Women’s History Month Spotlight: Steph Cox

OL Reign is celebrating Women's History Month by honoring the women that teach, inspire, make history and push us to greatness. The third woman we will be honoring this month is a former player and coach that helped shape the culture of OL Reign over the last decade, Steph Cox.

Cox had a long and impressive soccer career. She won a National Championship in 2005 with the University of Portland, after an undefeated season and went on to compete for the U.S. Women’s National team. She made 89 appearances and was a member of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team and the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup teams that finished third place and second place respectively.  The pinnacle of her international career was winning a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

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.

Cox signed with the Reign midway through their inaugural 2013 season after giving birth to her oldest daughter Kaylee. Some of her favorite moments include having her daughter join her at practice, on away trips and just generally growing up with the team.

 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 and as a leader in the team. 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 Reign went on to win the NWSL Shield in 2014.

Reign FC re-signed Cox for the 2015 season and she was an integral part of the team once again. In her 20 games with the Reign in 2015, Cox notched four assists. The Reign once again went on to win the NWSL Shield in the 2015 season.

Following the conclusion of the 2015 season, Cox announced that she would be retiring as a player. She had her second daughter, Grace, in 2016. 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 and played through the 2021 season before retiring.

A highlight of her career was bringing her two daughters to the NWSL Challenge Cup in Utah in 2020 for 3 weeks and getting to see them cheer her on from the stands. Cox is grateful for all of the support that the club, the staff, coaches and players have always provided for her as a soccer mom. She is glad that her two girls have gotten to see strong women pursue their passion on the field and grateful for this recognition as part of Women’s History Month.