My biggest benching was before the 2012 Olympics. It kind of came out of nowhere. I just kind of had one bad half, 45 minutes, and it pretty much cost me my starting spot.

Getting recognized and doing shoots and signing on partnerships and signing on deals, that's all great, and I'm so appreciative of that, but it's more the reward that's the most satisfying. I know the importance of working hard, and I appreciate pretty much everything that has come my way; I don't take any of it for granted.

Everything in my life - family, friends, even my fiance - are all second to soccer. And I've won every tournament where I haven't had anyone there. It just seems to work for me. I don't think I'm going to change that.

I don't want to be known for someone that's good-looking. I want to be known as someone who is one of the best midfielders. That's my thing.

I'm not having to go outside and switch the role model hat on. It's me, and it's important for me to leave that legacy to help inspire younger players because I didn't have a role model growing up.

I think recovery is around the clock. Are you sleeping enough? Are you hydrating enough? Are you stretching? Are you eating well? Pretty much everything that I do is a reflection of how I'm going to feel on the field. I take great pride in getting in an ice bath after training and just taking care of myself.

I'm not getting recognized because I posed in a swimsuit edition of some magazine, but because of what I do on the field, and that's important to me.

For so long, I've been a little misunderstood as a person. You know, I do have this strut about me. I don't know if it's the Jersey girl in me. I like to think of myself as an egg, you know? Hard on the outside but soft on the inside.

At the end of the day, you can be physically strong, you can have all the tools out there, but if your mental state isn't good enough, you can't bring yourself to bigger and better things.

I went from a player who was never fit to a person who actually worked hard to get myself in shape.

Playing in Wembley Stadium in front of 83-some-thousand fans to win a gold medal was unreal.

I have scored some big-time goals. I've done well in Algarve Cups. I've done well in World Cup and Olympic qualifiers, Olympics. In big games when we're playing top-five teams. But yet, you never see my face or my name out there. And it has frustrated me my entire career.

I know that I'm a natural attacking player. I love to attack. I love to play freely; I love to combine and play through balls. That's the nature of my game.

If I've learned anything in my career, it's that nothing worthwhile in life comes easy. That's just the way it is.

In those one-off games, everyone can do those, but you put together a six, seven-game tournament, the strong survive. For me to still feel good from beginning to end, that's a testament to how I train and what I do.

My emergence has been slow and steady, I would say. I think I've improved every single year. I keep getting better; I keep getting fitter, sharper - and I'm not stopping.

You don't want to get too wrapped up in that final destination. You want to enjoy the journey, enjoy the process, and just take it one step at a time.

I want to be strong. I want to be able to hit people. I want people to be able to bounce off me. When I go out there and play, I play to intimidate people. If someone gets hit down by me, they're going to think twice about coming near me again.

I think - you know, I want to intimidate people when I'm on the field. I want people to be scared of me. That's just kind of the nature of who I am as a person and player. But I also know that you have to be emotional. You have to be in touch with your feelings. I think that's important.

I love shopping! It's my release sometimes.

I sleep better on the road than I do at home. I'm used to sleeping in a million different hotels. I'm not home very often, so when I get home, I have things I want to do.

Any professional athlete will tell you that the mind is everything. For me, there is no shame in saying that I visualize and I meditate, because it really works.

Every time I step onto the field, whether people like it or not, I'm not trying to play dirty - I'm just playing tough.

I've kept to myself, I've put my head down. I've gone to work. And I have felt undervalued.

When I first joined the team, I was playing with the likes of Mia Hamm, Shannon MacMillan, Tiffeny Milbrett - all those big-time players. It was very intimidating. I had some of these players' posters on my wall growing up, and now I was able to play with them.

I don't run on the treadmill, because there's no treadmill moving for you on the soccer field.

I'm loyal. I'm real. I'm not afraid to say what I'm thinking.

In men's sports, people criticize coaches and managers all the time, call out teammates, too, and it's not that huge of a deal. Often, the guy speaking out is even lauded for having the courage to tell the truth. When it happens in women's sports, though, it always seems to be viewed as a nasty, claws-out cat fight.

Winning the World Cup was a dream come true after so many years of wanting something so bad. After that final whistle, I dropped to the ground on my knees and got emotional.

Nobody has done more for me than my parents, who devoted untold amounts of time and money that allowed me to play the game I love. It's no exaggeration to say I never would have gotten anywhere near a World Cup, an Olympics, or even the U.S. national team without them. I have never forgotten that, and I never will.

I had one girl tell me last night that I'm the greatest thing ever, that she wants to aspire to be me. Just stuff like, 'You're my idol. I love you.' It's awesome. It's what it's all about.