OL Reign Defender Steph Cox Announces Retirement

OL Reign defender Steph Cox has announced her decision to retire from professional soccer. Cox started her professional soccer career in 2009 and played six seasons for OL Reign after joining the team in 2013.

Cox began her professional career with the Los Angeles Sol in the inaugural WPS season. After one season, the Sol disbanded and Cox was acquired by the Boston Breakers. She played in Boston for two seasons before joining the Seattle Sounders Women for the 2012 season.

“I have a lot of different emotions after having decided to retire,” Cox shared. “It was a lot of fun to come back and play for a couple seasons after having previously retired. My girls are getting older, so I’m looking forward to getting to focus on more on my family. That being said, I’m going to miss being out on the pitch.”

“I’m really grateful to my family and especially to my husband. This last season, he had the girls for two weeks when we were on the road. He took Grace to the first week of kindergarten and was just so supportive and wanted me to pursue whatever made me happy. I’m excited for this next stage for our family and to be on the sidelines cheering our girls on.”

“Steph will be remembered and celebrated as a legend at our club. As a Reign original she played a massive role in shaping the enduring culture and values of our organization,” said OL Reign CEO Bill Predmore. “Our greatest moments as a club were enabled by the stellar defense led by Steph in 2014 and 2015. We are grateful for all she has given the club, deeply appreciative of the high standard she set for us all, and we remain in awe of her unyielding efforts to push our team towards greatness.”

Cox signed with the Reign midway through their inaugural 2013 season and made four appearances for the team that year. In 2013 the Reign endured its most difficult season, ending the year seventh in the table. The next season, Cox cemented her place in the Reign backline. She played in 21 matches in 2014 and added one assist. An integral part of the team’s success, Cox led the team to a league-low of 20 goals conceded throughout the season.

The defender earned her first NWSL assist against the Western New York Flash when she lofted a perfectly weighted ball into the area for Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock to finish. The 2014 Reign squad would go on to win the NWSL Shield for the first time in club history. Her domination of the left side of the field earned Cox NWSL Second XI honors.

Reign FC re-signed Cox for the 2015 season and she excelled once again. Her efforts on defense were stellar, but she was also a game-changer on offense. The Reign could always count on Cox’s ability to control the left side of the field by shutting down the opposing team’s attack and by playing dangerous balls forward for her Reign teammates. In her 20 games with the Reign in 2015, Cox notched four assists.

Once again, the Reign finished the season in first place and captured the NWSL Shield for the second consecutive season. Coming as a shock to no one, Cox was voted to the NWSL Second XI again. Following the conclusion of the 2015 season, Cox announced that she would be retiring as a player but had plans to remain in the soccer world through coaching and potentially other avenues like commentating.

“I think we always talk about 2014 and 2015 being really special seasons for the club and me being an integral part of that on the field, so those were highlight moments in my career for sure,” said Cox.

After welcoming her second child in April 2016 and coaching the Gig Harbor High School girls’ soccer team, Cox returned to the Reign. She spent 2017 as part of the club’s technical staff under head coach Laura Harvey. After stepping away from the club for its 2018 season, Cox re-joined Reign FC as an assistant coach under head coach Vlatko Andonovski in 2019.

Though she enjoyed coaching, Cox found herself missing her time on the pitch as a player. When she first brought up wanting to play again, Andonovski was suprised, but excited to have her back on the pitch.

“The players here mean so much to me. There’s a core group of us that have been here since the beginning – Lu, Jess and Pinoe. I just have so much love and respect for them, on and off the field. It feels like we really helped to create and cultivate the culture at the club. At our club, it’s about the players. Of course, it’s about good football but it’s also about all the individuals here feeling comfortable to be who they are and express themselves on and off the field. It’s really a very special environment.”

The skilled defender brought a veteran presence to a young team when she was signed in May 2019 as a National Team Replacement Player. Cox made four appearances for the Reign, including her 50th NWSL appearance, before signing a contract through the rest of the 2019 season. She made four additional appearances that season.

“I’ll always remember coming back in 2019 and playing at Cheney and just how much fun I had. I was just grateful for that second iteration of my career... or maybe third. I would say the second one was after I had my daughter Kaylee. Being able to play just for the love of the game, with no pressure or end goals in mind was so fun. I was just playing because I loved it. I felt really blessed to have that opportunity.”

“There was one moment where I remember hitting a ball into Jess who was running in behind and she just looked back at me, smiling. It just seemed like the old days. Those moments were so special to me and I’m grateful to have had those last couple seasons.”

In 2020, Cox made 8 starts during the Challenge Cup and Fall Series. She amassed 688 minutes over the two competitions, the third highest of any OL Reign player. She put in six 90-minute performances and earned one assist.

“Playing these last couple seasons was different in the sense that I had been on staff as a coach. I was older and there were a lot of younger players. I’m the only mom on the team. Those things made it a little bit different. But, you know, the game is still the same. For me, I there was really an emphasis of what can I impart to the younger players. I didn’t have any end goals to focus on like in 2014 and 2015 when I wanted to be on the national team. It shifted to focus more on how I could help other players reach their goals and to see what I could leave behind. It was fun to have more of a mentor role and I’ll forever value that.”

During the 2021 season, Cox made two appearances during the NWSL Challenge Cup and two appearances during the NWSL regular season. Her leadership on and off the field helped to lead OL Reign to a second-place finish in the regular season.

“This season was really exceptional. Just the quality of the players and this team was so much fun to be a part of. I’m really proud of how the group was so resilient over the course of the season and finished really strong. I’m proud of everything I’ve given the club since the beginning.”

Aside from her NWSL play, Cox has 89 caps for the U.S. Women’s National Team. She debuted for the team in 2006. Cox helped the U.S. WNT win Olympic Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and also appeared for the U.S. at the 2007 and 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cups, where the team picked up a bronze medal in 2007, followed by a silver medal in 2011.

“I still love the game, and nothing can take that away. I know that I want to get involved in the game in some capacity in the future, but I think I’ll be stepping away for a bit to have some space and think through my options and really have time to just focus on my family right now. I am excited to continue to follow the club and the players individually and continue to cheer them on.”