Shannon Boxx

Shannon Boxx is a midielder for the U.S. women's national team who appeared in her third Women's World Cup at Germany 2011, and has won two Olympic gold medals while playing for her country.

Born on June 29, 1977 in Fontana, California, Shannon Boxx played soccer at South Torrance High School, earning honors as a Parade High School All-American following her senior season. She attended Notre Dame University and helped lead the school's soccer team to its first NCAA title in her freshman year. The Fighting Irish reached the NCAA semifinals two more times during Boxx's career, and she finished as one of just 12 players in school history to record at least 30 goals and 30 assists.

Drafted by the San Diego Spirit for the 2001 season of WUSA professional soccer, Boxx started all 21 games as a rookie and contributed three goals and five assists. After another year with San Diego, she was traded to the New York Power for the 2003 season, her best in the league. The tough midfielder was named to the All-WUSA First Team and notched two goals and two assists over the campaign.

She was selected for the U.S. national team for the 2003 World Cup and made her first appearances for the senior side in the lead-up games to the tournament. Boxx scored against Sweden in her first World Cup game, and added a second strike in a win over Canada as the U.S. claimed third place for the competition.

Boxx notched a goal in the U.S. team's opening game at the 2004 Olympics. She assisted on the winning goal in the quarterfinal of that competition as the American team went on to claim the gold medal. A key contributor to the national side, Boxx finished third in the voting for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year in 2005.

Hip and knee surgeries sidelined Boxx in 2006, but the defensive midfielder returned to the U.S. team at the 2007 Algarve Cup. She then played five games at the World Cup later that year, scoring a goal in the Americans' victory over England in the quarterfinals. But she received a red card as the U.SA. lost to Brazil in the semifinals, and missed the third-place match. A year later, Boxx played every minute of every U.S. match at the 2008 Olympics as the team gained some revenge by defeating the Brazil in the gold-medal match.

In 2009, she joined the Los Angeles Sol for the inaugural season of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). Boxx then joined FC Gold Pride the following year, helping the team claim the league championship in 2010 and playing in the WPS All-Star Game. After the league realigned, she signed to play the 2011 campaign for magicJack (which lost its franchise status after the season).

Reassuming the holding midfield role for the U.S. team, Boxx started all seven of her country's matches in qualifying for the 2011 World Cup. A starter in all 18 U.S. matches in 2010, Boxx filled in as team captain for a time when regular skipper Christie Rampone was out with an injury. A regular starter for the U.S. at the 2011 World Cup, Boxx had an up-and-down tournament for her country, which advanced to the final before falling to Japan on penalty kicks.