Julie Ertz Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame
Ertz won World Cups with the U.S. at center back and in defensive midfield, earning 123 caps and two U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year awards.
The path to stardom can take many routes. Julie Ertz’s journey to becoming one of the best defensive midfielders in the world surely had a few intriguing twists.
In the fall of 2014, two years after captaining the U.S. Under-20 team to a World Cup title in Japan, Ertz joined the senior national team as an injury replacement for her friend Crystal Dunn. She watched from the bench as the Americans qualified for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
She got her chance to shine at the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal, starting three of the four matches and scoring in the championship victory over France. By the time the World Cup began a few months later in Canada, she was playing alongside Becky Sauerbrunn at center back.
The U.S. conceded only three goals in seven matches on its way to its first World Cup title in 16 years.
Four years later, Ertz helped the U.S. win again, this time as a defensive midfielder. She became a fan favorite for her never-say-die work ethic and her knack for winning the ball. Over a decade with the U.S. Women’s National Team, she scored 20 goals in 123 appearances, earned an Olympic bronze medal and was twice named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year.
Ertz was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame on the Player ballot in her first year of eligibility. She will be inducted April 16, 2027, in Frisco, Texas.
“If you ever wear the crest, you are part of a family that nobody really understands, except for the players that have played here with the team,” she told The New York Times in 2023.
Born Julie Beth Johnston in Phoenix on April 6, 1992, Ertz grew up in Mesa, where she started playing soccer with her sister, Melanie. She won nine State Cup titles with Sereno SC and joined the U.S. youth national team program at the under-14 level. She didn’t play for Dobson High School, where she volunteered as a student athletic trainer.
Dan Wolf, who coached Ertz at Gilbert Arsenal Soccer Club from ages 10 to 12, saw how much time she was willing to put into getting better.
“She really latched on to dribbling,” Wolf told Cronkite News in 2015. “She would learn a move and practice that move over and over until she had it.”
At Santa Clara, Ertz was a three-time first-team All-America selection, scoring 31 goals in 79 matches. She helped the Broncos to the NCAA Division I tournament and earned West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors as a senior. While still in college, she captained the U.S. to the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup title and earned the Bronze Ball as the tournament’s third-best player, a rare honor for a defender.
The Chicago Red Stars selected her third overall in the 2014 National Women’s Soccer League draft. Ertz was named Rookie of the Year and tied Ali Krieger for second in Defender of the Year voting behind Sauerbrunn, her future partner on the U.S. back line.
Ertz was still trying to earn a regular place with the national team. She spent time in Philadelphia, where her future husband, Zach Ertz, played for the Eagles, and trained with Carli Lloyd in nearby New Jersey.
“Carli let me train with her. I got her sense of training,” Ertz told FIFA.com. “I found people that were willing to push me. I was like, ‘These are my goals. I need you to get me here.’ I don’t need any excuses. I won’t make any excuses.
“I’m over making excuses.”
When Christie Rampone and Whitney Engen were injured, a spot opened at center back for the 2015 Algarve Cup. Ertz had played just 219 minutes for the senior national team.
“I knew that she was in a position of being on the brink of not making the team, and I think it was hard for her not making the qualifying team,” Lloyd told NPR. “She was willing to learn, wanted to get better, and you can definitely see it out there that she has taken her opportunity and seized it.”
In the final, she headed in a Lauren Holiday free kick for her first international goal, sending the U.S. on its way to a 2–0 win over France. Ertz battling for headers in the penalty area would become a familiar sight for U.S. fans.
“She’s had an amazing tournament,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis told The Equalizer. “Opportunity has knocked and she’s responded really well.”
At the 2015 World Cup, Lloyd’s hat trick in the 5–2 win over Japan made the final memorable. Ertz had already made her mark at the other end of the field.
In a scoreless group-stage draw with Sweden, Ertz ran back nearly the length of the field to stop a counterattack. In the next match, she chased down Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala and stopped a scoring chance with a sliding tackle. The U.S. won 1–0, and Ertz was named Player of the Match. She went on to earn a place on the tournament’s All-Star Team.
“To hear the fans cheering your name, that’s really shocking,” Ertz told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m like, ‘Wait, how do you know my name?’ It’s definitely different than where I was a year ago.”
In 2017, Ellis moved Ertz to defensive midfield, a position she was already playing for Chicago. Ellis wanted a player who could cover ground, win aerial battles and find a teammate with a pass after breaking up an attack. Rampone saw how Ertz could protect the back four and still get forward.
“I think we really need her to break up the opposing attack and be dynamic like she is,” Rampone told The Sporting News. “That’s what she’s brilliant at.”
Ertz earned U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year honors in 2017 and again in 2019. At the 2019 World Cup in France, she helped the U.S. win all seven matches and scored in a 3–0 group-stage victory over Chile. Two years later, she helped the Americans earn bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
“She’s so tenacious on the field,” Dunn told The New York Times in 2023. “Everyone who watches her play knows that she is that go-getter, that ball-winner kind of player.”
After time away from the game and the birth of her first son, Ertz returned in 2023, playing briefly for Angel City FC before making her third World Cup roster. With Sauerbrunn injured, Ertz went back to center back and played every minute of the Americans’ four matches.
Ertz announced her retirement on Aug. 31, 2023. She made her 123rd and final international appearance on Sept. 21, in a 3–0 win over South Africa in Cincinnati.
“I gave everything I had to the sport that I love,” Ertz said when she announced her retirement. “With that, I can walk away with no regrets because while I gave soccer every ounce of myself, soccer gave me even more, and for that I’ll always be thankful.”
Away from soccer, Julie and Zach launched the Ertz Family Foundation in 2018. It has raised millions for underserved communities, including a campaign in 2020 that provided 500,000 meals during the pandemic.