Brandi Chastain will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame along with Shannon MacMillan March 24 (Andy Mead/YCJ Photo)
U.S. national team legends Brandi Chastain and Shannon MacMillan will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif. Friday, March 24.
The Class of 2016 induction ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, prior to the U.S. men’s national team’s World Cup qualifying match against Honduras. The ceremony will be invite-only but fans will be able to watch live on U.S. Soccer’s Facebook page.
Chastain, who gained world-wide fame – and the covers of Sports Illustrated, Newsweek and Time – for her game-winning penalty kick in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, enters the Hall of Fame on the player ballot.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist (1996 and 2004) and silver medalist (2000) enjoyed a 12-year international career while playing 192 matches and scoring 30 goals for the national side from 1988-2004. Chastain, a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee, competed in three Women’s World Cups (1991, 1999 and 2003), winning world titles in 1991 and 1999.
MacMillan, a 1999 Women’s World Cup champion and 1996 Olympic gold medalist, enters the Hall on the veteran ballot. She had a 12-year career with the USWNT, playing in 176 matches from 1993-2005. Her 60 career goals are ninth all-time in U.S. women’s history. She also won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics and played in the 2003 Women’s World Cup. She was the 2002 U.S. Soccer female player of the year.
In addition to the Class of 2016 induction, the Colin Jose Media Award will be presented to Paul Kennedy, editor in chief and general manager of Soccer America, during the ceremony.
The award is named after Colin Jose, who served as the official historian of the National Soccer Hall of Fame from 1997-2007, and is designed to honor members of the media who specialize in communications with respect to soccer in the U.S. It is awarded to those whose contributions in the field are deemed to be of exceptional and sustained quality.
MLS commissioner Don Garber, who is also part of the 2016 Hall of Fame Class, will be inducted at a later time.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame election process is administered by U.S. Soccer staff under election and eligibility guidelines established by the Hall of Fame board of directors. Established in 1950, the National Soccer Hall of Fame is dedicated to the sport of soccer in America by celebrating its history and preserving its legacy.
