Shannon Boxx

Shannon Leigh Boxx Spearman (Boxx; born June 29, 1977) is an American retired soccer player and former member of the United States women's national soccer team, playing the defensive midfielder position.

She last played club soccer for the Chicago Red Stars in the American National Women's Soccer League.

From 1991 to 1995, Boxx attended South Torrance High School, where she was a four-sport athlete, playing soccer, volleyball, softball and basketball.

From U/12-U/18, Boxx played for the Torrance United Waves Soccer Club, Torrance, California, and helped to lead them to 4 State Cup Championships and two trips to the USYSA National Championship Final Four in 1993 and 1994 at U/17 and U/19.

She was named to the Parade All-America team for girls' soccer in 1995.

Boxx played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1995 to 1998.

She helped the team win the school's first NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in 1995, beating defending champions North Carolina in the semifinal.

Boxx was named to the All-Big East team in 1995, 1996 and 1997, and is tied for the most soccer games played for the Irish at 101 games.

Boxx is the younger sister of Gillian Boxx, who won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics with the United States softball team.

In 1999, Boxx played for the Boston Renegades of the W-League, and then went to Germany to play for 1. FC Saarbrücken in the women's Bundesliga.

However, she was unhappy and considered retiring from soccer.

In 2001, Women's United Soccer Association began play, and Boxx was drafted by the San Diego Spirit in the third round of the entry draft, with the 19th pick overall.

In the 2001 season, Boxx started all 21 matches for the Spirit, missing 20 minutes of the entire season, and was named to the All-WUSA team.

However, her playing time was reduced the following season, and in September 2002, she was sent to the New York Power, in a six-player trade that gave San Diego the first overall pick in the 2003 draft, used to select Aly Wagner.

She has also finished third place or better with the US at the 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 FIFA Women's World Cups.

With New York, Boxx returned to form, starting all 21 games, scoring once and assisting a career-high eight times, and was named to the 2003 All-WUSA squad.

Former women's national team coach and league commissioner Tony DiCicco called Boxx "the best in our league at (defensive midfield) – physical, strong, technical".

She won gold medals with the United States at the 2004 Athens Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics, and 2012 London Olympics.

She was a finalist for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year award, and won an NCAA Women's Soccer Championship with Notre Dame in 1995.

Boxx was diagnosed with lupus in 2007 when she was 30 years old, and went public with her diagnosis shortly before the 2012 London Olympics at which she won gold with the United States team.

In a 2008 interview, she remembered that she had little contact with her African American heritage until she went to Notre Dame:

"For me, I really learned about my other half. I took African American studies. I majored in it. I think that was one of the best things I could have ever done. My mom couldn't teach me those things. So I went and taught myself and learned those things when I was at Notre Dame."

In 2009, Boxx signed to the Los Angeles Sol for the inaugural season of Women's Professional Soccer and was named team captain.

She started in 18 of the 19 matches she played for the Sol, scoring three goals with three assists.

Boxx was named to the WPS First Team and played in the WPS All-Star Game.

The Sol finished in first place during the regular season with a 12–3–5 record.

In 2010, she was signed to the Saint Louis Athletica during the Los Angeles Sol dispersal draft.

Later in the season after Saint Louis Athletica folded, she was traded to the FC Gold Pride.

Boxx helped the team win the WPS regular season title and championship.

She started in 19 of the 20 games she played in, while scoring one goal and providing five assists.

She was a WPS All-Star Game starter and received the fifth overall votes.

For the 2011 WPS season, Boxx signed with magicJack and played 833 minutes in 10 games starting in them all.

She helped the club make a run to the playoffs in the second half of the season and win the quarterfinal match against the Boston Breakers.

In 2013, she joined Chicago Red Stars in the new National Women's Soccer League.

Due to injury Boxx played 2 matches in 2013, played in 5 matches in 2014 due to pregnancy and birth of her first child, and in 2015 played 4 times due World Cup duties.

Shannon Boxx announced her retirement from international and club soccer after winning the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.

She played her last game on October 21, 2015, when the USWNT tied with Brazil as part of their victory tour.

In 2020, Boxx joined the ownership group of Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League.

In 2022, Boxx was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

The multiracial Boxx, whose biological father, was black, was raised by her white single mother in Southern California.