Michelle Akers is a former leading American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 association football player, who starred in the historic 1991

FIFA Women's World Cup 1991

The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the first ever edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup. It was held in Guangdong, China and won by the United States. It was originally called the Women's World Championship.-Venues:-Teams:...

 and 1999 Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup 1999

-Teams:16 teams participated in the final tournament. The teams were:-Squads:For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup squads.-Match officials:...

 victory by the U.S.

United States women's national soccer team

The United States women's national soccer team represents the United States in international soccer competition and is controlled by U.S. Soccer. The U.S. team won the first ever Women's World Cup in 1991, and has since been a superpower in women's soccer. It is currently ranked first in the world...

. She won the Golden Boot

Golden Boot

A Golden Boot or Golden Shoe is an award, most often in football sports, given to the individual player who scores the most goals in a league or a tournament.These terms may also refer to:In association football...

 as the top scorer in the 1991 tournament. She is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame

National Soccer Hall of Fame

The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 that honors soccer achievements in the United States.-History:...

.
Michelle Akers was born on February 1, 1966 to Robert and Anne Akers in Santa Clara, California. She grew up in a suburb of Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

. She went to and played soccer at Shorecrest High School

Shorecrest High School

Shorecrest High School is a public high school in Shoreline, Washington, one of two high schools in the Shoreline School District. Shorecrest was founded in 1961. Its mascot is Otis the Fighting Scot and students refer to themselves as "Scots," or the "Highlanders," a reference to the Clan Gordon...

. She was named an All-American three times while attending that school.
Akers attended the University of Central Florida

University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...

 on a scholarship where she was selected as four-time NCAA All-America

All-America

An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

n.