Hope Solo is one of soccer’s biggest stars and one of the most controversial. She’s one of the top female goalkeepers in the world, with records for appearances, starts, wins, shutouts, wins in a season, and the longest undefeated streak. Born in Richland, she led her high school team to three league titles in ’96, ’97 and ’98 scoring 109 career goals as a forward. Hope played her college ball at the University of Washington, where she switched to playing goalkeeper. At UW, she was selected All-Pac 10 four times and dominated in her new position setting records for saves, shutouts, and goals-against average.

While playing in various club and pro-leagues, Hope was on the U.S. Women’s National Team from 2000 to 2016. She was a backup keeper in 2004 in Athens, but became a starter after 2005. In 2008, the USWNT beat Brazil in the Olympic final in Beijing 1-0 with Solo earning the shutout. In the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the U.S. lost in the final round to Japan, but Hope got the golden glove award for goalkeeping. She also earned her second Olympic gold with the national team playing every minute of every match in London in the 2012 Olympics.

Hope has been fighting for equal pay for women in sports, and starred in a documentary series called “Keeping Score” with other USWNT members. In the 2016, Rio Olympics the U.S. was eliminated by the Swedish team. Using strong language in the heat of the moment right after the loss, Hope said the Swedes played “like cowards” referring to their defensive play. For this, she was suspended from U.S. soccer for the second time. However, Hope maintains her suspension has more to do with her agitating for equal pay than with her infraction.