Rockville Centre native and Olympic gold medalist Crystal Dunn retires

Olympic gold medalist and Rockville Centre native Crystal Dunn is hanging up her cleats.

The 33-year-old soccer star announced her retirement on social media, closing the chapter on a long and highly decorated career.

“The decision has not come easily, but I am at peace and deeply fulfilled with all that I have accomplished,” Dunn wrote. “I have achieved nearly everything I dreamed of in this sport and gave it all I had to give.”

Dunn burst onto the scene during her freshman year at South Side High School, helping lead the Cyclones to a state championship. She would go on to win two more titles as a sophomore and senior, missing her junior season while competing with the U.S. Under-17 National Team in New Zealand.

She finished her high school career with 46 goals and 35 assists, earned Gatorade State Player of the Year honors, and was named a Parade Magazine All-American.

From there, Dunn starred at the University of North Carolina, where she became a two-time All-American and was named the nation’s top collegiate player.

After college, she transitioned to defense and became a fixture on the U.S. women’s national team for more than a decade. Dunn helped Team USA capture the 2019 World Cup, gold at the 2024 Olympics in France, and bronze at the 2020 Games in Japan.

“I am ready to embrace the life that awaits me on the other side,” Dunn said. “This was not a decision that was made lightly, but one that was made with immense gratitude for everything I’ve experienced as a professional soccer player.”

In 2024, Dunn was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame.

“I first kicked a soccer ball at the age of four, never knowing it would change my life and bring me so many moments beyond my imagination,” she wrote.

And from South Side High School to the world’s biggest stages, Long Islanders have been cheering her on every step of the way.

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Top: Crystal Dunn, a player on the United States women’s Olympic soccer team, speaks to reporters after a news conference in New York, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)