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Biography current as of January 2024
Tisha Venturini-Hoch, born in Modesto, California, is the only person who has won a Women’s World Cup (1999), an Olympic gold medal (1996), four NCAA Division I titles and a women's professional league championship (not to mention several high school titles). Her astounding record will be next to impossible to duplicate.
She tasted defeat only 40 times out of 353 contests. That included a 54-0-2 record at Grace Davis High School in Modesto, Calif., a 97-1-1 mark at the University of North Carolina, a 113-14-7 career with the USWNT and a 26-25-13 record with the San Jose CyberRays of Women’s United Soccer Association (with whom she won the 2001 title). That works out to a 290-40-23 record and an 88.67 winning percentage.
Venturini-Hoch made her USWNT debut in a 3-1 loss to Norway in Medford, Mass., on Aug. 14, 1992. She scored her first goal in a 3-0 win over Germany in Decatur, Ga., on April 10, 1993, and went on to make 134 appearances, scoring 47 goals and contributing 21 assists before her retirement in 2000.
In big games, she was world-class reliable. From 1995 to 1997, Venturini-Hoch played in 13 Women’s World Cup or Olympic matches and scored seven times.
She probably is best remembered most for her two header goals in a 3-0 win over North Korea in the U.S.’s final group stage game at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in Foxborough, Mass. Venturini-Hoch’s backflip celebration after her second goal was an instant classic.
While she never made a big deal about it, Venturini-Hoch also wrote her name into the history books as the first women’s soccer player to score an Olympic goal. She accomplished that in the 37th minute of a 3-0 victory over Denmark in Orlando, Fla., on July 21, 1996, when the sport made its debut in the Summer Games.
Today, Venturini-Hoch lives in Orange County, California, with her two children, and she still believes in women’s professional soccer. In fact, she put her money where her passion is, becoming an investor in Angel City FC of the National Women’s Soccer League in 2020.
On December 2, 2023, it was announced that Venturini-Hoch will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas, on May 4, 2024.
