Who is she?

Briana Scurry is a retired American soccer player.

What did she do?

Raised in Dayton, Minnesota, Briana Scurry started playing soccer at the age of 12, where she was the only girl and only Black kid on her team. By 1993, she was recruited to play for the US Women's National Team in the Women's World Cup. They placed third in that tournament, but the team went on to win Olympic gold in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, then to win first place in the 1999 Women's World Cup.

Since then, Scurry played in the 2004 Summer Olympics before retiring in 2010 following a career-ending concussion. She is represented in the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Title IX exhibit and in 2017 became the first Black woman and first female goalkeeper inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Since her retirement, Scurry has been traveling the country and giving talks about concussions and traumatic brain injuries and advocating for LGBTQ rights.

Why does she matter?

By playing the game she loves, Briana Scurry has made her mark on Black history and on soccer history, two areas that don't often go together. The 1999 Women's World Cup finals elevated US Women's soccer to new heights and paved the way for the 2015 and 2019 teams’ success.