Cindy Parlow Cone facts for kids
Parlow running a training session, 2014
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Cynthia Marie Parlow Cone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | May 8, 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Raleigh Wings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Atlanta Beat | 60 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2004 | United States | 158 | (75) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2012 | North Carolina Tar Heels (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Portland Thorns FC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Cindy Parlow Cone (born May 8, 1978) is an American soccer leader. She is the current president of the United States Soccer Federation. Before this, she was a professional soccer player.
Cindy won two Olympic gold medals and was a champion of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. As a coach in 2013, she led the Portland Thorns FC to win the first-ever National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) championship.
She has served on many important committees for U.S. Soccer. She became the interim vice president in 2019. In March 2020, she became president after the previous president resigned. She was re-elected for a full four-year term in 2022.
Cindy Parlow Cone is recognized for her amazing career. She was added to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2018. She also joined the Tennessee State Soccer Association Hall of Fame and the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
Contents
Early Life and College Soccer
Cindy grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. She went to Germantown High School. When she was 13, she met Anson Dorrance, the U.S. national team coach. She told her mom she would play for him one day.
Four years later, she finished high school early. She went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, she played for the Tar Heels women's soccer team. Coach Dorrance led the team. Cindy said she was very focused as a teenager. She felt UNC helped her become a better player and person.
Playing for the Tar Heels: 1995–1998
At UNC, Cindy was a top player for four years. She helped her team win the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship three times. They also won the Atlantic Coast Conference four times. She won the Hermann Trophy twice, in 1997 and 1998. This award goes to the best college soccer player. She was the second player ever to win it twice, after Mia Hamm.
In her first year, Cindy was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year. She scored 19 goals and had 13 assists. This made her the National Freshman Player of the Year. Her team had a 35-game winning streak that year. But they lost in the NCAA semifinals.
The next year, she scored 15 goals and had 11 assists. She scored the winning goal in the NCAA Championship game. She was also named the Most Valuable Player of the ACC Tournament. As a junior, she won the Hermann Trophy again.
In her senior year, Cindy scored 21 goals and had 11 assists. She won the Hermann Trophy for the second time. She was also named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. Cindy finished her college career with 68 goals and 53 assists. Her team had an amazing record of 102 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie.
Playing Career Highlights
Cindy started training with the U.S. women's national team in 1995. At just 17 years old, she played her first game in January 1996. She scored two goals against Russia. Cindy played in the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics. She also played in the 1999 and 2003 World Cups. At 18, she was the youngest player to win an Olympic gold medal and a World Cup title.
International Games
1996 Atlanta Olympics
Cindy was the youngest player on the U.S. team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. This was the first time women's soccer was played at the Olympics. The U.S. team made it to the final. They played against China in Athens, Georgia. Over 76,000 fans watched the U.S. win the gold medal. This set a new world record for attendance at a women's sports event.
1999 FIFA Women's World Cup
Cindy played in all six games of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. She scored two goals. In the semifinal against Brazil, she scored a header goal early in the game.
The final match against China was very exciting. It went to a penalty shootout. The U.S. won the shootout. More than 90,000 people watched at the Rose Bowl in California. This was another record for a women's sports event. The game also had a huge TV audience in the U.S. A week later, the team met President Clinton at the White House.
2000 Sydney Olympics
Cindy was part of the U.S. team for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia. The U.S. team won the silver medal at these Games. Cindy scored 19 goals in 2000, which was the most on the national team that year. She scored three goals in one game (a "hat-trick") against New Zealand and Canada.
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup
Cindy was on the team for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. She scored a header goal against Sweden in a 3–1 win. She also scored against Nigeria in a 5–0 win. The U.S. team reached the semifinals but lost to Germany. In the third-place match against Canada, Cindy got a concussion. The U.S. won 3–1 and took home the bronze medal.
2004 Athens Olympics
Cindy played in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. During the Olympic qualifying tournament, she scored a hat-trick against Haiti. The U.S. team won the gold medal at these Olympics. Cindy scored her seventh hat-trick for the national team in October 2004.
Retirement from International Play
On July 30, 2006, Cindy announced she was retiring from international soccer. She had played 158 games for the U.S. team, which is the ninth most in team history. She scored 75 goals, ranking fifth all-time.
Club Soccer
Raleigh Wings
In 1999, Cindy joined the USL W-League club Raleigh Wings. She helped the Wings win the W-League title. She even scored a goal in the championship game.
Atlanta Beat: 2001–2003
Cindy was one of the first 20 players in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). This was the first professional women's soccer league in the United States. She was the captain of the Atlanta Beat. She led her team to the playoffs in all three seasons of the league (2001–2003).
In the 2001 season, Cindy scored five goals and had seven assists for the Beat. Her team finished first in the regular season. They made it to the Founders Cup championship match. They lost in penalty kicks to the San Jose CyberRays.
In 2002, Cindy scored five goals and had four assists. The Beat made it to the playoffs again. In 2003, she scored three goals in one game against the Philadelphia Charge. The Beat finished second in the regular season. They reached the WUSA Founders Cup championship for the second time. They lost to the Washington Freedom. The league stopped playing in September 2003.
Coaching Career
North Carolina Tar Heels, 2007–2012
Cindy Parlow Cone was an assistant coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels from 2007 to 2012. In 2012, she led practices when head coach Anson Dorrance was away. He called her his "secret weapon." That season, the Tar Heels won the national championship. This was their last national title as of 2023. Cindy also directed coaching for youth soccer teams in Chapel Hill.
Portland Thorns FC, 2013
In December 2012, Cindy was hired as the head coach for Portland Thorns FC. This was for the first season of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She became the first coach to win an NWSL Championship. Her team beat Western New York Flash 2–0 in the championship game on August 31, 2013. She left her coaching job in December 2013 for personal reasons. She wanted to spend more time with her husband.
Cindy also coached for the U.S. under-14 and under-15 girls' national teams from 2010 to 2013. In 2015, she coached at a soccer academy with her former teammates like Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly. In 2019, she became a director of coaching for NCFC Youth.
Sports Executive Career
Cindy Parlow Cone has been very involved in U.S. Soccer. She served on many committees, including the Referee Committee and the Athletes’ Council. She was elected as the Vice President of U.S. Soccer in February 2019. She was re-elected for a full four-year term in February 2020.
In March 2020, Cindy became the President of U.S. Soccer. The previous president, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned. One of her first actions was to apologize for some statements made by the Federation. She was re-elected President in February 2021 to finish the term. On March 5, 2022, she was re-elected for a new four-year term. She won against Carlos Cordeiro in a close vote.
Other Work and Personal Life
In 2015, Cindy worked with the U.S. Department of State. She helped with a program to empower women and girls through sports. She worked with the Jordanian under-17 national soccer team. She has also worked to raise awareness about concussion safety. In 2018, she was a presenter at the draw for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
In 2007, Cindy married John Cone. He is also a former soccer player and coach.
Images for kids
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Parlow running a training session, 2014
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President Bill Clinton with the '99ers at the White House, July 19, 1999
See also
In Spanish: Cindy Parlow para niños
- List of women's footballers with 100 or more international caps
- List of Olympic medalists in football
- List of United States women's national soccer team hat-tricks
- History of the United States women's national soccer team
