It’s nearly impossible to succinctly sum up the career of Kelley O’Hara. The U.S. women’s national team legend has brought home champions for both club and country, led the way in the fight for equal pay and charmed fans around the world with her antics both on and off the pitch.
The defender currently plays for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women’s Soccer League, but due to a persistent knee injury, she was put on the season-ending injury list just months after she had announced her retirement from professional soccer following this season.
On Oct. 20, the team will honor O’Hara after its final home match of the season. The Georgia native played for nearly seven seasons with the New Jersey-based side, including the team’s 2023 NWSL title-winning campaign. The two-time World Cup champion will also be honored by the USWNT on Oct.27 at the team’s upcoming friendly in Nashville.
Ahead of these celebrations, O’Hara took a walk down memory lane, reliving some of the best— and often funniest—moments of her long, storied career.
2015 World Cup Goal vs. Germany
O’Hara’s "karate kick" goal against Germany in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinal delighted fans and helped set the path to the team’s eventual championship.
Kelley O’Hara: That brings back so many memories. The 2015 World Cup went very differently than I had imagined it would go before we got into it. I obviously was training as a defender leading up to that. I had already played in the 2012 Olympics as an outside back. Going into the 2015 World Cup I know I’m not a starter, and [USWNT head coach] Jill Ellis said [I’m] going to be number three, or the next one off the bench.
I went through the group stage and the round of 16 and I didn’t see the field. So I’m sitting there like, dang, I really thought this was going to look differently. I ended up playing in the quarters, starting, but as an outside mid, not an outside back. I hadn’t trained there really at all, but I played fine. Then going into the semis, I was like, I think now that I’ve seen the field and I’ve shown that I can do this, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get more playing time.
I just remember checking into that game, we were up 1–0. Carli [Lloyd] had scored a PK and Germany missed a PK. There’s probably 15 to 17 minutes left, not a lot, and [the instruction] was basically, defend your ass off, we need you to close out this game and get us to the final. As an outside mid, as we attacked I was going to get into the box because that’s what I need to be doing.
The little passes that happened and the link up before Carli crosses it is really good. I was just like, yeah, I know what to do in the box, this is what I did when I was a kid and in college. I took a little step back to try and open up some space and then went for it. After, I [thought], did I just karate chop this into the goal? I couldn’t believe it happened! I just lost my mind, found Carli, and we were all losing it. That was the first goal that I ever scored for the national team.
Celebrating (With Beer!) at the 2019 Ticker Tape Parade in NYC
After the USWNT won its second World Cup in a row, the team was invited to celebrate in New York City’s infamous ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes, which ended at City Hall for a ceremony honoring the team. Before the parade, she tweeted out for fans to bring her beer—and they obliged.
A great moment from today's parade -- after @kelleymohara tweeted out she'd give bonus points to any fan that brought her a beverage, someone comes through. It's a sign of genuineness from her that I thought is worth sharing. This was toward the end of the Canyon of Heroes. pic.twitter.com/gXbCNivUIe
— Nate Dowdle (@NateDowdle) July 10, 2019
O’Hara: We did the ticker tape parade in 2015. The celebration was really fun, but because we had done it in 2015 and this was Round 2, we were turning up! In 2015, we had some fun and we did turn up a bit, but I said, no, we just won the World Cup again for the second time in a row—we’re getting rowdy! Let’s go, let’s just absolutely send it!
What I remembered from 2015 is that there was no alcohol before or during the parade, so I said, we’re not doing that again! These NFL guys that go to their parades they just send it, so I was like, let’s do it! We had drinks before, but it was all champagne, but I wanted beer on the float. There was none to be found, so I guess that’s why I tweeted it out. Sure enough, someone was in the crowd holding up beers and at that point, my voice was almost gone, it was 10 in the morning, the rowdy scale was up there, I had to go get the beer, and then we chugged the beer—and that was that.
I was on a float with most of the younger players. This was their first World Cup, so I [had to show then] this is how you do it—for future reference. I’m teaching you now so you can carry on the “send it energy” whenever you win next.
Being in New York, I ride Citibike by City Hall a lot. Every time I look, I just think about being on that stage, walking out, and just that day. It was a funny, funny day. You gotta have fun with it.
O’Hara Runs Into a Fellow Starr’s Mill High School Alum
During a “woman on the street” segment for Just Women’s Sports, O’Hara interviewed passersby in Washington, D.C. to test their knowledge about U.S. soccer. Serendipitously, she interviewed someone who went to her same high school in Fayetteville, Ga..
O’Hara: We couldn’t have come up with a funnier scenario to happen even if we paid someone to do it and planted them. The fact that it just happened organically is what makes it so funny. On top of that, and you don’t see this in the video, but I asked him when he went to Starr’s Mill. He knew my name but not what I looked like. He graduated in 2016, so 10 years [after me]. It was so funny. You couldn’t make it up better than that. It’s given a lot of people a lot of laughs.
Taking Home a NWSL Title by Scoring the Game-winning Goal in Extra Time
For the 2021 and ’22 seasons, O’Hara played for the Washington Spirit. The 2021 season was particularly difficult for the Spirit after the firing of their head coach for allegations of abuse, a losing record to start the season and the looming, contentious sale of the team. The Spirit banded together and made an unexpected run to the championship, winning against the Chicago Red Stars in extra time, with the game-winning goal coming from O’Hara.
O’Hara: That’s truly one of my favorite soccer moments because there’s just so much behind winning that for me and the team. It just meant so much.
With that specific goal, it was crazy. We’re deep into extra time, both teams are tired, [we’re thinking] it’s going to be a stalemate, we’re going to have to go to PKs, and I just remember I went into the mode of, we have to do anything we can to win.
I remember Trinity [Rodman] being on the left side, I was on the right, she had the ball, and I just remember thinking, [Chicago]’s line is pretty high, there’s space in behind here, let me make the run. Trinity saw me making that run, and she put it perfectly.
I remember going up for it, and as I was heading it, I saw the keeper coming across. I thought she was for sure going to save it because she’s in a good position. I remember heading it, and as I’m falling backwards, I see it hit the back of the net and the net moved. I was like, oh my God this went into the goal! I freaked out and celebrated like, what am I doing scoring this goal up here! But it was sick.
That team has such a special place in my heart, and that season has such a special place in my heart. Obviously ending it that way was the cherry on top. That’s a really good memory.
O’Hara Scores the Game-winning Goal in 4–3 Goalfest vs. the Boston Breakers
The early days of Gotham FC (formerly known as Sky Blue FC) were not so glamorous. By 2017, the team had only made the playoffs once was consistently at the bottom of the NWSL standings. In the following years, stories of poor conditions and mismanagement plagued the team until the club rebranded in 2020. Despite this, O’Hara helped provide bright moments on the field to a supportive fan base and dedicated squad.
O’Hara: Sky Blue was a tough place to play in the early days. Organizationally, the franchise just wasn’t where it needed to be in so many aspects. I stayed on Sky Blue for five years, and [although I don’t remember this specific moment], what I do remember was the players and my teammates,the girls I got to play with. That’s what kept me at Sky Blue for so long.
That goal was the epitome of what Sky Blue was in terms of our fight and drive. We didn’t have everything or all the pieces by any means, but we were never going to give up. We really played for each other and really enjoyed each other.
That season had brought the team very close as well with all the things that were happening off the field. I feel like that’s been a bit of a theme sometimes in the past in the NWSL, but I really enjoyed playing with the people I got to play with there.
O’Hara Mistakenly Whiffs a Cross During a 2020 Olympic Qualifier
The USWNT was already up 3–0 in a Concacaf Olympic qualifier against Costa Rica in 2020. O’Hara found herself at the endline and went to cross the ball into the box, but her feet got the better of her, causing her to miss the ball entirely as it rolled out harmlessly for a goal kick. Her reaction became an instant legend.
A Very Important Gif.
— Our Game Magazine (@OurGameMagazine) February 4, 2020
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/hZhJF7UVvp
O’Hara: That was just so silly. I mean, I was sending that cross in, that was going to be the best freaking cross you’ve ever seen. But I toe it out of bounds and I freaking full-on whiff it. I can’t watch it, but I can’t look away!
I feel like it encapsulates me as a person and a player, but you just have to laugh. That’s part of being a footballer. You make mistakes and you have to laugh it off.
Jenna Nighswonger the other day had a massive whiff during a game, and I was like, been there done that, girl! She laughed it off too, which is all you can do.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Retiring USWNT Star Kelley O’Hara Relives Her Most Memorable Moments.
