Lauren Holiday plans to retire from US women’s national team

Now that Holiday has reached the soccer mountain top and raised the World Cup trophy, she is retiring from the national team, as mentioned by Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated. She has spent the better part of a decade playing with the national team, a commitment that takes a lot of time and travel.

Williams believes the distance between Holiday and her husband, Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans, was a factor.

The midfielder announced her intention to spend more time focusing on family life.

From left, United States’ Megan Rapinoe, Lauren Holiday, and Carli Lloyd celebrate after Lloyd scored her second goal of the match against Japan during the first half of the Federation Internationale de Football Association Women’s World Cup soccer championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 5, 2015.

The Indianapolis native and UCLA product has scored 24 goals in 130 games with the US team since making her debut in January 2007. “Our system on the field revolves around Lauren Holiday”.

Holiday, who was the USA Soccer Female Athlete of the Year in 2014, started all but one match of the World Cup championship run. She helped capture the World Cup this year, as well as two gold medals.

With FC Kansas City, she was selected the NWSL MVP in her first season with the Blues and championship MVP in 2014.