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Whitney Engen’s journey from World Cup winner to attorney-at-law

ISI Photos/Brad Smith

Following a career with three NCAA championships, professional titles in the United States and England, and a World Cup crown on the international stage, plenty of players would be tempted to sit back and, perhaps, even spend some time wondering about what’s next.

Not Whitney Engen.

A twin by-product of remaining slightly off the radar through much of her youth career and having parents who always insisted she have a plan B, Engen knew what she wanted to do when her playing days came to an end long before that moment arrived in 2016.

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“I had a different story than most in that, growing up, I was such a late-bloomer,” Engen told The Equalizer. “Until Anson [Dorrance] recruited me, I wasn’t even really sure if I was going to play soccer in college.”

“I didn’t really foresee this [playing career] that I’ve had,” she added. “And I’m very grateful to have had it, but I always just kind of had a backup plan and being a lawyer was always that backup plan.”

A political science major at the University of North Carolina, Engen’s future in the law always seemed close by, even as her career spanned the globe. In fact, just a year removed from winning a WPS championship with the Western New York Flash and being named the league’s Defender of the Year in 2011, she started taking the first steps in that journey.

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