Mountain Vista alum Mallory Pugh wins Women’s World Cup with United States national team
Mallory Pugh has helped the United States Women’s National Team win the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
The Americans beat the Netherlands 2-0 in the final in France on Sunday to secure their fourth Women’s World Cup crown, the most of any country. They set a tournament record with 26 goals scored.
Pugh, a 2016 graduate of Mountain Vista, played in three matches during the tournament, and scored in the win over Thailand. She also had an assist in that game.
Golden graduate Lindsey Horan is also a member of the U.S. squad, though she didn’t play soccer for her high school.
The tournament also featured two others representing Colorado: Rocky Mountain graduate Estelle Johnson represented Cameroon, and Valor Christian alum Janine Beckie represented Canada. Both were four-year letter winners and all-state players during their high school careers.
Pugh starred at Mountain Vista, and was named the national high school soccer player of the year as a junior. As a high school senior, Pugh was called up to the senior national team. Though she no longer played for the Golden Eagles as a result of that, Pugh continued to be part of the Mountain Vista’s team that spring, attending every practice and game that her schedule allowed to cheer her teammates on.
A few months later, represented the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics games, and became the youngest American to score.
Pugh follows in the footsteps of former Colorado great April Heinrichs, becoming only the second former Colorado high school soccer player to win a Women’s World Cup.
Heinrichs, a 1982 graduate of Heritage who is a member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame, was the captain of the U.S. team that won the first-ever Women’s World Cup in 1991, and she later coached the Americans from 2000-04, leading them to a gold medal in the Olympics in 2004.
Another former Colorado product came close: Marian Dougherty, who starred for Green Mountain before graduating in 2003, played in the 2007 World Cup as the U.S. finished third.
