it wasn’t that kind of article. Brian had been arrested for bringing an illegal drug to school. 

 Megan was angry and sad. She wanted to help her brother out, but how? She felt like there was nothing she could say or do to change the situation. It got her thinking; how could she use her voice to help others? How could she take the power she felt on the soccer field and use it to create change? 

Megan and her sister Rachael continued to wow people on the field, and after graduating high school they both headed to the University of portland. 

There, they played soccer for the school in front of hundreds of adoring fans. The cheers and applause were like a new kind of fuel for Megan, and she helped the school win lots of games. But it wasn’t all easy. Megan was injured twice and both times the recovery took her out of the game that she loved. 

She also made a huge decision that would affect the rest of her life. She was going to enter the women’s professional soccer draft. That’s a competition where all the major soccer teams choose which players they want on their team. This was the big leagues! 

In the very first round, Megan was chosen to play with the Chicago Red Stars. Soon she became one of their all-star players, and two years later, she was invited to play in the World Cup…

Megan was used to the noisy college games at the University of Portland, and the cheering fans for the U.S. Women’s National team, but nothing could prepare her for the roar of the crowd at her first-ever World Cup.

After beating North Korea, Megan and her teammates faced Colombia for their second game. 

The players lined up and got ready to take the field. 

Megan was laser-focused and waited silently as the cheers of the crowd faintly echoed in the distance. As she and her teammates jogged onto the field, the noise grew louder and the crowd chanted “USA! USA!” 

The first whistle blew. The United States kicked off the ball and passed it downfield toward the goal. Colombia was a strong match and defended their net. Megan, who was on the bench, tapped her cleat impatiently on the soft grass. Despite all her hard work, she didn’t start this game. She was frustrated, but more importantly, she was fired up and ready to play. And so were her teammates, who swiftly rushed the ball back toward the goal. With a hard, fast kick, the ball soared through the air, past the goalkeeper and straight to the back of the net. Goal!  

At halftime, the United States was up one to nothing, but they wanted a bigger lead to secure their win. Now was Megan’s chance! 

Megan ran onto the field, fast as lightning. Five minutes sped by on the clock as Colombia and the U.S. tussled for the ball. 

Megan darted close to the goal line and cut toward centerfield. Her foot made a clean connection with the ball. It sliced past the goalkeeper’s open gloves and boom. She scored, and the U.S. would go on to win the game!

Out of the corner of her eye, Megan saw a microphone lying on the ground next to the field. She ran over, tapped it twice to make sure it was on, and sang [to the tune of Springsteen’s Born in the USA] “Born in the USA!” loud and clear. Megan raised her voice and the world took notice.

The U.S. Women’s team advanced and, a few days later, were up against their rivals, Brazil. The U.S. scored early in the game, but Brazil quickly tied it up. Megan and her teammates made sure not to let another goal pass as the clock ran, her muscles stretched and tensed, sweat dripping down her face. 

Megan’s heart raced. She was ready to fight for this win. Brazil fiercely protected the ball while one of Megan’s teammates scrambled for it and successfully broke away! They dribbled up the sideline, searching for an open player. Megan rushed up the left side. She was open! It felt like an eternity as the ball passed upfield to Megan. She planted her right foot hard into the grass and with a mighty sweep of her left, sent the ball soaring: a long, arching cross pass straight to her teammate Abby Wambach, who struck the ball with her head, sending it into the goal! The U.S. pulled ahead to win the game!  

Electricity coursed through Megan’s body. She was invigorated and so were their fans. Sixty-two million people watched as the U.S. and Japan met for the final match. 

Although the U.S. lost the final that year, the whole world was listening now, and Megan… wanted to speak up.

On the flight home from the World Cup, something was nagging at Megan, and it wasn’t the loss. She didn’t feel like the world really knew who she was. 

Growing up, Megan was different. She was always confident – especially on the field – but something felt like it was missing. As her classmates went on dates and wondered which boy would ask them to prom, Megan wasn’t that interested. While her friends followed new trends, Megan did her own thing. It wasn’t until she got to college that she started to feel more like herself. And then one day, everything really fell into place on the soccer field.

As Megan warmed up during practice, she looked up and realized something extraordinary. She had a crush on one of her teammates. That old, lingering feeling of confusion was different now. Now, Megan felt awesome. She had discovered another part of herself – she identified as gay. Megan felt more comfortable in her own skin than ever before. 

She came out to her friends and family right away. But the rest of the world, including those 62 million fans, didn’t know about this vital part of her. It was time to show them who she really was.

For the rest of her flight home, as the plane soared high above the Atlantic Ocean, Megan hatched a plan. She would publicly come out as gay. By sharing her story, she wanted to inspire other people to embrace their own. Just a few months before the 2012 Olympics, Megan officially came out in a magazine interview. She talked about representation, acceptance and equality. “Until everyone can come out without it being a big deal, nobody gets to “just live their lives,” thought Megan. “And the more people who come out, the more we break down the stereotypes of what it is to be gay.”

 Megan and her teammates joined 11,000 athletes in London later that year for her very first Olympics. She was proud to represent not just the United States, but gay athletes everywhere. Then, it was time for the United States to play Japan for the gold medal.

Megan walked onto the field at Wembley Stadium, the familiar bounce of grass beneath her feet and the thrilling rumble of the crowd in her ears. As the first whistle sounded, the United States rushed past Japan’s defense. The U.S. scored a sweeping goal, making the score one to nothing! The game rolled on and Japan was relentless, shooting once, twice, three times. At midfield, it felt like Megan was surrounded. She dug her cleats into the grass and squared her shoulders. Her teammate broke away with the ball and kicked it powerfully into the back corner of the net. Goal! The crowd erupted. The U.S. had won! 

Megan and her teammates rushed together on the field, hugging and celebrating. Fireworks exploded in the distance as Megan burst into tears. All of her sacrifices, her dedication and her love for the game brought her here. Megan and her teammates were gold medalists.

The more Megan and her team won, the more people wanted to hear what she had to say. In 2016, fresh off of the U.S. Women’s first World Cup Victory in sixteen years, Megan took another stand. 

That summer, American football player Colin Kaepernick knelt during the National Anthem to send a message about social injustice and racism. Just like Megan, he used his voice to speak up for those who couldn’t. Megan was inspired. So, a few weeks later, before a game in Chicago, Megan knelt to show the world she supported Colin and Black Americans everywhere. 

Many people disagreed with her protest, including the U.S. Soccer Federation. But Megan continued to find ways to defend what was right. “The more you stand up for others,” she said, “the easier it is to stand up for yourself.”

 It wasn’t long before Megan had a chance to become her own advocate. The U.S. women’s soccer team was not being paid the same amount as the men’s team for the exact same work. It wasn’t fair. 

Megan and her teammates were fuming, and they were going to do something about it. They took this fight all the way to the 2019 World Cup in France.

Sporting her new cotton candy-colored hair, Megan and her team moved through the first rounds of the World Cup with fierce determination, not letting in a single goal. When they faced the Netherlands in the finals, Megan wasn’t just playing to win. She was playing for equal rights, equal pay and the right to be different. 

She took her place on the field. It was a crisp summer day as thousands of fans packed the stadium. 

The Netherlands were fierce opponents, and the U.S. didn’t score a single goal for the first 30 minutes of the game. But in the second half, they won a free-kick. Megan charged the ball. She sent it soaring, straight and fast to the back of the net. Goal! The crowd’s cheers grew louder. Through the shouts, a single, united chant rose up. “Equal Pay! Equal Pay!” Megan ran to the sidelines, faced the stands, threw her arms wide open and smiled. 

Listen up, world – Megan was here to take up space.

It took three more years of fighting, but finally, in February of 2022, the US Women’s National Soccer team reached an agreement with the US Soccer Federation: the players on the US men’s and women’s national soccer teams would be paid equally. AND the player’s on the women’s team would receive back some of the money they were owed. It was a HUGE win for advancing equality in soccer. 

This agreement officially acknowledged that women’s accomplishments in soccer are worth JUST as much as the men’s are. And this win was all thanks to Megan and her teammates. Standing up, speaking out, and scoring BIG!