US Soccer Release

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Former Santa Clara women's soccer All-American Brandi Chastain has been elected to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame. Chastain was elected in her first year of eligibility. Details about the induction ceremony will be released at a later date.

"To be inducted into the Hall of Fame and have my name read in the same sentence with our country's best is truly humbling," said Chastain. "The opportunity to play the game was given to me by my parents; my competitiveness and enthusiasm was fostered by every coach who I was blessed to be taught by, and my passion was shared and heightened by all of my teammates over my career. It is not enough to say how grateful I am with words, and therefore, I continue to share the game with anyone and everyone."

The two-time Olympic gold medalist (1996 and 2004) and silver medalist (2000) was the first U.S. player to score five goals in one match, accomplishing the feat in 1991 during World Cup Qualifying as a forward when she came off the bench to score the first five goals of her career. While she debuted for the USA in 1988 and played forward (her college position) early in her international career, the vast majority of her international caps were earned after she converted to defender from 1996-2004.

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.

She played three seasons in the WUSA between 2001 and 2003 with Bay Area and San Jose, and one season (2009) in WPS 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 league 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, as the nation's top player, that same season. She is third on the Broncos single-season list with 22 goals scored in 1990.