Kristine Lilly facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kristine Lilly

Lilly in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey
Date of birth	(1971-07-22) July 22, 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth	New York City, U.S.
Height	5 ft 4 in
Playing position	Forward/Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994	Tyresö FF
1995	Washington Warthogs (indoor)	6	(0)
1998	Delaware Genies	4	(5)
2001–2003	Boston Breakers	59	(14)
2005	KIF Örebro DFF	19	(8)
2009–2011	Boston Breakers	20	(3)
National team
1987–2010	United States	354	(130)
Honours Women's soccer Representing  United States Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta Team Gold 2004 Athens Team Silver 2000 Sydney Team FIFA Women's World Cup Winner 1991 China Winner 1999 United States Bronze 1995 Sweden Bronze 2003 United States Bronze 2007 China
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Kristine Lilly (born July 22, 1971) is an amazing American soccer player who used to play professionally. She played for the U.S. women's national team for 23 years! She holds the record for playing in the most international games (called 'caps') in soccer history, for both men and women, with 354 games.

Kristine also scored 130 goals for the U.S. team, making her one of their top goal scorers ever. Only Carli Lloyd (134), Mia Hamm (158), and Abby Wambach (184) have scored more.

Early Life and College Soccer

Kristine Lilly was born in New York City. She grew up in Wilton, Connecticut, and went to high school there. Even while in high school, she was so good at soccer that she joined the U.S. women's national team!

After high school, she was invited to play for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Playing for North Carolina

From 1989 to 1992, Kristine played for the North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team. She was amazing, winning the national college championship (NCAA Women's Soccer Championship) every single year!

In 1991, she won the Hermann Trophy, which is given to the best college soccer player. The next year, she won the Honda Sports Award as the top female soccer player in the nation. To honor her incredible time there, the University of North Carolina retired her #15 jersey in 1994. This means no other player at the school will ever wear that number again.

Professional Club Career

Lilly playing for the Boston Breakers in 2010.

Kristine Lilly started her professional career in 1994 with a team called Tyresö FF in Sweden. She played there for one season before coming back to the United States.

In 1995, she joined the Washington Warthogs, an indoor soccer team. She was the only woman playing in this all-male professional league!

In 1998, Lilly played for the W-League team, Delaware Genies. She played in four games, scoring five goals and helping with two assists.

Playing for the Boston Breakers

In 2001, the first professional women's soccer league where all players were paid, called the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), began. Kristine Lilly was a founding member and captain of the Boston Breakers.

• In her first season (2001), she played every minute of all 21 games. She led the league with 11 assists and scored 3 goals. She was named to the First Team All-WUSA.
• In 2002, she played in 19 games, scoring 8 goals and making 13 assists. She was again named First Team All-WUSA and was an All-Star.
• In 2003, she played in 19 games, scoring 3 goals and making 4 assists. She was the only player in the league's history to be named First Team All-WUSA three times!

Sadly, the WUSA league stopped playing after the 2003 season.

Playing in Sweden Again

After the WUSA league ended, Kristine Lilly went back to Sweden in 2005. She played for a team called KIF Örebro DFF in the Damallsvenskan league. Her former Boston Breakers coach, Pia Sundhage, and teammates Christie Welsh and Kate Markgraf also joined her there.

Return to the Boston Breakers

A new women's professional league, Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), started in late 2006. In 2008, Kristine Lilly was assigned to the Boston Breakers again. In the first season of the WPS (2009), she played in all 20 games, playing every minute. She scored 3 goals and had 3 assists.

International Career with the U.S. National Team

Lilly (left) with Mia Hamm in St. Louis, 1998.

Kristine Lilly started playing for the U.S. national team in 1987, when she was still in high school!

She broke the record for most international games played by a woman (151 caps) in 1998. In 1999, she even broke the men's record (164 caps) at the time. She ended her career with an amazing 354 caps, which is still the world record for any soccer player, male or female!

FIFA Women's World Cup

Lilly played in five FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments:

• 1991 (China)
• 1995 (Sweden)
• 1999 (United States)
• 2003 (United States)
• 2007 (China)

She won the World Cup twice with the U.S. team, in 1991 and 1999. In the 1999 final against China, during extra time, Kristine famously blocked a shot on the goal line that would have ended the game. The U.S. then won the game in a penalty shootout, with Lilly scoring one of the crucial goals.

In 2007, she became the first woman to play in five different World Cup tournaments. She also became the oldest woman to score a goal in the World Cup when she scored against England.

Olympic Games

Kristine Lilly also played in three Olympic Games:

• 1996 (Atlanta)
• 2000 (Sydney)
• 2004 (Athens)

She won two gold medals (1996 and 2004) and one silver medal (2000) at the Olympics. She missed the 2008 Olympics because she had just given birth to her first child.

Later Career and Retirement

Unlike many of her teammates, Kristine Lilly did not retire after the team's "farewell tour" in 2004. She kept playing!

In 2006, she played in her 300th international game against Norway. She was also a finalist for the 2006 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award, finishing second to Marta from Brazil.

After having her daughter, Lilly returned to the national team in 2008. Her last game for the national team was in November 2010, a World Cup qualifying match against Mexico. She played for six minutes, bringing her record-breaking total to 354 caps.

Coaching Career

Since 2012, Kristine Lilly has been an assistant coach for the Boston Breakers.

Personal Life

Kristine Lilly grew up in Wilton, Connecticut. She now lives in Medfield, Massachusetts. She is married to David Heavey, who is a firefighter. He used to play hockey and golf.

Kristine and David have two daughters. Their first daughter, Sidney Marie, was born on Kristine's birthday, July 22, 2008. Their second daughter, Jordan Mary, was born on September 2, 2011.

Lilly was featured in an HBO documentary called Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. She also helps run a soccer camp with her former teammates Mia Hamm and Tisha Venturini-Hoch.

Honors and Awards

See also

In Spanish: Kristine Lilly para niños

• List of women's association football players with 100 or more international goals
• List of women's footballers with 100 or more caps
• List of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Olympians
• List of Olympic medalists in football
• List of 2004 Summer Olympics medal winners
• All-time Boston Breakers (WPS) roster