She grew up in Dayton, Minnesota, in a small town with almost no soccer infrastructure, one of very few Black players on teams throughout her youth career. She has spoken about the isolation of that experience and about how rarely she saw players who looked like her at any level of the sport she was pursuing. She earned a scholarship to the University of Massachusetts, established herself as the best goalkeeper in the college game, and became the starting goalkeeper for the national team through two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup title. She was one of the most decorated players in the history of the program, and she built that record in a sport and a country that had not always made room for someone with her background.

In 2010 she suffered a severe concussion during a professional match that led to post-concussion syndrome and years of serious physical and psychological difficulty, including depression and financial hardship. She has spoken about that period extensively and publicly, becoming one of the most important voices in women's sports on the long-term consequences of concussions and on athlete mental health after a playing career ends. She married her partner Chryssa Zizos in 2018. The save in 1999 is the moment the sport remembers. The years after it, and what she chose to do with them, are the fuller account of who she is.