Full US Soccer Release

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara women's soccer standouts Brandi Chastain and Aly Wagner eiligible for the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2016. It is the first year of eligibility for both Broncos. Induction ceremony details for the Class of 2016 will be announced at a later date.

In order to be eligible for election as a Player, an individual must be retired for at least three full calendar years, but for no more than 10 full calendar years, and have either: 1) Played in at least 20 full international games for the U.S.; if played prior to 1990, the game requirement is reduced to 10 games, or 2) Played at least five seasons in an American first-division professional league and named to a postseason league All-Star  team at least once.

The voting pool includes all past and present full Men's and Women's National Team coaches, all active MLS and NWSL head coaches with a minimum of four years of experience as a head coach at the highest level in the United States, MLS and NWSL management representatives, the MLS and NWSL Commissioners, U.S. Soccer CEO/Secretary General, U.S. Soccer President, designated media members and all Hall of Famers.

Each voter can list up to 10 candidates per ballot. Any player appearing on at least 66.7 percent of ballots will earn election, while any player who does not appear on at least five percent of ballots will be removed from voting contention until they qualify for the Veteran ballot.

About Brandi Chastain 
A defender and forward who made the switch from the front line to the back line mid-career and won two World Cups and two Olympic championships as a star of the U.S. Women's National Team.

Chastain, who was chosen in 2013 to the U.S. WNT's All-Time Best XI, played 192 full international matches; the first in 1998 against Japan and the last in 2004 against Mexico.

She was a key member during the 1999 Women's World Cup, starting all six games and sparking a famous celebration by scoring the winning goal in the penalty shootout that decided the championship. She also played two games in the 1991 Women's World Cup and one in the 2003 Women's World Cup (before being injured).

She played in 13 of 16 games at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, including all three finals and won Olympic titles in 1996 and 2004.

She played three seasons in the WUSA between 2001 and 2003 with Bay Area and San Jose and one season in WPS (2009) with Bay Area. She was chosen to the WUSA All-Star first team in 2001, a year when she was the star of the Bay Area team that won the first WUSA title, and was second-team selection in 2002 and 2003.

She also played six seasons in the WPSL, one season in the W-League and one season in the Japanese professional league. During her WUSA/WPS career, she played 62 regular-season games and two playoff games.

Chastain was an All-American in 1990 and won the Honda Award at Santa Clara. She is third on the Broncos single season list with 22 goals scored in 1990.

About Aly Wagner
A midfielder who played in two Women's World Cups and two Olympic Games for the United States.

Wagner played 131 full international matches; the first in 1998 against Ukraine and the last in 2008 against South Korea.

She played in seven World Cup Qualifying matches in 2002 and 2006, five World Cup games in 2003 and 2007, and five Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008, winning two Olympic gold medals (2004 and 2008).

She played one WUSA season (2003) with San Diego and one WPS season (2009) with Los Angeles, plus one season in the French first division and two seasons in the WPSL. She was a WUSA second-team all-star in 2003 and a runner-up for the WPS title in 2009.

At Santa Clara Wagner was the 1999 WCC Freshman of the Year and a three-time All-American. She won the Honda Award in 2001 and the hermann Trophy in 2002. She also helped lead the Broncos to the 2001 national title.