Former Reign Goalkeeper Hope Solo Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2022
Former Reign and U.S. WNT goalkeeper Hope Solo has been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022. She is one of several individuals elected to the class of 2022. The 2022 Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, May 21, 2022 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Solo’s impact on the game should not be understated. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the women’s game, Solo grew up in Washington. She was born in Richland and learned to play soccer at a young age. Solo played for a club team called Three Rivers Soccer Club and also attended Richland High School, where she played as a forward. She scored at 109 goals and lead her team to three consecutive league titles from 1996 to 1998 and a state championship in her senior year. She was named a Parade All American twice.
Following her youth career, she attended the University of Washington where she began playing as a goalkeeper, rather than a forward. At UW, she was mentored by none other that OL Reign Academy Executive Director Amy Griffin, in addition to Girls Academy Commissioner Lesle Gallimore. Thanks to her impressive college career, Solo became the top goalkeeper in Pac-10 history. She finished her collegiate career as UW's all-time leader in shutouts with 18, as well as the all-time leader in saves with 325.
She was selected to the All-Pac-10 team four times and named an NSCAA All-American as a sophomore, junior and senior. Solo became the first player from Washington to be named Pac-10 Player of the Year and was the first goalkeeper to ever receive that award.
To start her professional career, Solo had a brief stint in the Women’s United Soccer Association. She was drafted fourth overall by the Philadelphia Charge and was with the team for one season before the league folded.
Solo then made the move to Europe to play in the Swedish Premier Division, the top division of women's soccer in Sweden. She played for Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC and made 19 appearances for the team before moving to play with Olympique Lyonnais in the French First Division. She made seven total appearances for OL before heading back to the United States to play in the Women’s Professional League.
She joined Saint Louis Athletica first and was named the WPS Goalkeeper of the Year. That same year, she became the first goalkeeper to be named U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year. Saint Louis folded, and Solo moved to the Atlanta Beat and the following season played for magicJack. She only appeared in four games for magicJack, as she was battling a shoulder injury in addition to preparing for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In 2012, Solo returned home to Washington. She signed with the Seattle Sounders Women, along with future Reign teammate and U.S. Women’s National Team teammate Megan Rapinoe. However, she only appeared in three matches for the Sounders Women, as she was with the national team preparing for the 2012 Olympic Games.
The next year, the NWSL was born, and Solo joined the Reign as one of three members from the United States Women’s National Team allocated to the Reign for its inaugural season. An immediate leader on the team, her impact was felt in the net, despite missing a portion of the season due to injury. Upon returning from injury, she helped the team finish with a 5-14-3 record. Individually, she tallied 81 saves in her 1,260 minutes on the pitch.
The next season, Solo returned to the Reign and was a part of the now iconic 2014 squad that set a league record unbeaten streak of 16 games and secured the club’s first NWSL Shield and first appearance in the NWSL championship final. Though the team lost to FC Kansas City in the final, that season altered the club for the better. Solo was an integral part of the Reign’s success from inside the net. Her .900 goals against average and 65 save performance throughout the season earned her a spot on the NWSL Best XI Second Team.
In 2015, Solo missed a large portion of the Reign’s season for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. She played in eight games for the Reign and made 20 saves, helping the team to once again claim the NWSL Shield and a berth to the NWSL championship final.
Solo finished off her career with the Reign in 2016. She played eight games with the team, conceding only five goals and making 22 saves. She earned a staggering 80.8% save percentage throughout the season.
Solo’s eligibility for the National Soccer Hall of Fame was based on her 202 appearances for U.S. Women’s National Team. She was the goalkeeper for the U.S. Women’s National Team for more than a decade. She won two Olympic gold medals and a FIFA Women’s World Cup championship.
Solo played 202 full international matches for the United States between 2000 and 2016, including 17 World Cup matches, 16 Olympic matches and six World Cup qualifying matches. The star goalkeeper played every minute of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s 2015 World Cup campaign resulting in a championship. She also played every minute of all 12 United States games in its victories at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. She was awarded the in the 2011 and 2015 Women’s World Cups and was named the USSF female athlete of the year in 2009.
Full 2022 voting results and complete information about election and eligibility procedures are available at NationalSoccerHOF.com. The election process is administered by National Soccer Hall of Fame staff under election and eligibility guidelines established by the Hall of Fame Board of Directors.