Julie Foudy

Foudy attended Stanford University, where she helped the Stanford Cardinal women's soccer team reach the NCAA playoffs four years in a row. She was a four-time NSCAA All-American and finished her collegiate career with 52 goals, 32 assists and 136 points in 78 appearances. She was named the Cardinal Player of the Year for three consecutive years (1989–1991). She was named the 1989 Soccer America Freshman of the Year and the 1991 Soccer America Player of the Year, and was a two-time finalist for the Hermann Trophy. She was the recipient of the Stanford Outstanding Freshman, Sophomore and Junior Athlete Award and was named to Soccer America's College Team of the Decade for the 1990s.

Club

Foudy played for the semi-professional team Sacramento Storm, which won the 1993, 1995 and 1997 California State Amateur championship. In 1994, she played for the Swedish club Tyresö FF with her national teammates Michelle Akers, Mary Harvey, and Kristine Lilly. In the Women's United Soccer Association professional league (WUSA), Foudy was captain of the San Diego Spirit. She made 59 regular season appearances, scoring eight goals and providing 13 assists. When the WUSA suspended operations in September 2003, Foudy was the official player's representative to the ongoing efforts to resurrect the league.

International

Foudy began traveling with the United States women's national soccer team at the age of 16. She attended the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament as a non-playing substitute, then made her first international appearance on July 29, 1988 at the Mundialito. Foudy played in four FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments, winning in 1991 and 1999. She played in three Summer Olympic Games, winning the gold medal in 1996 and 2004, and winning silver in 2000. Following the 2004 Olympics, Foudy joined her teammates Mia Hamm, Joy Fawcett and Brandi Chastain in a 10-game "farewell tour" that marked the end of what the media labeled the "golden era" of U.S. women's soccer. The St. Petersburg Times said the team, "... changed the face of women's soccer".

Foudy has worked as an in-studio sports analyst for ABC, ESPN and ESPN2's coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008, and has provided on-air commentary and analysis during United States Women's National Team matches since then. She co-anchored ABC and ESPN telecasts of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2007 season of Major League Soccer, including the MLS Cup. She appeared as a pundit for the ESPN coverage of the UEFA Euro 2008 championship finals with Andy Gray and Tommy Smyth. For the 2010 FIFA World Cup, she served as a reporter and analyst, doing features, interviews and analysis in South Africa for ESPN. Foudy is also a reporter for ESPN's investigative program, Outside the Lines. She served as a sports desk reporter for NBC Sports coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics. She has filled in for Dana Jacobson on ESPN First Take. Since late-2010, Foudy has been paired with Glenn Davis or Ian Darke on ESPN's primary broadcast team for women's soccer telecasts, as was the case for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. On August 20, 2013, ESPN Films teamed up with Foudy to premiere their new Nine for IX film on the 1999 Women's World Cup Team, The 99ers. The film, directed by Erin Leyden, and produced by Foudy, tells the story of the 1999 United States women's national soccer team, using Foudy's personal behind the scenes footage. Reuniting key players from the 1999 squad and talking with current U.S. players as well, the film examines how women's soccer, and…

Foudy was born on January 23, 1971, in San Diego, California and raised in Mission Viejo. She played soccer at Mission Viejo High School, where she was a two-time First-Team All-American. She was named the Los Angeles Times High School Player of the 1980s and the Player of the Year in southern California for three straight years (1987–1989).