CHICAGO — Megan Rapinoe‘s teammates were egging her on. After Emily Sonnett scored a header after Rapinoe’s corner had been punched right to her in the 49th minute, she celebrated by jumping straight into Rapinoe’s arms.
Then the requests to Rapinoe came in: Strike the pose that she had made famous in France at the Women’s World Cup four years ago, just one more time. Rapinoe obliged, giving the 25,622 USWNT fans at Soldier Field one last memory to take home with them.
It was good timing because five minutes later the signal from the fourth official came in, indicating that Rapinoe was to be substituted.
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Seconds earlier Rapinoe had nearly provided a storybook finish but could only fire her free kick just over the bar, rippling the top of the net and fooling some fans into thinking she had scored. The 38-year-old tried to soak in her last moments in a U.S. jersey, hugging as many of her teammates as she could. She gave the captain’s armband to Lindsey Horan and gave a little bow before making way for Midge Purce. The crowd gave her a…
