US national team midfielder Samantha Mewis retires from soccer because of knee injury

Samantha Mewis, who played for the U.S. squad that won the 2019 Women's World Cup, has retired from soccer because of a knee injury that has sidelined her from the national team since the Tokyo Olympics.

Mewis, 31, underwent the first of two knee surgeries shortly after the Olympics in 2021. Her final match for the United States was a 4-3 victory over Australia for the bronze medal.

"With both sadness and clarity, I am retiring from professional soccer," she said in a statement on social media. “Unfortunately, my knee can no longer tolerate the impact that elite soccer requires. Though this isn't what I wanted, it's clear that this is the only path forward for me.”

The midfielder scored 24 goals in 83 appearances over eight years with the national team. At the 2019 World Cup in France, Mewis started in five games, including the tournament-winning final match against the Netherlands. She scored two goals and had three assists over the course of the event.