Michelle Akers

Personal information
Date of birth	February 1, 1966 (1966-02-01) (age 46)
Place of birth	Santa Clara, California, United States
Playing position	Midfielder/Forward
National team
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1985–2000	United States	153	(105)
Honours Women's football Competitor for the  United States Summer Olympics Gold 1996 Atlanta Team competition
† Appearances (Goals).

Michelle Akers (born February 1, 1966 in Santa Clara, California) is a former leading American association football player, who starred in the historic 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cup victory by the U.S.. She won the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the 1991 tournament. She is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Early life

Michelle Akers was born on February 1, 1966 to Robert and Anne Akers in Santa Clara, California.^[1] She grew up in a suburb of Seattle, Washington. She went to and played soccer at Shorecrest High School.^[1] She was named an All-American three times while attending that school.^[1]

College career

Akers attended the University of Central Florida on a scholarship where she was selected as four-time NCAA All-American.^[1] She was Central Florida's Athlete of the Year in 1988-89, the all-time leading scorer in UCF history,^[1] won the Hermann Trophy in 1988,^[1] and had her #10 jersey retired by the school.

International play

She played for the first-ever U.S. Women's National team in August 1985 on the first international trip for the US Women. Due to an ankle injury, she did not play in the first game. However, she played in the second ever international game and scored the second goal in the history of the program against Denmark, in a 2-2 tie.^[1]

Akers scored 15 goals in 24 games for the U.S. from 1985 to 1990 before scoring a team record 39 goals in 26 games in the 1991 season alone. In 1990 and 1991 she was named the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) Female Athlete of the Year.^[1] Akers was also the lead scorer in the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 in China, scoring ten goals, including five in one game.^[1] This led the U.S. Women's Team to the first women's world championship, defeating Norway 2-1. Akers scored both goals in the finals.

In 1996, Akers was again a member of the U.S. Women's National Team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia where they won the gold medal. She was also a member of the gold-medal-winning, 1998 Goodwill Games team. On June 7, 1998, she was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit, their highest honor, for her contributions to the game of soccer. Akers again was part of the 1999 Women's World Cup team, leading to a second World Cup championship.

Shortly before the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Akers retired from the game as the U.S. National Team's second all-time leading scorer (behind Mia Hamm) with 105 goals, 37 assists and 247 points.

International career statistics

After soccer

Since her retirement, she has continued to promote the game of soccer and has written several books, including one that documents her battle with chronic fatigue syndrome.

In 2002, she was voted FIFA's Woman Player of the Century, an award she shared with China's Sun Wen.

In 2004, she and Hamm were the only two women named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living soccer players selected by Pelé and commissioned by FIFA for that organization's 100th anniversary. Also in 2004, Akers was inducted, along with Paul Caligiuri and Eric Wynalda, into the US National Soccer Hall of Fame.

She currently lives with her husband Steve Eichenblatt, an attorney who represented her in her rehabilitation lawsuits against the USSF after her retirement, and their son Cody, born in 2005, in Powder Springs, Georgia and dedicates herself to rescuing horses.^[2]

See also

• List of association women football players with 100 or more international goals

References

External links

• National Soccer Hall of Fame biography
• Michelle Akers' U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Michelle Akers horse rescue website

United States squads v d e United States squad – 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Champions (1st Title) 1 Harvey 2 Heinrichs (c.) 3 Higgins 4 Werden 5 Henry 6 Chastain 7 Bates 8 Hamilton 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Jennings 13 Lilly 14 Biefield 15 Gebauer 16 Belkin 17 Allmann 18 Maslin-Kammerdeiner Coach: Dorrance v d e United States squad – 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup Third Place 1 Scurry 2 Staples 3 Manthei 4 Overbeck 5 Roberts 6 Keller 7 Rafanelli 8 Hamilton 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Jennings 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Venturini 16 Milbrett 17 Lalor 18 Webber 19 Cromwell 20 Harvey Coach: DiCicco v d e United States squad – 1996 Summer Olympics (Women's Soccer) - Gold Medal 1 Scurry 2 Harvey 3 Parlow 4 Overbeck 5 Roberts 6 Chastain 7 Wilson 8 MacMillan 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Gabarra 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Venturini 16 Milbrett 17 Cromwell 18 Staples Bryan 20 Webber Coach: DiCicco v d e United States squad – 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Champions (2nd Title) 1 Scurry 2 Fair 3 Pearce 4 Overbeck 5 Roberts 6 Chastain 7 Whalen 8 MacMillan 9 Hamm 10 Akers 11 Foudy 12 Parlow 13 Lilly 14 Fawcett 15 Venturini 16 Milbrett 17 Fotopoulos 18 Webber 19 Ducar 20 Sobrero Coach: DiCicco