Santa Clara alum and USWNT stalwart Julie Ertz announces retirement
Ertz retired from soccer after a 10-year career that included back-to-back Women’s World Cup titles.
Julie Ertz, a former Santa Clara star and two-time US Soccer Player of the Year, has retired from soccer after a 10-year career that included back-to-back Women’s World Cup titles.
Ertz, 31, had already hinted at her retirement after the United States lost on penalties to Sweden in the Round of 16 this summer, telling reporters it was likely her final match wearing the team crest. On Thursday, she made it official.
“I gave everything I had to the sport that I love,” she stated in a statement announcing her retirement. “With that, I can walk away with no regrets because, while I gave soccer everything I had, soccer gave me even more, and for that I will be eternally grateful.”
When she played for Santa Clara from 2010 to 2013, Ertz went by her maiden name Julie Johnston and scored 31 goals in 79 games. She was Santa Clara’s leading goal scorer in two of her four years and had or tied for the most assists in three of those four years.
While in the Bay Area, she met her husband, former Stanford football standout and current Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz. Many attributed Ertz’s local ties to the National Women’s Soccer League’s new team Bay FC, which will debut in San Jose next spring, as the club’s potential first big name signing.
That was never guaranteed, owing to the fact that it was unclear whether Ertz would return to soccer in 2023 before being named to this summer’s World Cup team. She recovered from a knee injury before competing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she helped the United States win a bronze medal, before taking a year off to give birth to her son last year.
She did, however, play in two exhibition matches against Ireland in April and signed a one-year contract with Angel City, the NWSL team in Los Angeles, to get back into game shape.
Ertz, known for her versatility, played defensive midfield for the 2019 World Cup champions. She played center back in the 2015 tournament, which the US also won.
In this year’s tournament, Ertz filled in for injured veteran Becky Sauerbrunn at center back.
“The future is in absolutely great hands,” Ertz told reporters after the United States’ earliest World Cup exit. “You know, sometimes you learn the most from your mistakes, which is a bummer.” But it’s also a part of my job.”
Ertz’s national team career concludes with 20 goals in 122 appearances. She started all 17 World Cup matches and was named US Soccer’s Player of the Year in 2017 and 2019.
From 2014 to 2021, she scored six goals in 95 games for the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars. She scored one goal in three games for Angel City this season.
While Ertz’s retirement means he will no longer play for Bay FC or the club’s four owners, all of whom played at Santa Clara, there is still a chance Ertz will join Bay FC in a different capacity — perhaps even as a part-owner herself.
