A UCF alumnus and one of the greatest soccer players of all-time, Michelle Akers is in her 11th year as a volunteer assistant coach with the Knights in 2009. Akers spent 15 years with the U.S. National Team and was named FIFA[apos]s Female Player of the Century in 2002.
The second all-time leading scorer in UCF history, Akers played with the Knights from 1984-88 and was a four-time All-America selection. In 1987, she guided UCF to the NCAA College Cup. A year later, she won the inaugural Hermann Trophy, given to the top player in the nation. Akers finished her collegiate career with 52 goals, 30 assists and a school-best 134 total points. She was inducted into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.
Akers played on the first U.S. Women[apos]s National Team in 1985 and scored the first goal in the history of the program. In the inaugural FIFA Women[apos]s World Cup in 1991, she scored a tournament-high 10 goals, including five in one game. She guided her country to a win over Norway in the championship match, scoring two goals, and took home the tournament[apos]s Golden Boot for the most goals.
Akers also was a member of the U.S. Women[apos]s World Cup squad in 1999, which also won the title. In 1996, she won a gold medal with the U.S. team at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ga.
Akers was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit in 1998 for her contributions to the game of soccer. She retired in 2000 and finished her national team career with 105 goals and 37 assists in 153 contests.
Along with Mia Hamm, Akers was one of only two women named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 100 greatest living soccer players, in 2004. That same year, she was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.