Cindy Parlow Cone

Early life 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." 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 Player of the Year as well. Notre Dame defeated North Carolina 1-0 on Parlow's own goal to snap the Tar Heels' 35-game winning streak and denying North Carolina a 10th consecutive NCAA title. The following year, she was a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy after scoring 15 goals and providing 11 assists. She scored the game-winning goal in the NCAA Division 1 Championship game against Connecticut. During her time at North Carolina, the team recorded a cumulative record of record. 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).

After 90 minutes of scoreless regulation time and 30 minutes of sudden death, the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final was decided by a penalty shootout between the U.S. and China. The five American players to take penalty kicks converted while China missed one attempt so that the U.S. won. The final surpassed the 1996 Atlanta Olympic final as the most-attended women's sports event, with more than 90,000 people filling the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It held the record until 2014 for the largest U.S. television audience for a soccer match with 17,975,000 viewers. , it ranks third following the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup (25,400,000 viewers) and 2014 FIFA World Cup group stage match between the U.S. men's team and Portugal (18,220,000 viewers). A week later, the team met President Clinton at the White House and flew with Hillary and Chelsea Clinton on Air Force Two to Cape Canaveral.

2000 Sydney Olympics and 100th cap In August 2000, Parlow was named to the U.S. squad for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia by head coach April Heinrichs.

Parlow finished 2000 with 19 goals, the highest on the national team. In June, she scored a hat-trick against both New Zealand and Canada during the Pacific Cup in Australia. In August, she scored a brace against Russia during a 9–1 win.

On July 3, 2001, Parlow gained her 100th international cap in a 1-0 friendly win over Canada, making her the youngest footballer—male or female—to do so.

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup In August 2003, Parlow was named to the roster for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup by head coach April Heinrichs. During the team's group stage match against Sweden, she scored a header goal off a corner kick from Mia Hamm in the 36th minute of the U.S.' 3–1 win. The U.S. faced Nigeria in their second group stage match. After Parlow was fouled by the Nigerian captain, Hamm scored on the awarded penalty kick to open the game's scoring. Parlow scored the U.S.' second goal in the 47th minute. The U.S. eventually won 5–0. Parlow, along with fellow starters Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Shannon Boxx were rested during the team's final group stage match: a 3–0 win against North Korea before advancing to the quarter-finals where they faced long-time rival Norway. Parlow started the match and was subbed off for Tiffeny Milbrett in the 72nd minute of the 1–0 win. The U.S. was defeated 3-0 by Germany in the semi-finals. During the first half of third-place match against Canada, Parlow sustained a concussion and was removed from the match. The U.S. went on to win 3–1 to secure third place at the tournament.

2004 Athens Olympics Parlow competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. During the Olympic qualifying tournament, she scored a hat-trick against Haiti.

On October 21, Parlow scored her seventh hat-trick for the national team, moving ahead of Michelle Akers in the record books and one fewer than Mia Hamm.

Retirement On July 30, 2006, Parlow announced her retirement from international play, citing post-concussion syndrome. She concluded her career with 158 caps (the ninth most in United States Women's National team history) and 75 goals (fifth most).

Club

Raleigh Wings In February 1999 Parlow signed for USL W-League club Raleigh Wings. She helped the Wings retain the W-League title, scoring against the Chicago Cobras in the championship game.

Atlanta Beat: 2001–03 Parlow was one of the twenty founding players of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, and captained the Atlanta Beat. She led the team to the playoffs in each of the league's three seasons of operation (2001–2003).

During the 2001 WUSA season, Parlow's five goals ranked first on the Beat and her seven assists ranked first. She scored another brace on July 22 to defeat the New York Power 2–0. The league folded in September - five days before the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup in the United States (originally slated for China, but moved due to the SARS epidemic. During the semi-final match against the Philadelphia Charge, Parlow scored an equalizer in the 79th minute. During the second overtime period, she scored the league's first golden goal to advance the Beat to the Founders Cup championship match where they were defeated in penalty shots by the San Jose CyberRays in front of 21,078 fans at Foxboro Stadium in Boston.

During the 2002 WUSA season, Parlow scored five goals and provided four assists ranking third on the team with 14 points. Playing against the New York Power on June 9, she scored a goal and recorded an assist to Charmaine Hooper lifting the team to a 2–0 win. The Beat finished the regular season in fourth place with a record and advanced to the Playoffs. They were defeated 2-1 by the Carolina Courage in the semi-finals.

Parlow returned to the Beat for the 2003 WUSA season. On June 23, she scored a hat-trick against the Philadelphia Charge ending a three-game winless streak. The Beat finished in second place with a record two points behind Boston. They defeated the San Diego Spirit during the semifinals and advanced for the second time to the WUSA Founders Cup where they faced the Washington Freedom led by Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach. The Freedom won 2–1.

International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 14 January 1996 Campinas, Brazil 3–? 8–1 Friendly 2. 5–? 3. 17 February 1996 Houston, United States 3–0 3–0 4. 14 March 1996 Decatur, United States 2–0 6–0 5. 26 April 1996 St. Louis, United States 3–1 4–1 6. 4–1 7. 12 May 1996 Worcester, United States 5–0 6–0 1996 Women's U.S. Cup 8. 4 July 1996 Tampa, United States 2–? 2–1 Friendly 9. 28 February 1997 Melbourne, Australia 1–0 4–0 10. 11 May 1997 Portland, United States 2–0 6–0 11. 4–0 12. 5 June 1997 Ambler, United States 2–0 9–1 1997 Women's U.S. Cup 13. 6–0 14. 8 June 1997 Washington, D.C., United States 1–0 2–0 15. 24 January 1998 Guangzhou, China 3–0 3–0 1998 Four Nations Tournament 16. 30 May 1998 Washington, D.C., United States 1–0 5–0 Friendly 17. 25 June 1998 St. Louis, United States 1–1 1–1 18. 16 March 1999 Quarteira, Portugal 2–0 4–0 1999 Algarve Cup 19. 29 April 1999 Charlotte, United States 3–0 9–0 Friendly 20. 13 May 1999 Milwaukee, United States 2–0 5–0 21. 3 June 1999 Beaverton, United States 2–0 4–0 22. 6 June 1999 Portland, United States 4–2 4–2 23. 24 June 1999 Chicago, United States 6–1 7–1 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup 24. 4 July 1999 Stanford, United States 1–0 2–0 25. 3 October 1999 Columbus, United States 1–0 5–0 1999 Women's U.S. Cup 26. 12 March 2000 Albufeira, Portugal 1–0 7–0 2000 Algarve Cup 27. 3–0 28. 5–0 29. 7 May 2000 Portland, United States 2–0 4–0 2000 Women's U.S. Cup 30. 2 June 2000 Sydney, Australia 3–0 9–1 2000 Pacific Cup 31. 8–0 32. 9–0 33. 4 June 2000 3–0 5–0 34. 4–0 35. 5–0 36. 8 June 2000 Newcastle, Australia 1–0 4–1 37. 23 June 2000 Hershey, United States 1–0 11–0 2000 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup 38. 6–0 39. 9–0 40. 30 July 2000 Oslo, Norway 1–2 1–2 Friendly 41. 13 August 2000 Annapolis, United States 5–1 7–1 42. 7–1 43. 10 December 2000 Houston, United States 2–2 3–2 44. 3–2 45. 9 September 2001 Chicago, United States 1–0 4–1 2001 Women's U.S. Cup 46. 21 July 2002 Blaine, United States 1–0 4–0 Friendly 47. 3–0 48. 8 September 2002 Columbus, United States 1–0 8–2 49. 29 September 2002 Uniondale, United States 2–0 5–1 2002 Women's U.S. Cup 50. 2 October 2002 Cary, United States 2–0 4–0 51. 3–0 52. 27 October 2002 Pasadena, United States 2–0 3–0 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup 53. 29 October 2002 Fullerton, United States 1–0 3–0 54. 6 November 2002 Seattle, United States 1–0 7–0 55. 2–0 56. 3–0 22. 21 September 2003 Washington, D.C., United States 2–0 3–1 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup 23. 25 September 2003 Philadelphia, United States 3–0 5–0 24. 27 February 2004 Heredia, Costa Rica 2–0 8–0 2004 CONCACAF Women's Pre-Olympic Tournament 25. 6–0 26. 8–0

Coaching career

North Carolina Tar Heels, 2007–2012 Parlow Cone was an assistant coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels from 2007 to 2012. 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 2019, she became a director of coaching for NCFC Youth, the youth division of North Carolina FC.

Sports executive career 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%.

In popular culture Following the success of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, Parlow and her teammates were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the Sportswomen of the Year. In 2005, she was featured in the film, Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. In 2008, she was featured in Winning Isn't Everything, The Untold Story of a Soccer Dynasty, a documentary film about the success of the Tar Heels women's soccer program and its players. In 2013, she was featured in the ESPN series, Nine for IX: The '99ers. In 2015, she was featured in HBO's Real Sports.

Other work In 2015, Parlow Cone worked with the U.S. Department of State's Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative to work with Jordanian under-17 national soccer team during a 10-day exchange program. She has been a leader in raising awareness about concussion safety. In December 2018, she was a presenter at the Draw for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Personal life In 2007, she married John Cone, a former soccer player and coach.