Megan Rapinoe honored by team OL Reign in front of record NWSL crowd of 34,130

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe waves during a ceremony honoring her career, after the team’s NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury, left, gives flowers to OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe, center, who hugs Spirit midfielder Andi Sullivan, right, during a ceremony honoring Rapinoe’s career after an NWSL soccer match Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe blows a kiss during a ceremony honoring her career, after the team’s NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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A graphic announces a new NWSL attendance record, during the second half of a soccer match between OL Reign and the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The teams played to a scoreless draw in Megan Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe smiles as she hugs fiancee Sue Bird, right, after a ceremony honoring Rapinoe’s career following an NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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A fan wears a pink wig in honor of OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe during the first half of an NWSL soccer match between the Reign and the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe smiles before the team’s NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe moves the ball near Washington Spirit defender Annaig Butel (5) during the first half of an NWSL soccer match Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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Fans hold up cards to spell out “Thank you Megan” during the first half of an NWSL soccer match between OL Reign and the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Reign forward Megan Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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Fans wear pink wigs for OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe as time expires in a scoreless draw between the Reign and the Washington Spirit in an NWSL soccer match Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe waves as she walks off the field following an NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe prepares to take a free kick against the Washington Spirit during the first half of an NWSL soccer match Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The teams played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe’s twin sister, Rachael Rapinoe, left, and mother, Denise Rapinoe, right, smile before an NWSL soccer match between OL Reign and the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The teams played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury stretches out for a save attempt as OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe (15) watches during the first half of an NWSL soccer match Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign defender Phoebe McClernon, left, and Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, right, go up for the ball during the first half of an NWSL soccer match Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe takes a corner kick during the second half of the team’s NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe hugs her mother, Denise Rapinoe, during a ceremony honoring her career after an NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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Austin Rapinoe, left, and former basketball player Sue Bird, center, smile during a ceremony honoring OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe’s career after the Reign played to a scoreless draw against the Washington Spirit in an NWSL soccer match Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe, left, gets a hug and kiss from former U.S. women’s soccer team goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris during a ceremony honoring Rapinoe’s career after an NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe hugs coach Laura Harvey during a ceremony honoring Rapinoe’s career, as teammates Lauren Barnes, center, and Jess Fishlock, right, laugh after an NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe holds a King County document proclaiming “Megan Rapinoe Week,” following the team’s NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe waves as she walks off the field following the team’s NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe wears cleats with “Sir P.” displayed on the side during a ceremony honoring her career after an NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe acknowledges the crowd as coach Laura Harvey, left, defender Lauren Barnes, second from left, and midfielder Jess Fishlock, right, stand nearby during a ceremony honoring her career, after the team’s NWSL soccer match against the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Rapinoe’s final regular-season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

By ANNE M. PETERSON

SEATTLE (AP) — It’s rare that Megan Rapinoe is at a loss for words.

The retiring star was honored by club team OL Reign on Friday night in front of a National Women’s Soccer League record crowd of 34,130 fans, many of whom wore pink wigs in her honor.

“I do know my impact but it’s one thing to know it, and another thing to really feel it and see it. To see some of the signs and the pink wigs and see what that means to people,” she said. “It’s hard to put just this deep sense of gratitude and joy and thankfulness for being able to have a moment like this into words.”

With her family and fiancé Sue Bird looking on, Rapinoe started for the Reign in a scoreless draw against the Washington Spirit. Lumen Field’s public address system played “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” when she took to the field with her teammates.

Rapinoe had already played her final match with the U.S. national team last month in Chicago, but Friday marked her final regular-season home game for the Reign.

“I don’t ever think we took it for granted our 11 years here one bit. I think that’s how Pinoe lives, she lives with this joy, she lives for those moments, and she really pushes us to also do that,” teammate Lauren Barnes said. “I think it’s undeniable the positive impact she’s had.”

A video played before the match included well-wishes from such luminaries as Abby Wambach, Ken Griffey Jr., Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King.

The 38-year-old Rapinoe has played in 114 regular-season games for the Reign and scored 49 goals. Her club career isn’t quite over: Next week the Reign wrap up the season on the road against the Chicago Red Stars.

And there’s a possibility the Reign make the playoffs. With Racing Louisville’s 3-2 victory over the Orlando Pride earlier Friday, the Reign moved into sixth place in the standings, just above the playoff line.

Rapinoe announced before this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that she was stepping away from the game after an illustrious career that included two World Cup titles, an Olympic gold medal and an Olympic bronze.

At the 2019 World Cup in France, Rapinoe scored six goals, including a penalty in the final against the Netherlands. With her lavender hair, her victory pose — arms outstretched — became one of the iconic images of the dominant U.S. run.

She claimed the tournament’s Golden Boot and the Golden Ball for the best overall player, and later that year was named the Best FIFA Women’s Player and won the prestigious Ballon d’Or.

She has been with the Reign since 2013, and is one of just five players league-wide who have remained with the same team since the NWSL’s launch.

Commissioner Jessica Berman hopes Rapinoe will continue to play a role in the league.

“It’s hard to put into words the impact she’s had on the game, both on the pitch and off the pitch. She has embodied courage and bravery in a way that I don’t know many athletes have done,” Berman said. “And she’s really embraced her role with her full authentic self.”

Rapinoe is also known for her social justice activism. She led the national team’s long fight for equal pay with the men’s national team, which started with an EEOC complaint in 2016. It was finally resolved last year, when both teams reached contracts with U.S. Soccer that paid them equally and split tournament prize money.

Among prominent athletes to publicly come out, Rapinoe has been outspoken about LGBTQ issues, including transgender rights. She has also advocated for racial equity, and was among those who knelt in solidarity with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

“That’s what really matters. Of course we love playing, we want to make the league better in every possible way that we can. But it’s a game at the end of the day and it’s something that we get to use to what I feel the point of life is: To use what you have to better yourself and make people better around you and leave things in a better place than where you found them,” Rapinoe said. “To me that’s the whole point and that’s what I take most pride in.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer