CHICAGO (August 31, 2023) – Julie Ertz, one of the greatest competitors in the history of the US Women’s National Team and one of the select group of players to win the FIFA World Cups at the youth and senior levels, has officially announced her retirement from in professional soccer.
Ertz played a big part in helping the USA win back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Cups, bursting onto the international scene in 2015 in Canada as a center back and then as one of the best midfielders in defense of the world in 2019 in France. She was out of the field for 18 months after the Olympics in 2021 due to injuries and the birth of her child but returned to play in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. He was a star in New Zealand and Australia, playing every minute in all four games while orchestrating a US defense that allowed just two shots on goal in four games.
Ertz is a two-time US Soccer Female Player of the Year (2017 and 2019) and one of only five players to win the US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year (which she won in 2012) and the senior award team. She is the only player to win the US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year and then win the US Soccer Female Player of the Year twice.
“As an athlete you are always alone focused on the next goal, the next tournament and rarely do you get time to reflect on your career,” Ertz said. “However, over the past few months my heart has been filled with gratitude as I think about the wonderful experiences that soccer has given me. I’ve been blessed to meet and train with some of the best and most inspiring women I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve experienced different cultures while traveling the world to compete at the highest level. I give everything I have to the sport I love. Then I can walk away with no regrets because while I gave soccer every ounce of myself, soccer gave me so much more, and for that I will always be grateful.
A two-time Olympian, Ertz returned from a serious knee injury to play in the delayed 2020 Olympics in Japan, putting off a performance that saw him start five of six games and play in the second most minutes on the team while helping the USA earn bronze.
Ertz took some time off the field after the Olympics, and then announced her pregnancy in April of 2022. She gave birth to her son, Madden, on August 11, 2022.
Ertz, 31, debuted for the USWNT in 2013 and her career with the US National Team spanned 10 years. In his 122 caps, USA has a record of 100W-17D-5L. Ertz played in 17 World Cup matches, where everyone started, where the USA accumulated 13 wins and four draws while keeping 11 clean sheets.
In 2012, as a center back, she captained the USA to the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup title in Japan and was awarded the bronze ball as the tournament’s third best player, a rare tribute for a defensive player Her performance helped her earn the US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year accolade.
During his career, Ertz became a fan favorite for his dynamic playing style with crunching tackles, dominant aerial presence and an impressive 20 goals – many off set plays – while playing at the back or in defensive midfield. Ertz’s 20 goals came against 15 different opponents: three against New Zealand, two against Korea Republic, Brazil and Colombia, and one against France, Republic of Ireland, Haiti, Canada, Jamaica, Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, Denmark, Japan.
A defender in his first four years with the US National Team, he came off the bench against Brazil in the 2017 Tournament of Nations to play defensive midfielder – a position he has played all season for his pro club and previously in college and for the US Youth National Teams – and scored the dramatic game-winner in the 89th minute in a 4-3 victory. From there, he started the last seven games of the year in the middle of the defense, scored five more goals, and played in all but 67 minutes of those games. Her six goals nearly matched her total (8) from her first four years with the WNT and she played so well and was so dominant that she was named the 2017 US Soccer Female Player of the Year.
In the first match of the 2020 SheBelieves Cup against England on March 5, she became the 40th US Women’s National Team player to reach 100 caps.
At the club level, Ertz played most of his professional club career for the Chicago Red Stars, spanning nearly 100 games from 2014-2021. The Red Stars picked him with 3street overall pick in the 2014 NWSL Draft. She would go on to be named the 2014 NWSL Rookie of the Year. He returned to the NWSL in 2023 with Angel City FC and played in seven matches before the World Cup, all starts, while scoring one goal. He will not return to the Angel City for the rest of the NWSL season.
Julie Beth Johnston was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Mesa, where she excelled as a youth player for Sereno SC, where she won nine state titles. He first became part of the US National Teams program at the Under-14 level. He earned a scholarship to Santa Clara University, where he was a First-Team All-American and the West Coast Conference Player of the Year as a senior. He was also the WWC Freshman of the Year during his rookie campaign. He earned his first senior team cap in 2013 against Scotland and scored his first senior team goal in Portugal’s Algarve Cup in 2015 against France.
In 2017, she married NFL tight end Zach Ertz, who is now with the Arizona Cardinals and a Super Bowl champion with the Philadelphia Eagles, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl LII.
In 2018, she and Zach started the Ertz Family Foundation with the mission of empowering others through faith sharing, learning through sports and educational advancement to build supportive communities, with the goals of changing lives through faith, hope and love. His work at the Foundation continues.