NJ/NY Gotham FC made sure its final regular season home game on Sunday was a memorable farewell to veteran defender Kelley O’Hara.
The NWSL team celebrated O’Hara, who announced her retirement from professional soccer earlier this year, by bringing together some of soccer’s biggest names and stringing together a gritty performance against the Orlando Pride, extending its 11-game unbeaten run.
O’Hara had a premature end to her historic career last month. She was placed on the season-ending injury list due to chronic knee degeneration in September, after previously announcing her plans to retire at the end of this season.
“This game has given me so much. It has been the greatest joy,” O’Hara told the crowd of 10,757 inside Red Bull Arena following Gotham’s 3-1 win. “I think everybody in this building knows how amazing the game of soccer is and how beautiful the game is, but the reality is, the game would be nothing without the people who are a part of it and who make it, and that’s how I feel about my career.’”
The strong bonds O’Hara made in her 15 seasons as a professional player were evident this weekend, with some of soccer’s most famous names traveling to Harrison, New Jersey to bid farewell to the two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist. Folks like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Sammy Mewis, Lori Lindsey, Mana Shim, Heather O’Reilly and Ali Krieger.
now this is THE *in the club, we all fam* post 🥹 pic.twitter.com/5vKCNPvPfR
— NJ/NY Gotham FC – x (@GothamFC) October 20, 2024
“I’m just so thankful. I feel so lucky to have had so many amazing relationships, teammates, interactions,” O’Hara told the crowd. “That’s what I’m going to look back on, on my career, is the people in it and the people that I got to work with.”
Though O’Hara played her final game with Gotham in September, the 36-year-old has remained an active part of the club’s environment, with her leadership and experience an asset in the locker room and off the pitch.
“Kelley is a remarkable human being, first and foremost, like she’s an incredible person to be around. Her energy and her attitude is so infectious in and around the group, not just for players, but for staff as well,” said Gotham assistant coach Shaun Harris. “She never gives less than 100% and just having a winning mentality and her experience in and around, and (her) always talking to players and always giving the extra little nuggets of advice really helps the dressing room and a lot of players look up to her.”
The 2024 season marks O’Hara’s 15th year in professional soccer, having played 11 seasons in the NWSL. When she joined Gotham in 2023 on a two-year year contract, she made history as the league’s first free agent signee, symbolically ushering in a new era for the league, which has since established free agency for all.
Gotham honored O’Hara following the team’s 3-0 win over Orlando. (John Jones, Imagn Images)
The Fayetteville, Georgia, native played a key role for Gotham since joining the club, helping the team clinch its first championship last year. It was also her second title, previously winning one with the Washington Spirit. Before re-signing with the club, she was with the team, then called Sky Blue, from 2013 to 2017.
Ella Stevens, who scored Gotham’s third goal against Orlando, has been watching O’Hara’s play for a while. Both being natives of Georgia ” was always a connection.”
“Watching her with the national team and with her club team, she’s always just competing,” Stevens said. “She’s gritty, and she works hard. She’s a really good defender. She’s an even better attacker, and I don’t think people saw a lot of that towards the end of her career.”
Stevens joined the team earlier this year on a multiyear contract and remembers O’Hara being a familiar face from the start.
“Coming into this environment, she was one of the first people to come up and introduce herself to me and make me feel welcome,” Stevens said. “She’s a leader, on and off the field. How she carries herself, it’s just top. So I don’t have enough good things to say about her, like she’s been great for everyone on the team and she left a lasting impact on this sport, for sure.”
O’Hara played in a rare four World Cups for the U.S. (Simon Bruty, Getty Images)
O’Hara joins a long list of veteran stars exiting the game this season, like Morgan, Christine Sinclair and Desiree Scott. The U.S. national team will honor O’Hara at halftime during its friendly against Iceland next week on Oct. 27 in Nashville.
O’Hara had a storied career with the national team, recording 160 appearances in all competitions and playing in every senior world championship between 2011 and 2023; that includes four World Cups and three Olympic games. She was part of the back-to-back World Cup winning squads in 2015 and 2019 and also won an Olympic gold medal (2012) and an Olympic bronze (2021).
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Gotham teammate Yazmeen Ryan received her first call-up for this upcoming trio of matches and will be alongside O’Hara for that sendoff next week.
“I feel like it’s just like a flow and transition through Gotham up to the U.S. team,” Ryan said. “Obviously, I watched her throughout her career, and to actually be with her in training and to have information from her is so, so great. She is an incredible leader, an even better teammate, on and off the field, and I’m so thankful to have known her and to call her a friend at the end of her career because she’s amazing.”
(Top photo: Dennis Schneidler / Imagn Images)
