Sarah Elizabeth Rafanelli (born June 7, 1972) is an American retired soccer forward and former member of the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles ( 1991, 1999, 2015, an ...

Early life

Rafanelli was born in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

to parents, Mark and Pam Rafanelli and is the second of four sisters. She began playing soccer at age eight and played volleyball and tennis at the

College Preparatory School A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher educatio ...

in Oakland, joining the school's soccer team late in high school.

Stanford University

Rafanelli attended Stanford University from 1990 to 1993. During her senior year with the Stanford Cardinal, Rafanelli led the team to an 18–2–2 record and trip to the Final Four. She led Stanford in scoring during three of her four seasons with the team, scoring 59 career goals, providing 34 assists for a total of 152 points – all records at the school. In her four years with the Cardinal, the team went 67–9–4 and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs each season. Rafanelli earned All-American honors in 1992 and 1993 and set a new scoring record that would stand for 17 years until finally being beaten by

Christen Press Christen Annemarie Press (born December 29, 1988) is an American soccer player for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She first appeared for the United States national team during an ...

in 2010. The previous scoring record had been set the preceding year by Rafanelli's teammate,

Julie Foudy Julie Maurine Foudy ( ; born January 23, 1971) is an American retired soccer midfielder, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1988 to 2004 ...

Playing career

International

Rafanelli played for the

from 1992 to 1995. In 1995, she was part of the team that won bronze at the Women's World Cup.

Coaching career

Rafanelli was an assistant coach at her alma mater, Stanford University, in 1994.

References

External links

* Living people 1972 births United States women's international soccer players Women's association football forwards Stanford Cardinal women's soccer players 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players American people of Italian descent American women's soccer players {{US-women-footy-bio-stub