Angel City Goalkeeper Seabert, 31, Sets Retirement For End Of Season

Angel City FC goalkeeper Hannah Seabert will retire at the end of the current season, the 31-year-old announced. Seabert, a Riverside native, joined the club last year after eight years playing in Europe. She made four appearances for Angel City last season and recorded two shutout wins.

Seabert began her career after a 2017 stint with the Orlando Pride, then played in Denmark, Norway and Portugal. She said she went abroad for playing time and returned to the United States to be nearer to family. "After being abroad for eight years, I just really wanted to be around my family and closer to home," she said.

She started in goal at age 11 when her team needed someone to fill the position. "Honestly, I was a really timid kid," Seabert said, adding that she cried when scored on as a child. "I hated failing, but I think it taught me a lot of resilience. I had fun with it though. I chose to stay there."

At Woodcrest Christian High in Riverside, Seabert logged 31 shutouts, 277 saves and allowed 41 goals. At Pepperdine, she recorded 331 saves and was named West Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year in 2016.

Seabert called the retirement decision difficult. "As athletes, we kind of put everything into our career and it really becomes part of your identity. So it kind of feels like I'm losing a part of myself," she said. "There's been so much work that I've put in, blood, sweat and tears, that I've put into this and it's really difficult to choose to let that go. But on the flip side, I'm really thankful that this is my choice and that I'm in control of when I get to retire."

Seabert said she is unsure of her next step but expects to stay connected to the sport. "I 100 percent think I'll be around soccer in some sort of capacity," she said. "I haven't decided my path exactly yet. But I know what the power of sport is and I know how much unity it can bring and the sense of belonging it can bring. I know everything that it can teach you, and I would love to be part of passing that on to future generations and to more players."

Angel City is seeking its first championship, a goal Seabert described as clear for the club. "We're a few years in, the club is still striving for that first championship, that's a very clear goal and I think it's fun to be part of that because you don't always get to be part of a winning culture and I treasure that," she said. Seabert will remain with the team through the end of the season.