Career Quotes: Holiday's Teammates Talk About a Leader On and Off the Pitch

SHANNON BOXX

“I remember going to UCLA games all the time and thinking that this Lauren Cheney was so good and had so much potential. I got the chance to play with her in the center of the midfield in 2012 and she's just a great team player. It was really, really fun to play with her in the middle. I'm excited for her, for her future, and I think that she will go down as one of the best players the U.S. has ever had.”

LORI CHALUPNY

“What a great person. Outside of her accomplishments on the soccer field, she's just one of those people I look up to a whole lot in the way she carries herself and the way she treats people around her. I'm very happy for her to be moving on to the next chapter and to go out on top.”

HOPE SOLO

“Cheney is a different class of player. She dances with the ball, she can hold players off and is a very, very smart player who reads the game and can serve a 60-yard ball on a dime. I've really enjoyed playing with her and it makes me sad that she's going to leave at such a young age because she has a lot more in her. But I wish her all the best because she deserves so much happiness in life and it's just been honor to play with her.”

ABBY WAMBACH

“I feel like I’ve seen Lauren not only grown into a fantastic woman, but to see her progression from college to becoming a world champion has been one of the highlights and privileges of my career. She was a spunky, fiery kid when she first got on the team and she’s really matured, not only as a person, but on the field. She’s wise beyond her years and without her this team wouldn’t have had the success it’s had over the past five to six years. I have so much respect for her. She is righteous in so many ways and that’s the part of her which makes her so lovable. We will miss her.”

WHITNEY ENGEN

“She is probably the most complete player I've ever met, on and off the field. On the field, she's a beast, and we don’t need to talk about her resume. It stands for itself. Off the field, her ability to connect with every single player on the team is amazing. We have ages ranging from 22 to 40 on this team and I've never seen a player who is able to connect so well with basically every social strata of a team. We're going to miss her personality so much. She’s just a really, really awesome person.”

TOBIN HEATH

“It's going to be really hard without her. She's an incredible teammate and an incredible friend. I feel like I've been on this journey with her and her encouragement and the fact that she cares so much for this team is something I really value. She was asked to do a lot of things for this team and she’s always stepped up and she always did it in a huge way. Her leadership qualities are so big. She's just a person that everyone can look up to and everyone can respect because she's just got huge character. She's one person that you know at the end of the day really cares about you.”

JULIE JOHNSTON

“She’s one of the main reasons I’m here right now. She is just a great person. I think she saw potential in me and was always there to keep me going through my hardest times. Having someone that looks at you not just as a soccer player but as a person I think is extremely important. She is just the best teammate.”

MEGHAN KLINGENBERG

“I have been trying to convince her to stay with us and it has been an utter failure so far. That should tell you how much I think of her. She's one of the best players that I've ever played with and I mean that across the board. I've played with great players in Sweden like Marta and Caroline Seger and of course the players on the U.S. National team, some iconic players. I played in a pro league with Kelly Smith. So when I say that she's one of the best players I've ever played with, I mean it. Losing her will be an incredible loss because I see her as a leader on this team. The way that she conducts herself and the way that she approaches the game is something that we will greatly miss.”

ALI KRIEGER

“What a gem. I may get emotional because she's the rock and engine of our team and she's going to be missed. Anytime she's out on the field and you see her, I'm so calm. And I feel like, well Cheney’s here, so we're going to be fine. She's a natural leader and she's someone who can change a game and it's going to be tough without her. Obviously, we have depth within our squad and we'll be able to fill the spot, but she changes games and she is our clutch player and anytime you need someone to step up for us to be successful, she can do it. She carries the team on her back and that's what I'm going miss. Just seeing her out there and feeling just this calmness.”

CARLI LLOYD

“I remember her coming onto the scene and helping her out as a younger player. She’s a player who's been asked to play in a lot of different positions over the years. She's been willing to play any role and do it to the best of her ability and she’s always been great no matter where she was in the lineup. It’s sad to see her go but she’s had a fantastic career and she's still young. I wish her nothing but the best.”

ALEX MORGAN

“Lauren's career was a fantastic one. I totally wish I gotten five more years with her because she is such a fantastic player. She has such a presence in the room and is just a great person to be around. She's was one of the best midfielders in the world and one of the best forwards in the world. You could play her as a forward, midfielder, defensive midfield and our coaches put her in different positions to be that quarterback of the team. I'm really, really going to miss Lauren on the field, because she has this leadership presence. She's wasn’t necessarily super vocal about it, but I feel like when you watch Lauren, you gain confidence.”

HEATHER O’REILLY

“She is one of the best attacking midfielders that I've ever seen and we didn't even get to see her in that role to many times, which just speaks to how versatile of a player she is. She can play all over the field and be impactful. She's such a savvy player. She doesn't need to watch game film or watch European soccer, she just naturally gets it. She sees the field so well and is so creative and such a savvy dribbler. Off the field, she always looks out for the underdog and she's always fighting for those around her. She's an incredibly confident person and a leader and she has a lot to look forward to after soccer.”

CHRISTEN PRESS

“Cheney has been one of my closest friends on my team and I think there will be a huge hole that we'll all be missing. She's the player that welcomes the young ones and makes everyone feel comfortable. She cares so much about every person that her role off the field was bigger than her role on the field and she's had a big role on the field so I think that says a lot. She’s built incredible relationships here so she'll always be really connected to our National Team no matter what she's doing.”

CHRISTIE RAMPONE

”Amazing player. I’ve always thought that if Cheney is not having a good game, the team's not having a good game. She was really the pulse of the team, so fun to play with and I hated played playing against her in the NWSL. She’s going to be a hard one to replace and she will be missed.”

MEGAN RAPINOE

“Cheney is one of the very best. The way that she took everything in stride and was still in the top couple of players on our team in every position that she ever played, and the way that she was able to dominate, is just a testament to how good she really was.”

AMY RODRIGUEZ

“It has been amazing to play on this team with Lauren Holiday. We started out as teenagers on this team, not knowing where we would go or what our paths would be, but I've always felt like she's been such a great friend to me off the field. On the field, it's been an absolute pleasure to play with her. She always makes everyone else look good out there, because she works so hard. She's such a talented player and it’s hard to think that I won't be playing with her again. It makes me upset thinking about it, but she's been one of my best friends and I know she'll stay that way for the rest of my life.”

BECKY SAUERBRUNN

“I'm so happy that I've gotten to know her more toward the end of her career. She's just such an amazing person on and off the field. I've learned so much from her as far as what it takes to be a good person and a good player and have those things not be separate. She's just one of those players where soccer comes naturally to her. It's innate and it’s kind of wonderful to see. She’s was just pure class.”