Schnur ending her soccer career
Soccer has taken Meghan Schnur all over the world.
Now, with the United States women’s soccer team one win away from its first World Cup championship since 1999, the Butler graduate is likely stepping away from the sport.
Schnur, 26, was released by magicJack, a Women’s Professional League (WPL) franchise in Orlando, Fla., earlier this season and has minor knee surgery scheduled in August.
“It’s nothing major,” she said. “They’re just going in and cleaning stuff out. I don’t need to have anything fixed in there.
“I had the same procedure done last year and was back playing in two weeks.”
This time, she’s not planning on playing again.
“The time has come for me to take a long look at that,” Schnur admitted. “I saw a (knee) specialist who told me I needed to make a decision. Either shorten the longevity of that joint by continuing to play or increase the longevity by backing off soccer.
“I find myself paying more and more attention to my aspiring career in physical therapy. I really think this is it for me. Soccer took me a lot further than I ever had any right to believe it could.”
Soccer nearly took Schnur to the World Cup herself. She’s been a member of the women’s national team the past few years.
She was not chosen for the World Cup team by WNT coach Pia Sundhage, but was a teammate of the players who were. She participated in national camps with all of them.
“When I was a young girl watching the World Cup, the U.S. players were my idols,” Schnur said. “Now they’re my friends. I talk to (forward) Heather O’Reilly quite a bit on the phone.
“Watching (goalkeeper) Hope (Solo) make the penalty kick save on Brazil ... I knew what was in her head, what move she would make, because I’ve stood in front of her myself.”
Schnur admits to feeling conflicted about Sunday’s World Cup championship game, rooting for her country and teammates to bring home the title while at the same time feeling for Japan.
“What those people have been through over there, this championship would mean so much to them,” she said. “Either way, this U.S. team has renewed interest in soccer among young girls in our country.”
Schnur is hopeful of taking advantage of such interest. When she settles into her new career, she plans on coaching youth soccer.
“When I get settled, wherever that may be, I plan on investing time into that community and throwihg myself out there as a youth coach,” she said. “I want to give to little kids what I received when I was a little kid learning the game.”
Schnur has played soccer for 20 years. She was on a Butler team that played in the state championship game. She was on a University of Connecticut team that played in the NCAA championship game.
She played more minutes than anyone else for Sky Blue, the WPL’s New Jersey entrant that won the league title in 2009. She also played for the United States team that won the Algarve Cup in Portugal.
“They’re all so different. It’s impossible for me to pick out one special memory there,” Schnur said.
She scored 55 goals in high school and 28 in college as a forward before moving to defense for her WPL and national career.
Now Schnur is a spectator, cheering on the team she trained with — and loving every second of it.
“They’re making it happen,” she said. “To know I played alongside those women, competed with them in camp and on the field, to see what they’re doing on the world stage ... It’s a very special feeling for me.”
