Cindy Parlow Cone

International

Parlow began training with the U.S. women's national team in March 1995. At age 17, she made her first appearance and scored two goals in a friendly against Russia on January 14, 1996. Parlow played in all six games of the team's 1999 World Cup victory, the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics, as well as the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. At age 18, she was the youngest player to win an Olympic gold medal and FIFA Women's World Cup title.

1996 Atlanta Olympics

Parlow was the youngest player on the American squad to compete at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The '96 Olympics marked the first time that women's soccer (football) was played at the international tournament. Led by head coach Tony DiCicco (the team's former goalkeeper coach at the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup), the U.S. advanced to the semifinal after defeating Denmark and Sweden and tying with China in the group stage matches. After defeating Norway 2–1 in the semi-final, the U.S. faced China for a second time in the final. During the final in Athens, Georgia, 76,481 spectators were in the stands to watch the United States defeat China (a new world record for the most spectators to attend a women's sporting event).

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup

Parlow played in all six games of the team's 1999 World Cup victory and scored two goals. During the July 4 semifinal match against Brazil in front of 73,123 spectators, she scored a header goal in the fifth minute of the…

North Carolina Tar Heels, 2007–2012

Parlow Cone was an assistant coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels from 2007 to 2012. In 2012, she led practices while head coach Anson Dorrance spent time with his wife who was ill. He noted, "I had no issue telling the world she was my secret weapon." As of 2023, the season marked the last time the Tar Heels won the national championship (despite being the winningest team in the history of collegiate soccer). She was also the director of coaching for under-15 to under-18 girls' soccer at Triangle United, a youth soccer club in Chapel Hill, for six years until 2012.

Portland Thorns FC, 2013

In December 2012, Parlow Cone was hired as the head coach for Portland Thorns FC ahead of the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She became the first head coach to win an NWSL Championship, as Thorns FC beat Western New York Flash 2–0 in the first ever championship game August 31, 2013. She resigned as head coach on December 5, 2013, citing personal reasons, particularly the desire of her and her husband, Portland Timbers director of sports science John Cone (who also resigned around the same time), to be together more. Parlow Cone served on the coaching staff for the under-14 and under-15 girls’ national teams from 2010 to 2013. In 2015, she coached at the Berkshire Soccer Academy for Girls along with her former teammates Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Tisha Venturini, and Brandi Chastain. In 2019, she…

Parlow Cone served on U.S. Soccer's Referee Committee, Medical Advisory Committee, Appeals Committee, the Athletes’ Council, and Youth Task Force. She was elected as Vice President of U.S. Soccer on February 16, 2019, filling the vacancy created when Carlos Cordeiro became president in February 2018. She was re-elected Vice President in February 2020 for a full four-year term. In early March 2020, Parlow Cone was named President of U.S. Soccer after Carlos Cordeiro suddenly resigned after a growing outcry from players, board members, supporters and sponsors over assertions made in court documents. One of her first acts as president was to apologize for a recent legal brief and "offensive assertions made by the Federation that do not represent our core values." Running unopposed, she was re-elected President in February 2021 to finish the final year of Cordeiro's term. On March 5, 2022, she was re-elected as president for a new four-year term, defeating Cordeiro in a weighted vote 52.9-47.1%.

Born to Larry and Josephine Parlow, Cindy was raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where she attended Germantown High School. At age 13, she attended a local autograph signing by U.S. national team head coach Anson Dorrance after the U.S. won the inaugural 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup in China. After the signing, she told her mother, "I'm going to play for that man some day." Four years later, she decided to graduate high school early and attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she played for the Tar Heels women's soccer team led by Dorrance. She later noted, "I wasn’t really your typical teenager; I was very intense and very focused. I definitely wasn’t an adult when I was 17, but I felt like coming to UNC was a great decision for me in all aspects because I felt like I was fully supported and pushed to become not only a better soccer player but a better person."

University of North Carolina Tar Heels: 1995–98

At Chapel Hill, Parlow was a four-time All-American and helped the team win the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship three times and the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season four times. She was a two-time Hermann Trophy winner in 1997 and 1998 (the second two-time winner following Mia Hamm). She was named the ACC Athlete of the Year in 1999. Following her freshman season, Parlow was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year. Her 19 goals and 13 assists (51 points) led Soccer News and Soccer America to name her National Freshman…