Megan Rapinoe left the final game of her illustrious soccer career after less than three minutes after suffering a non-contact lower leg injury while playing ball.
Rapinoe entered Saturday’s NWSL Championship game shortly before her retirement in search of the only trophy that had eluded her and her longtime club, the OL Reign. A title, she said hours before the game, would be “amazing” and would mean “everything.”
But in the 3rd minute, while pushing and spinning an opponent, she went down and stayed down. Soon, teammates arrived to take care of her. Sports trainers followed.
Rapinoe left the field limping and in tears, his arms wrapped around the athletic trainers. She hugged Gotham’s Ali Krieger, her longtime friend and teammate – but an opponent on Saturday – as she walked away.
Megan Rapinoe suffers an injury in her final career game less than three minutes into the NWSL final 💔
She receives a standing ovation from Snapdragon Stadium pic.twitter.com/uwqG2epzMK
— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) November 12, 2023
Bethany Balcer replaced Rapinoe on the Reign’s left wing.
About 20 minutes later, Lynn Williams scored to give NJ/NY Gotham FC a 1-0 lead.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
