Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Tarpley grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and attended Portage Central High School from 1998 to 2002. During her freshman season, she helped her school's women's soccer team reach the state semi-finals.[2] In the following spring, she led her team to an undefeated season and the state championship. Against Bishop Foley Catholic High School in the final match, she scored her team's first goal and assisted on her team's other two, including the winning shot in the penalty shootout.[3] She received several honors during her time there, including being named the 2002 Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2002 U.S. Soccer Chevrolet Young Female Player of the Year, in addition to being a 1999 NSCAA All-American and a Parade All-American in 2001 and 2002. She also played varsity basketball for Portage Central, starting at point guard during all four of her seasons.
During her sophomore season, Tarpley led the nation in total points (goals and assists) while leading the Tar Heels to the 2003 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. Against Connecticut Huskies in the finals, she scored two goals and had two assists en route to winning the title. She received numerous honors for her performance throughout the 2003 season, including ACC Player of the Year and Player of the Tournament, National Player of the Year, and several All-America team honors.
Injuries interfered with Tarpley's junior and senior seasons, which reduced her playing time. Tarpley still managed to be named to the All-ACC and NSCAA All-America teams in both seasons.
Tarpley finished her North Carolina career with 59 goals and 59 assists. Her number 25 jersey was retired by the school in February 2006 during the halftime of a North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball game. [citation needed]
She became a free agent on June 1, 2010, with the dissolution of the Saint Louis Athletica. On June 3, it was announced by the Boston Breakers that they had signed Tarpley. She then signed for magicJack ahead of the 2011 Women's Professional Soccer season.
Tarpley began her international career representing the United States on the U-16 Girls National Team. From there, she successfully moved to the United States U-19 team in 2002. She played in the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship, the first FIFA-sanctioned youth tournament for women, and scored the title-clinching goal in extra time against Canada. She made 26 total appearances and scored 24 goals.
Tarpley soon moved to the United States U-21 team, where she made 8 appearances and scored 4 goals. Half of her goals were scored at the 2003 Nordic Cup, while the other half was at the 2005 Nordic Cup.
Tarpley first appeared for the senior team on January 12, 2003, against Japan. Her first (and second) goal came a little over a year later on January 30, 2004, against Sweden. She appeared in the 2004 and 2008 editions of the Olympic Games, winning a gold medal on each trip. She has also played in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, in which the United States finished third. She earned her 100th cap on July 16, 2008, against Brazil in the last game before the 2008 Olympics, the 23rd player in USWNT history to reach this feat.[6]
Key (expand for notes on "international goals" and sorting)
Location
Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred Sorted by country name first, then by city name
Lineup
Start – played entire match onminute (offplayer) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time
offminute (onplayer) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time
(c) – captain Sorted by minutes played
Goal in match
Goal of total goals by the player in the match Sorted by total goals followed by goal number
#
NumberOfGoals.goalNumber scored by the player in the match (alternate notation to Goal in match)
Min
The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal.
Assist/pass
The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information.
penalty or pk
Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.)
Score
The match score after the goal was scored. Sorted by goal difference, then by goal scored by the player's team
Result
The final score.
Sorted by goal difference in the match, then by goal difference in penalty-shoot-out if it is taken, followed by goal scored by the player's team in the match, then by goal scored in the penalty-shoot-out. For matches with identical final scores, match ending in extra-time without penalty-shoot-out is a tougher match, therefore precede matches that ended in regulation
aet
The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation
pso
Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parentheses; the match was tied at the end of extra-time
Light-purple background color – exhibition or closed door international friendly match
Light-yellow background color – match at an invitational tournament
Light-orange background color – Olympic women's football qualification match
Pink background color – Continental Games or regional tournament
Orange background color – Olympic women's football tournament
NOTE on background colors: Continental Games or regional tournament are sometimes also qualifier for World Cup or Olympics; information depends on the source such as the player's federation.
NOTE: some keys may not apply for a particular football player
