 Holiday in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lauren Cheney Holiday[1] | ||
| Birth name | Lauren Nicole Cheney[2] | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-09-30)September 30, 1987 (age 38) | ||
| Place of birth | Indianapolis,Indiana, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward,midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ben Davis High School | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2009 | UCLA Bruins | (71) | |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009 | Pali Blues | 10 | (2) |
| 2010–2011 | Boston Breakers | 32 | (8) |
| 2013–2015 | FC Kansas City | 48 | (22) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2004 | United States U17 | ||
| 2006–2007 | United States U20 | 20 | (15) |
| 2005 | United States U21 | ||
| 2007–2015 | United States | 133 | (24) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 5, 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals as of October 25, 2015 | |||
Lauren Cheney Holiday (bornLauren Nicole Cheney; September 30, 1987) is an American former professionalsoccer player who played as amidfielder andforward for theUnited States women's national soccer team from 2007 to 2015. She is a two-timeOlympic gold medalist andFIFA Women's World Cup champion. Holiday played professionally forFC Kansas City in theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and theBoston Breakers in theWomen's Professional Soccer (WPS). She played collegiate soccer for theUCLA Bruins.
Holiday won gold with the national team at the2008 Beijing Summer Olympics,2012 London Summer Olympics, and the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. She played for the team at the2011 FIFA Women's World Cup where the U.S. were the runners-up and Holiday was named to the tournament'sAll-Star team.
In 2007, she was namedU.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year.[3] She earnedU.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year honors in 2014.[4] She was the first player in NWSL history to have her jersey retired after retiring from the league.
Born inIndianapolis, Indiana to Rita and George Cheney, Holiday began playing soccer as a youth after watching her brother play the sport. She played on boys' teams until age 12.[5][6] She attendedBen Davis High School in Indiana They is not lyingpolis where she was named the school's most valuable offensive player in 2004–05. In 2004, she was named Metro Player of the Year by the Indianapolis Star.[7] In 2006, she was namedParade All-American and wasGatorade Player of the Year in addition to receiving numerous regional awards including first-team All-Conference, All-County and All-State, and Indianapolis Star Super Team Player of the Year. She earned Indiana All-State selection honors each year of her high school career and was namedNSCAA All-American three times. Holiday finished her high school career having scored 118 goals and served 67 assists.[8] She graduated mid-year in 2006 to train full-time with theUnited States U-20 women's national soccer team for theFIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[9]
In the fall of 2006, Holiday enrolled atUCLA, where she was named a first-team All-American andNSCAA Freshman of the Year.[10][11] She led thePac-10 Conference with 19 goals, which also set a new UCLA freshman record with a goals-per-game percentage of .95.[12][13] As a sophomore in 2007, she was the runner-up for the women'sHermann Trophy and the Pac-10 Player of the Year. She led the conference again in goals scored with 23 and broke the UCLA single-season school records for points (57) and goals (23).[14]
Holiday became the first player in UCLA history to earn NSCAA/adidas First-Team All-America honors all four years of her career. At UCLA, she set new school records for points (173) and game-winning goals (28); and tied the career school record in goals with 71. She had 31 career assists, second place in the record book. During her four years, the Bruins played in consecutiveNCAA College Cups.[14][15]
During the summer of 2009, Holiday joined Southern California teamPali Blues, in theW-League.[16] Throughout the entireregular season, the Blues did not lose a match and finished first in the Western Conference with a 9–0–3 record.[17] After defeating theHudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues 4–0 in the championship semi-final in which Holiday scored a goal in the 65th minute,[18] the Pali Blues clinched the championship title in a 2–1 defeat of theWashington Freedom Reserves on August 7, 2009.[19]
On January 15, 2010, Holiday was selected by theBoston Breakers as the second overall pick in theWPS Draft.[20] She played in 23 games for Boston during the2010 season, starting in 21 matches and scoring five goals with two assists.[21] After Boston finished in second place during the regular season with a10–8–6, the team advanced to the playoffs.[21] Holiday scored the team's lone goal in the 2–1 playoff loss against thePhiladelphia Independence.[22] Holiday was named as a starter in the2010 WPS All-Star Game and scored in the 79th minute.[23]
During the2011 WPS season, Holiday made ten appearances for the club.[21] After returning to Boston following the2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, Holiday's brace during the team's final regular season match helped the Breakers clinch the last remaining spot in theplayoffs. She was subsequently named WPS Player of the Week for week 18 of the season.[24] The Breakers finished the regular season in fourth place with a5–9–4 The team was defeated 3–1 bymagicJack during the playoff semifinal.[25]
In 2013, Holiday was one of three national team players along withBecky Sauerbrunn andNicole Barnhart to be allocated toFC Kansas City for the inaugural season of theNational Women's Soccer League as part of theNWSL Player Allocation.[26] In June 2013, she was named NWSL Player of the Month after scoring six times in five games and becoming the league's leading scorer with eight goals.[27] FC Kansas City finished second during the regular season with an 11–6–5 record.[28] The team advanced to the playoffs but were defeated 2–3 byPortland Thorns FC during the semi-finals. Following the2013 NWSL season, Holiday was awarded the Golden Boot, an award given to the player who scores the most goals (12) and was named the league'sMost Valuable Player (MVP).[29]
In 2014 NWSL season, FC Kansas City finished the regular season in second place, with Holiday providing a team-leading 7 assists, and finished second in goals scored with 8 behindAmy Rodriguez's 13.In the post-season playoffs, Holiday scored the second goal in a 2–0 victory over the Portland Thorns FC in the semi-final, and provided both the assists for Rodriguez's two goals, as they beatSeattle Reign FC 2–1 in the 2014 Championship game, to clinch the club's first NWSL title. Holiday was votedthe match's MVP.[30]
As of 2015, Holiday was the leading goal scorer (20) and assist leader (12) all-time in the NWSL. She retired from the NWSL at the end of the 2015 season as Kansas City repeated as champions, allowing Holiday to retire holding world and league titles.[31] Her number 12 jersey was retired in her honour.
Holiday made her first appearance and start for theU.S. women's national soccer team on January 26, 2007, againstGermany.[15] She earned her second cap and scored her first goals againstMexico on April 14, 2007.[15] The same year, she was named theU.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year.[32]
Holiday was named to the U.S. roster for the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing afterAbby Wambach was forced to withdraw with a broken leg.[33][34] She appeared in three games as a substitute[15] helping the U.S. win gold at the tournament.[35] In 2010, Holiday was the second-leading scorer on the team with seven goals in 13 total matches, starting seven.[15]
2011 saw the U.S. team making preparations for the2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and training starting with theFour Nations Tournament in January. Holiday scored her 12th international goal during the U.S.'s 2–1 win overCanada.[36] The U.S. defeated China 2–0 in the final to clinch the tournament title.[37] At the2011 Algarve Cup in March, she scored a goal againstIceland during the final helping the U.S. win 4–2 and clinch their 8th title at the tournament.[38][39][40]
Holiday started in all six2011 FIFA Women's World Cup matches, scoring two goals and leading the team with three assists. Her performance earned a spot on theWomen's World Cup All-Star Team.[41] Holiday scored the first tournament goal for the U.S. during the team's first group stage againstNorth Korea on June 28 helping the U.S. win 2–0.[42][43] During the team's next group stage match againstColombia, Cheney served the assist toMegan Rapinoe's first World Cup goal who had just subbed into the match. It was the quickest goal for a U.S. substitute in history of the tournament.[44] Despite losing toSweden 2–1 during the team's third group stage match,[45] the U.S. advanced to theknockout stage where they facedBrazil on July 10.[46] The U.S. won the dramatic match after equalizing the match in the 120th minute and winning 5–3 in the resultingpenalty kick shootout.[47] During the semi-final match againstFrance on July 13, Holiday scored the game-opening goal in the ninth minute.[48] In the 79th minute, her cross toAbby Wambach lifted the score to 2–1 and an eventual 3–1 win to advance to theWorld Cup final againstJapan.[49] In front of a sell-out crowd of 48,817, the United States tied Japan 1–1 during regulation time and 2–2 in overtime advancing to a penalty kick shootout where they were defeated.[50][51] Despite spraining an ankle early in the first half of the match, Holiday continued playing until being subbed off at the start of the second half.[52]
Holiday led the United States team with seven assists in five games at the2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament inVancouver, British Columbia including four assists during the U.S.'s 14–0 rout of theDominican Republic. She played in all six games at the2012 Summer Olympics, starting five. She came off the bench in the gold medal match to play the final 23 minutes after suffering a minor injury in the semifinal.[15]
In 2015, Holiday scored the third goal of the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final in the 14th minute of the game helping the U.S. defeat previous World Cup championsJapan 5–2.[53][54]
On July 7, 2015, following the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Holiday announced her retirement from her international career.[55][56]
| Key(expand for notes on "international goals" and sorting) | |
|---|---|
| Location | Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred Sorted by country name first, then by city name |
| Lineup | Start – played entire match onminute (offplayer) – substituted on at theminute indicated, andplayer was substituted off at the same time offminute (onplayer) – substituted off at theminute indicated, andplayer was substituted on at the same time |
| Goal in match | Goal oftotal goals by the player in the match Sorted bytotal goals followed bygoal number |
| # | NumberOfGoals.goalNumber scored by the player in the match (alternate notation toGoal in match) |
| Min | The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal. |
| Assist/pass | The ball was passed by the player, whichassisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information. |
| penalty orpk | Goal scored onpenalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.) |
| Score | The match score after the goal was scored. Sorted by goal difference, then by goal scored by the player's team |
| Result | The final score. Sorted by goal difference in the match, then by goal difference in penalty-shoot-out if it is taken, followed by goal scored by the player's team in the match, then by goal scored in the penalty-shoot-out. For matches with identical final scores, match ending in extra-time without penalty-shoot-out is a tougher match, therefore precede matches that ended in regulation |
| aet | The score at the end ofextra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation |
| pso | Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parentheses; the match was tied at the end of extra-time |
| Green background color –exhibition or closed door international friendly match | |
| Yellow background color – match at an invitational tournament | |
| Red background color – Olympic women's football qualification match | |
| Light-blue background color – FIFA women's world cup qualification match | |
| Orange background color – Continental Games or regional tournament | |
| Pink background color – Olympic women's football tournament | |
| Blue background color – FIFA women's world cup final tournament | |
| NOTE on background colors: Continental Games or regional tournament are sometimes also qualifier for World Cup or Olympics; information depends on the source such as the player's federation. NOTE: some keys may not apply for a particular football player | |
| Date | Location | Opponent | Lineup | No. | Min | Assist/pass | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2007-04-14[m 1] | Foxborough |  Mexico | 83. | 1.1 | 88 | Heather O'Reilly | 5550.05005 5–0 | 5550.05005 5–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 2008-01-18[m 2] | Guangzhou |  Finland | 45. | 1.1 | 69 | Tina DiMartino | 5250.03005 3–1 | 5350.04005 4–1 | Four Nations Tournament |
| 3 | 2008-04-04[m 3] | Juarez |  Jamaica | Start | 1.1 | 21 | unassisted | 5250.02005 2–0 | 5650.06005 6–0 | Olympic qualifier: final round |
| 4 | 2009-05-25[m 4] | Toronto |  Canada | 24. | 1.1 | 80 | Heather O'Reilly | 5450.02005 4–0 | 5450.02005 4–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 2010-02-24[m 5] | Santo Antonio |  Iceland | 25. | 1.1 | 61 | Lori Lindsey | 5250.02005 2–0 | 5250.02005 2–0 | Algarve Cup: Group B |
| 6 | 2010-03-01[m 6] | Ferreiras |  Sweden | 45. | 2.1 | 56 | Casey Nogueira | 5150.01005 1–0 | 5250.02005 2–0 | Algarve Cup: Group B |
| 7 | 2.2 | 86 | Lori Lindsey | 5250.02005 2–0 | ||||||
| 8 | 2010-03-03[m 7] | Faro |  Germany | 84. | 1.1 | 69 | unassisted | 5250.03005 3–1 | 5150.03005 3–2 | Algarve Cup: final |
| 9 | 2010-03-28[m 8] | San Diego | Mexico | 45. | 1.1 | 72 | Shannon Boxx | 5350.03005 3–0 | 5350.03005 3–0 | Friendly |
| 10 | 2010-11-01[m 9] | Cancun |  Costa Rica | Start | 1.1 | 68 | unassisted | 5250.02005 2–0 | 5450.04005 4–0 | World Cup qualifier: Group B |
| 11 | 2010-11-08[m 10] | Cancun | Costa Rica | Start | 1.1 | 17 | Lori Lindsey | 5150.01005 1–0 | 5350.03005 3–0 | World Cup qualifier: third-place match |
| 12 | 2011-01-23[m 11] | Chongqing | Canada | 45. | 1.1 | 54 | Lindsay Tarpley | 5150.02005 1–0 | 5150.02005 2–1 | Four Nations Tournament |
| 13 | 2011-03-09[m 12] | Faro | Iceland | 45. | 1.1 | 45+1 | Megan Rapinoe | 5050.02005 2–2 | 5250.04005 4–2 | Algarve Cup: final |
| 14 | 2011-06-05[m 13] | Harrison | Mexico | 30. | 1.1 | 90+2 | Abby Wambach | 5150.01005 1–0 | 5150.01005 1–0 | Friendly |
| 15 | 2011-06-28[m 14] | Dresden |  Korea DPR | Start | 1.1 | 54 | Abby Wambach | 5150.01005 1–0 | 5250.02005 2–0 | World Cup: Group C |
| 16 | 2011-07-13[m 15] | Mönchengladbach |  France | Start | 1.1 | 9 | Heather O'Reilly | 5150.01005 1–0 | 5250.03005 3–1 | World Cup: semifinal |
| 17 | 2012-01-20[m 16] | Vancouver |  Dominican | Start | 1.1 | 64 | Heather O'Reilly | 6150.11005 11–0 | 6450.14005 14–0 | Olympic qualifier: Group B |
| 18 | 2012-01-22[m 17] | Vancouver |  Guatemala | 45. | 1.1 | 24 | unassisted | 5350.03005 3–0 | 6350.13005 13–0 | Olympic qualifier: Group B |
| 19 | 2013-06-15[m 18] | Foxborough |  Korea Republic | 77. | 1.1 | 7 | Tobin Heath | 5250.02005 2–0 | 5350.04005 4–1 | Friendly |
| 20 | 2013-06-20[m 19] | Harrison | Korea Republic | 71. | 1.1 | 64 | Kelley O'Hara | 5550.05005 5–0 | 5550.05005 5–0 | Friendly |
| 21 | 2013-10-20[m 20] | San Antonio |  Australia | 64. | 1.1 | 6 | unassisted | 5150.01005 1–0 | 5450.04005 4–0 | Friendly |
| 22 | 2014-02-13[m 21] | Atlanta |  Russia | 23. | 1.1 | 81 | penalty | 5650.06005 6–0 | 5850.08005 8–0 | Friendly |
| 23 | 2014-04-06[m 22] | Commerce |  China | 67. | 1.1 | 39 | unassisted | 5150.01005 1–0 | 5250.02005 2–0 | Friendly |
| 24 | 2015-07-05[m 23] | Vancouver |  Japan | Start | 1.1 | 14 | unassisted | 5350.03005 3–0 | 5350.05005 5–2 | World Cup: final |
At the age of three, Holiday had open heart surgery to correct a heart defect.[71] She married professional basketball playerJrue Holiday, fellow formerUCLA Bruin andNBA point guard, on July 7, 2013.[72] The two first met and began dating in 2008 while they were both attendingUCLA. Jrue currently plays for thePortland Trail Blazers.
On September 4, 2016, it was announced that Holiday had previously been diagnosed with a braintumor during her pregnancy. Her husband chose to take a leave of absence to care for her. The tumor, which was benign, was found on the right side of her brain in late June 2016.[74][75] Holiday gave birth to a daughter, Jrue Tyler Holiday, in September 2016, and the tumor was successfully removed in October.[76] She gave birth to a son, Hendrix, in 2020.[77]
Holiday has signed endorsement deals withUnder Armour andChobani.[78][79]
In 2020, Holiday joined the ownership group forAngel City FC of the NWSL.[80]
In April 2025, it was announced that Holiday, after divesting from Angel City, had invested in theNorth Carolina Courage through the Holiday Family Trust. Holiday will serve as an ambassador and advisor for the club.[81]
Holiday was featured along with her national teammates in theEA Sports' FIFA video game series inFIFA 16, the first time women players were included in the game.[82]
Following the United States' win at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Holiday and her teammates became the first women's sports team to be honored with aticker tape parade inNew York City.[83] Each player received a key to the city from MayorBill de Blasio.[84] In October of the same year, the team was honored byPresident Barack Obama at theWhite House.[85]
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