Michelle Akers

Michelle Anne Akers (formerly Akers-Stahl; born February 1, 1966) is an American former soccer player who starred in the 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cup and 1996 Olympics. At the 1991 World Cup, she won the Golden Shoe as the top scorer, with ten goals. She was named FIFA Female Player of the Century in 2002, an award she shared with China's Sun Wen. In 2004, Akers and Mia Hamm were the only two women named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living soccer players selected by Pelé and commissioned by FIFA for that organization's 100th anniversary. At 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) in height and 150 pounds (68 kg), Akers had an imposing physical presence on the soccer field and was noted for her aggressive and physical style of play. She scored 15 goals in 24 games for the U.S. from 1985 to 1990, before scoring a team-record 39 goals in 26 games in the1991 season. Akers is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, inducted in 2004. Despite playing with a dislocated shoulder, she was the first woman ever to receive the FIFA Order of Merit, FIFA's highest honor in soccer.