Tiffeny Milbrett scored 100 international goals. (Andy Mead/YCJ Photo)
The doors to the National Soccer Hall of Fame finally have opened to one of the most prolific goal-scorers in U.S. Soccer history.
Forward Tiffeny Milbrett was elected to the Hall on the players ballot, it was announced Thursday.
During her prime, the 5-2 Milbrett was one of the most dangerous and productive player the U.S. women’s national team had, if not in the world. And that’s saying a lot considering the team had the likes of Mia Hamm and Michelle Akers.
A member of the USWNT from 1991-2006, Milbrett made a name for herself by scoring three goals at the 1995 Women’s World Cup in Sweden, when the Americans finished a disappointing third.
At the very first women’s Olympic soccer tournament in 1996, Milbrett tallied the game-winning goal in the gold medal match.
The U.S. bounced back with a world championship when it hosted the tournament in 1999 and Milbrett contributed to the cause. Perhaps her most memorable goal was scored in the thrilling 3-2 quarterfinal win over Germany in which she slalomed through taller defenders to score.
Milbrett’s penchant for clutch player continued at the 2000 Summer Olympics as she scored a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time against Norway in the gold-medal match before the Europeans prevailed in extratime, 3-2.
When the first professional women’s league was formed in 2001, Milbrett took it to yet another level in the Women’s United Soccer Association. She wound up as the league’s leading goal-scorer (16 goals) and MVP and not surprisingly was the first player to record a hat-trick in WUSA history while playing for the New York Power.
The Portland, Ore. native finished with 100 goals in 206 international matches, good for fifth on the all-time U.S. list. Milbrett’s 64 assists ranks her fourth among American players.
Milbrett will be inducted into the Hall at its grand opening during Hall of Fame weekend at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas Oct. 20-21.
Saturday, Oct. 20 will feature the Hall of Fame induction ceremony followed by a performance by the Grammy Award-winning band, Imagine Dragons. On Sunday, Oct. 21, FC Dallas will host Sporting Kansas City in the National Soccer Hall of Fame Game.
