Brandi denise chastain biography
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She later played for Skiroki Serena in Japan, and in American professional leagues, for the San Jose CyberRays and California Storm. Chastain tallied 30 goals with the national team.
She played three seasons in the WUSA between 2001 and 2003 with Bay Area and San Jose, and one season in WPS, 2009, with Bay Area.
She played in 13 of the United States’ 16 games at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, including the final in all three years, and won Olympic titles in 1996 and 2004. In addition to her first-division play in the United States, she also played six seasons in the WPSL, one season in the W-League and one season in the Japanese professional league.
At UC Berkeley she earned All-America honors and was named Soccer America’s Freshman of the Year. The next season, she scored 22 goals as the team clinched the nation’s top ranking. In 2005 she co-founded the nonprofit Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (aka “Bossy”), helping Title I schools and underserved girls by bringing collegiate female athletes to their playgrounds.
She retired from the national team in 2004, and was a football analyst for NBC during the 2008 Olympics.
Results
List mentions
Over 15,000 girls have participated in the program in the greater San Jose area.
On April 4, 2023 the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced it awarded expansion rights for team #14 to a group led by Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner.
She also played two games of the U.S. victory in the 1991 Women’s World Cup and one in the 2003 Women’s World Cup (before being injured). During her long career, she was capped 192 times, scoring 30 goals.
A defender and forward who made the switch from the front line to the back line in mid-career and won two World Cups and two Olympic championships as a star of the U.S.
women’s national team.
Chastain, who was chosen in 2013 to the U.S. women’s national team all-time Best XI, played 192 full internationals for the United States, the first against Japan in 1988 and the last against Mexico in 2004. She transferred to Santa Clara University and in 1989 led the team to the national semifinals. During her WUSA/WPS career, she played 62 regular-season games and two playoff games.
Inducted in 2016.
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Biography current as of January 2024
Brandi Chastain is a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and three-time Olympic medalist who has inspired generations of young women to play soccer and to fight for equal pay and working conditions as professional athletes.
Chastain started playing soccer at age eight and led her high school to three state championships.
She was named the ISAA National Collegiate Player of the Year and was among the nation’s top scorers.
As a member of the 1991 U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) team, Chastain scored five consecutive goals in a qualifying match, still a team record. She went on to win silver at the 2000 Olympics and gold in 2004.
Chastain has worked as a color commentator for ABC, NBC and ESPN.
She led the Broncos to two Final Four appearances during her two years at Santa Clara. She was a key member of the U.S. team that won the 1999 Women’s World Cup, starting all six games and sparking a famous celebration by scoring the winning goal in the penalty shootout that decided the championship. Chastain began her college career at U Cal Berkeley in 1986, but sat out 1987-88 after ACL surgery, and then transferred to the University of Santa Clara.
In front of her home crowd, she scored the deciding penalty kick against China, and celebrated by taking off her shirt. In addition to that victory, defender Chastain also played on the team that won the inaugural women’s World Cup in 1991, and won Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2004. This would become one of the most iconic moments in women's sports history.
Olympic Experience
- 3-time Olympian; 3-time Olympic medalist (2 gold, 1 silver)
- Olympic Games Athens 2004, gold (Team - Women)
- Olympic Games Sydney 2000, silver (Team - Women)
- Olympic Games Atlanta 1996, gold (Team - Women)
World Championships Experience
- Most recent: 2003 – bronze (Team - Women)
- Years of participation: Team - Women 1991, 1999, 2003
- Medals: 3 (2 gold, 1 bronze)
- Gold – 1999 (Team - Women); 1991 (Team - Women)
- Bronze – 2003 (Team - Women)
Although she played in three Olympic finals, Brandi Chastain is best remembered for the 1999 World Cup final.
She brought home gold in the first Olympic women’s soccer competition at the 1996 Summer Games. She was chosen to the WUSA all-star first team in 2001, a year when she was the star of the Bay Area team that won the first WUSA title, and was second-team selection in 2002 and 2003.