CHICAGO (Jan. 26, 2018) – A panel of seven former U.S. Women’s National Team players will select the four finalists for the SheBelieves Hero™ contest, with fans voting on the winner the week of Feb. 12-16. The SheBelieves Hero™ Panel is composed of Nicole Barnhart, Shannon Boxx, Lori Lindsey, Shannon MacMillan, Christie Rampone, Lindsay Tarpley and Kacey White.
The second annual SheBelieves Hero™ contest, which runs until Monday, Feb. 5, will select a girl between the ages of 13-17 who embodies the SheBelieves spirit. A SheBelieves Hero™ is a leader in their community, a confident and passionate individual who empowers others around them and works to make a difference. The 2018 SheBelieves Hero™ will win a trip for two (2) to the WNT’s SheBelieves Cup match in Harrison, N.J. on March 4. Information on how to participate in the contest, as well as Contest Official Rules are available at shebelieves.us.
SheBelieves HeroTM Panel
Nicole Barnhart
The Pennsylvania native is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Women’s National Team. Barnhart played 53 times in goal for the USA, but amazingly made her debut on the field in 2004 as a forward when the USA ran out of substitutes and she came in as a sub in the last game of the 2004 Fan Celebration Tour. Still one of the top goalkeepers in the NWSL, she is currently playing for the Utah Royals FC and runs Nicole Barnhart Goalkeeping.
Shannon Boxx
Propelled by her play in the Women’s United Soccer Association, Boxx’s international career began when she was named to the USA’s 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team without having previously earned a cap. She went on to build a distinguished career as one of the best holding midfielders in the world and played in four FIFA Women’s World Cups and three Olympic Games. Boxx did not play in 2014 but returned to the field after the birth of her daughter and was a member of the team that won the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada. Boxx started 177 of her 185 career caps.
Lori Lindsey
Midfielder Lori Lindsey was an alternate on the team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games and was a member of the 2011 U.S. Women’s World Cup Team. A popular player during her time with the U.S. WNT, she earned most of her 31 caps from 2010-2012. She was recently part of a group of women who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania where they played an official soccer match at the highest altitude on record.
Shannon MacMillan
A 13-year veteran of the U.S. Women’s National Team, MacMillan scored 60 goals in 177 games, still ninth best in U.S. history. She was a member of the squad that won the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where she scored against North Korea, and played in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic games, winning a gold medal in 1996. MacMillan scored one of the most famous goals in U.S. history, tallying the “Golden Goal” against Norway in the 1996 Olympic semifinal in Athens, Ga., that sent the USA to the gold medal game, where she then scored the opening goal in the 2-1 victory against China PR. MacMillan is currently Executive Director for the Del Mar Sharks soccer club in San Diego.
Christie Rampone
A tenacious and consistent defender nicknamed ‘Captain America’, Rampone had one of the most remarkable careers in U.S. WNT history. She was the only player from the 1999 Women’s World Cup winners to also play at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. During her 17-year international career, Rampone earned 311 caps, second most in U.S. and world history, and won two FIFA Women’s World Cups (1999, 2015), and three Olympic gold medals (2004, 2008, 2012).
Lindsay Tarpley
A member of the U.S. Youth National Teams from Under-14 through the Under-19 level, it was Tarpley’s historic “Golden Goal” that won the inaugural 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cup, the first FIFA event held at that age level. Tarpley went on to score 32 goals in 125 games for the U.S. WNT including one in the quarterfinal of the 2008 Olympic Games. She also scored against Brazil in the 2004 Olympic Final in Athens, Greece, helping the USA to the gold medal.
Kacey White
Midfielder Kacey White earned 18 caps for the U.S. WNT from 2006-2009. White joined U.S. Soccer full-time in April of 2017 as head coach for the U.S. Under-16 Girls’ National Team after coaching at various levels in youth and college soccer. White also played professionally for six years in the United States and Sweden.
Conceived and developed by U.S. Soccer and the Women’s National Team players, SheBelieves is a movement created to inspire and encourage girls and women of all ages to accomplish their goals and dreams, athletic or otherwise. The campaign was originally launched in the run-up to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup but has since evolved into a special bond between the team and its fans, taking its powerful message of empowerment and that of believing in yourself into communities across the nation.