Hagen embarks on next journey in soccer after brilliant playing career

APPLETON – Sarah Hagen has no regrets. Only great memories and big goals for the future.

The former Appleton North and UW-Milwaukee standout announced her retirement from professional soccer last month, and she will stay in Florida to begin a coaching career that she hopes will one day lead her to the collegiate level.

“To be honest, I had been thinking about it this last year,” the 28-year-old said in a phone interview this week. “I knew I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I should be as far as putting in the time and effort to be at that level. I wanted to have more of a stable lifestyle.”

After a record-breaking college career at UW-Milwaukee, Hagen played professionally in Europe and in the Women’s Professional Soccer League with Kansas City, Orlando and Houston.

“There were so many good moments in it,” Hagen said. “Each year I took something from the game. When you first emerge into the professional atmosphere, you learn so much because it’s at such a high level. Especially in Europe, soccer is their life there.”

Hagen also suited up with the United States national team for a couple of exhibition matches. She remembers being inspired by the 1999 U.S. World Cup squad, when Brandi Chastain scored the winning goal as the United States defeated China 5–4 in a penalty shootout following a 0–0 draw.

“Representing your country is a remarkable achievement,” Hagen said. “When I was about 10 to 12 years old, I had a picture of Brandi Chastain scoring the winning goal in the World Cup.”

Hagen said she is content with her professional soccer career.

“I think that’s really what made me comfortable in making the decision to retire,” Hagen said. “Not only getting to that level because that was my dream as a kid, but I feel like I’ve done everything that I set out to do.”

When Hagen was 15, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and underwent a series of surgeries and chemotherapy. She returned to the field as a sophomore and went on to be an all-state selection for three years while playing for Appleton North.

“Being a freshman in high school, it’s a lot to take,” Hagen said. “Just having the support from my friends, family and teammates along the way helped. I believe I came out as a stronger person and had a different outlook in life. I believe that allowed me to try harder in my sport.”

During her freshman year at UWM, Hagen set a league and school record with 24 goals. She matched that total in her second year, followed by 19 in her junior year and 26 as a senior.

She was named a first-team All-American in her junior and senior years, and her 93 career goals places her ninth in NCAA Division I history.

She was taken by the Philadelphia Independence in the first round of the 2012 Women’s Professional Soccer draft, but concerns about the league’s viability at that time led to her decision to seek an opportunity playing in Europe.

“The coaches influenced me to look overseas,” she said. “The German league is very stable. It’s a good, quality league.”

She played for FC Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga from January of 2012 to December of 2013, scoring 38 goals in 51 matches. Hagen was with FC Kansas City in 2014-15, then spent 2016 with the Orlando Pride and 2017 with the Houston Dash.

Hagen is now coaching youth soccer in Orlando and has also accepted a position as an assistant athletic director and soccer coach at a local school.

“I played for Orlando,” Hagen said. “I felt like I was so much a part of the community. I felt like I had such a positive impact and I felt very welcomed. Being the first two or three months that I’ve been coaching here I believe I made the right decision.”

Just as Hagen did as a player, she has high hopes about her coaching career.

“I want to take club coaching as far as I can,” she said. “I think it changed a lot since I was in club soccer. I want to eventually get into college coaching. There are not too many female soccer coaches, so hopefully I can add to that.”