Megan Rapinoe said she was very upset when her last game ended abruptly in the third minute. She injured her right calf and had to leave the field while receiving an applause from the fans at Snapdragon Stadium.
Two-time World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe expressed her deep sadness when her last professional game ended abruptly and disappointingly.
The NWSL final between OL Reign and NJ/NY Gotham FC was a big deal because it marked the end of a chapter for the 2019 Ballon d’Or winner and her former US women’s national team mate Ali Krieger.
But the retirement party abruptly ended when the 38-year-old got injured without any contact in the third minute. She held her right calf in pain and then hobbled off the field while the fans at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium applauded her.
“The worst possible outcome,” the veteran midfielder told reporters after the match. “Obviously, devastating to go out of the final so early.”
Rapinoe said she was using her sense of humor to cope with the disappointment. She thinks she tore her Achilles tendon but will wait for more tests to confirm it.
“You don’t always get to have the perfect ending,” she said.
Gotham FC defender Krieger hugged her friend as she left the field.
Gotham defeated Reign 2-1 and won their first championship title.
The 38-year-old Olympic champion was unable to compete this year due to a calf injury. However, her sudden departure from her last professional game surprised both fans and her fellow teammates from the US women’s national team.
“Absolutely gutted,” retired US great Mia Hamm wrote on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Rapinoe recently experienced a disappointing early exit from the Women’s World Cup. However, despite the injury that affected her final game, she mentioned feeling a sense of peace overall.
“It’s obviously disappointing to go out like that,” she said. “I feel great about my career. I feel so lucky and so grateful to have played as long as I played.”
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