— Heather O’Reilly lives close enough to the Carolina Coffee Shop in Chapel Hill that she can drive her Carolina blue golf cart there. It’s a way to avoid Franklin Street parking when visiting the iconic bar and eatery that she, her husband, and several friends bought last year.

O’Reilly frequented the coffee shop, which first opened its doors in 1922, when she played soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels. She moved back to Chapel Hill in 2013, and last year, the coffee shop was on the block.

“We saw [the business] being sold and that was sad to us, because it’s been around a long time,” O’Reilly says. “It was purely a matter of us wanting to keep Franklin Street special and keep it independent, and not lose the identity of a university town.”

On Tuesday afternoon, the Carolina Coffee Shop saw a convergence of O’Reilly’s worlds. With the World Cup semifinal between France and Belgium showing on each of the numerous televisions hanging from the shop’s interior brick walls, “HAO” hosted a watch party for her new North Carolina Courage teammates. O’Reilly was rooting for France, although England is her favorite among the final four teams.

O’Reilly’s soccer bona fides hardly need recitation. She’s one of the most decorated players in American soccer history, from her days as a Tar Heel to 14 years and 231 caps with the U.S. Women’s National Team. She has two college championships, two league titles, three Olympic gold medals and a World Cup win in 2015.

O’Reilly joined the Courage a fortnight ago after spending the previous 18 months playing with the Arsenal Women in England. She wore a broad smile as she stepped back onto the pitch at WakeMed Soccer Park last week for her first professional match on American soil in two years. At age 17, O’Reilly’s first goal and assist with the U.S. national team happened there, when it was called SAS Soccer Park, during a 2002 friendly against Italy. O’Reilly and her Tar Heels won the 2003 and 2006 Women’s College Cups in Cary.

“I enjoyed my experience in Europe, but there’s something to be said for this American soccer community that’s been a big part of my life,” O’Reilly says. “That’s 16 years of memories and moments. So yeah, it was emotional in terms of coming back to this community and coming back to the U.S.”

O’Reilly’s journey back to Carolina nearly began in early 2017, when Steve Malik purchased the Western New York Flash and announced he was moving and rebranding the team the NC Courage.

“When I was deciding to go to Arsenal was literally the same week that Steve was saying, 'Hey, we’re getting a [NWSL] team here this season,'” O’Reilly recounts. “It was all going on the same week, and it was one of those moments where I actually called my dad. I was like, ‘Dad, they’re getting the Courage back, and I’m literally signing my contract with Arsenal tomorrow. Should I still go, or should I be part of the Courage from the beginning?’ He said, 'You gotta take this opportunity to go to England. This is something you’ve always wanted to do, and hopefully the Courage will be there for a long time.' I had mixed feelings, because I would have loved to be here from the beginning of the Courage.”

When Arsenal's season ended in May 2018, O’Reilly had to weigh her options.

“Arsenal wanted me to stay on in different capacities,” O’Reilly says. “They knew I wanted to get into coaching, so they inquired about a player-coach role, they inquired about an assistant coach role, which were massive compliments. But it just felt like it was time to come home, and plus I wanted to be able to play with the Courage, and that was a dream.”

The Utah Royals owned O’Reilly’s NWSL player rights, absorbing them after FC Kansas City, O’Reilly’s last NWSL team, folded following the 2017 season. Any NWSL team wanting O’Reilly would have to work a deal with the Royals, which the Courage did.

So, if HAO returned to the NWSL, was it the Courage or bust?

“Yes,” O’Reilly admits. “I made it very clear that I wanted to be here. Obviously, I needed to be wanted here, as well. But I made it very clear that I wanted to be home, and it was the right fit for me as long as it worked for them … I’m 33 years old, I’ve been gone for a year and a half, and this is my community that I really want to make my roots in.”

O’Reilly encountered a Courage culture that she found both inviting and challenging. Her sole interactions with manager Paul Riley over the years were limited to NWSL post-match salutations and coaching her in the 2010 WPS All-Star game. O’Reilly is a native of New Jersey, and Riley has lived on Long Island, N.Y., for decades. O’Reilly says they’re both blunt, no nonsense Northeasterners, and that “what he’s done with this group is nothing short of amazing.”

“I’ve been around fit and fast teams in my past, but this team is fit and fast and explosive and positive,” O’Reilly says. “It’s such a positive environment. It’s friendly and upbeat and hardworking, above and beyond other environments I’ve been involved in. [Those qualities] are what my career has been based on, and I come here and I’m like, whoa, people are working hard. Whoa, people are super-positive and optimistic and supportive. That’s different than what I’ve been used to. The sense of collective and team is stronger than I’ve been accustomed to.”

Riley often says that his team doesn’t talk about results or wins or championships. However, O’Reilly isn’t shy about saying she wants to win the NWSL Shield, NWSL Championship and even the International Champions Cup the Courage will compete for this month in Miami. She also says she plans to play for the Courage next year.

Beyond that, O’Reilly is already setting her sights on future interests. She would like to get into broadcast media and bringing soccer to underserved communities – she’s already involved with various nonprofits, including America SCORES, an organization that mixes soccer and literacy building.

O’Reilly also wants to begin coaching soccer, and she’s open to coaching at the youth, college and even professional levels. “I’d be totally interested in pro, and in men’s soccer or boy’s soccer. Why not? I’m not just going to limit myself to the women’s side.”

“Those are the three things that I’m interested in developing over the next year, besides playing and winning things,” O’Reilly says. “So, over the fall, I’m looking to do my coaching badges and do some TV work and other things in the community, while looking to be the best player I can be.”

A collective shriek goes up as France scores the ultimately game-winning goal, and O’Reilly is off to mingle with her teammates. On this afternoon, she’s satisfied being the best coffee shop owner she can be.