Soccer star Megan Rapinoe has extended her career by at least one more game and shot her club OL Reign into the NWSL playoffs with two goals.
In the 3-0 (0-0) win against the Chicago Red Stars, the 38-year-old scored two almost identical goals within a minute when the ball found its way into the net from a half-left position over the inside post.
In the North American professional league, OL Reign took fourth place in the table with the win and made it into the playoffs perfect. On Friday the team will face Angel City FC from Los Angeles in the first round in Seattle.
“It’s great that we can come home and play at home,” Rapinoe told CBS. “It’s been quite a rollercoaster of emotions, from possibly not qualifying to now having home advantage in the first round.” About her two goals against Alyssa Naeher in the hosts’ goal, the two-time world champion said: “She’s the best goalkeeper in the world, I think, so I had to place her really precisely to beat her.”
Rapinoe is ending her career at the end of this season; theoretically she could have been on the pitch for the last time as a professional against Chicago. Three weeks ago, Rapinoe said goodbye to the national team with one last appearance. With the USA she won the World Cup title in 2015 and 2019, became Olympic champion in 2012 and won bronze again at the Games in Tokyo. In 2019 she also became a world footballer and drew attention to herself with her commitment to social issues.