Stephanie Renee Cox (; born April 3, 1986) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach and former professional player who played as a defender. She is currently the head coach of the

Puget Sound Loggers The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1888. The institution offers a variety of undergraduate degrees as well as five graduate programs in counseling, education, oc ...

women's soccer team. As a player, Cox played as a defender for the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...

and won an Olympic gold medal at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Early life

Born in

Los Gatos Los Gatos (; ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Cox grew up in

Elk Grove, California Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Located just south of the state capital of Sacramento, it is part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 176,124. A 2021 C ...

and attended Elk Grove High School where she helped lead her soccer team to two league championships. She was named to the all-section team as a junior and senior, won the youth All-American award from

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

and was named a Parade Magazine All-American. On top of her numerous soccer achievements, she also lettered in basketball for three years and graduated with a 4.17 GPA.

University of Portland

Cox attended the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

, where she started 23 matches her freshman year. In 2005, after returning to the

Pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

following a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

season to play for the US, Stephanie helped lead her team to an undefeated record of 23–0–2 and an

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. The following season, she started in 13 games and scored her first collegiate goal. In 2007, after she returned from the World Cup, Lopez led the Jollons to 11 straight wins and 10 shutouts and helped her team advance to the NCAA quarterfinals. After the World Cup, she had a chance to forgo her remaining collegiate eligibility and become a salaried player with the senior national team, but loyalty to her team and prior commitments led her back to Portland where she graduated with a 3.7 GPA and a psychology degree and a Spanish minor in December 2007. She was honored as the

Lowe's Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," ...

winner, recognizing her as the nation's top senior in women's soccer. 2007 also marked the first time the award was presented to a female soccer player. Cox was also chosen as Oregon's Female Amateur Athlete of the Year for 2007.

Club career

Los Angeles Sol

In 2009, Cox signed with the

Los Angeles Sol The Los Angeles Sol was an American professional association football, soccer club that was based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The team was co-owned and operated by Anschutz E ...

for the inaugural season of the WPS. She made 20 starts in 20 games for a total of 1800 minutes. The team came in first in regular season standings, but lost the championship 1–0 to

Sky Blue FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 un ...

Boston Breakers

After the Sol disbanded after the

2009 WPS season The 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season served as the inaugural season for WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on March 29 and ended on August 9, with the postseason being held ...

due to financial difficulties, Cox was acquired by the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...

during the 2010 WPS Dispersal Draft. Cox helped lead the team to second place in the regular season standings. She started all 24 games and scored one goal during the

2010 WPS season The 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season was the second season for the WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. Regular season champion FC Gold Pride won the WPS Championship on September 26 with a 4–0 vict ...

. Cox returned to the Breakers for the

2011 WPS season The 2011 Women's Professional Soccer season is the third season for the WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The season started with the opening match on April 9, with the 2011 WPS Championship scheduled for ...

. She started in all 11 games in which she played.

Seattle Sounders Women

After the WPS suspended operations in early 2012, Cox signed with the

Seattle Sounders Women Sound Football Club is an American women's soccer team in the Women's Premier Soccer League. Sound FC play its home games at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Washington, six miles south of downtown Seattle. The team was founded in 2000 as ...

, joining fellow women's national team members,

Hope Solo Hope Amelia Stevens (; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Aft ...

Megan Rapinoe Megan Anna Rapinoe (; born July 5, 1985) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. She spent most of her career playing for Seattle Reign FC, OL Reign of the National Wom ...

Sydney Leroux Sydney Rae Leroux (; born May 7, 1990) is a Canadian-born American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in Canada to a Canadian mother (Sandi Leroux) and an Am ...

, and

Alex Morgan Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American former professional association football, soccer player.She co-captained the United States women's national soccer team, United States national team with ...

. She made 12 appearances for the club tallying a total of four points on two assists and one goal.

Seattle Reign FC

On June 19, 2013,

Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

announced that they had signed Cox for the remainder of inaugural season of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

. Cox was returning to the pitch after taking time away after the birth of her first child. She made four appearances for the club, tallying 326 minutes on the defensive line. Cox returned to the Reign for the 2014 season and helped the team set a league record unbeaten streak of 16 games during the first part of the season. During the 16 game stretch, the Reign compiled a 13–0–3 record. The Reign finished first in the regular season clinching the

NWSL Shield The NWSL Shield is an annual award given to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team with the best regular season record as determined by the NWSL points system. The NWSL Shield has been awarded annually since 2013 and is recognized as a ...

for the first time. After defeating the

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the USL W-League (1995� ...

2–1 in the playoff semi-finals, the Reign were defeated 2–1 by

FC Kansas City FC Kansas City was an American professional women's soccer club based in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was one of the eight founding clubs of the National Women's Soccer League in 2012, and began play in 2013. They were two-time NWSL champio ...

during the championship final. Following the regular season, Cox along with goalkeeper

and fellow defender

Lauren Barnes Lauren Kate Barnes (born May 31, 1989) is an American professional women's association football, soccer player who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previo ...

were named to the Second XI team. Cox finished the 2014 season with one assist having started in 20 of the 21 games in which she played. Following the 2015 season, Cox announced her retirement from professional soccer.

Return from retirement

More than three years after her retirement from professional soccer, Cox decided to resume playing and signed as a National Team replacement player for former club

Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

on May 31, 2019. After four appearances, she was promoted to the club's senior roster on July 16, 2019. Following the 2021 season, Cox announced her second retirement from professional soccer.

International career

Cox became involved in the US National Team Youth program in 2000. At the U-20 level, she played at the

2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship The 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship was held from 10 to 27 November 2004. It was the second edition of the youth tournament for women put together by FIFA, before being renamed FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship for the 2006 edition ...

in Thailand; two years later, she captained the US team in the

2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship The 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship was held in Russia from 17 August to 3 September 2006. It was the officially recognized world championship for women's under-20 national association football teams. Matches were held in four Moscow st ...

in Russia. She made her first national team career start against France at the

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

in 2006. Her play helped the Women's National Team win a gold medal at the

2008 Beijing Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

Coaching career

Cox began coaching while still an active player. She first joined

as an assistant coach in 2012. Cox was the head coach of the girls' soccer team at

Gig Harbor High School Gig Harbor High School is a public high school in the Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor, Washington. The school opened in September 1979. The school enrolls 1611 students (2017) in ninth through twelfth grades. Facility history and remod ...

from 2015 to 2019, and she led them to an undefeated season and a state championship in 2018. After her retirement from professional soccer, Cox was an assistant coach for

in 2017. She returned as assistant coach after the club's relocation to

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, in 2019, before deciding to resume her playing career midway through the season. In June 2022, Cox was named the interim head coach of the

women's soccer team. Stephanie Cox was named Puget Sound's head coach in December 2022 after serving as the interim head coach for the 2022 season. Cox led the 2022 Loggers to a 16-4-1 overall record and an at-large bid for the NCAA D-III Championship. She also coaches club soccer for Harbor Premier.

Personal life

Cox is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Cox has talked about her faith saying, "My faith in

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

has made my role as an athlete so much more meaningful. It is more than wins and losses, X's and O's; it is about loving others and showing them Christ." Cox is of Mexican descent. Cox has assisted her parents, Rob and Cindy Lopez, in leading a group of teens to Egypt to paint an orphanage, traveled to the Bahamas to clear land for construction of a learning center, traveled to Mexico to serve meals to American missionaries, and was part of a team that created a

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

fundraiser in 2005. She recently became a spokesperson for Casey Family Services, the country's largest foster care organization. Stephanie lives in

Gig Harbor, Washington Gig Harbor () is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (state), Washington. The population was 12,029 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Gig Harbor bills ...

with her husband, former University of Portland baseball player Brian Cox, and their daughter Kaylee.

References

External links

* *
US Soccer player profile

Los Angeles Sol player profile

University of Portland player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Stephanie Living people 1986 births American sportspeople of Mexican descent Christians from California United States women's international soccer players Portland Pilots women's soccer players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in soccer Los Angeles Sol players Boston Breakers players Seattle Sounders Women players American women's soccer players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players Sportspeople from Elk Grove, California Soccer players from Sacramento County, California Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Parade High School All-Americans (girls' soccer) Seattle Reign FC players Women's association football defenders Sportspeople from Gig Harbor, Washington Soccer players from Pierce County, Washington National Women's Soccer League players United States women's under-20 international soccer players Seattle Reign FC non-playing staff Women's Professional Soccer players United States women's youth international soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen