A select few soccer players have made it into mainstream popularity, well-known to many people even outside of fans of the sport. For some reason, though, the most capped soccer player in either the men’s or women’s division is not always recognized. That player is Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey, and if you don’t know her name yet call yourself a soccer fan, it’s time to learn it.Lilly played for the United States women’s national team while she was still in high school, and then played for the often-honored UNC Tar Heels women’s soccer team from 1989 to 1992. Fellow National Team player Mia Ham also played for UNC during that time, although she sat out the 1991 season. Lilly’s time with the Tar Heels was so memorable that UNC retired her number (15) in 1994.When Lilly began her career as a professional athlete, it was outside of the United States. She played the 1994 season with Sweden’s Tyres FF football club. However, the allure of her home country must have proved too strong, as she returned to America to play with the Washington Warthogs for the 1995 season. The Warthogs were part of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, and Kristine Lilly was the only full-time female player in the league, replacing Colette Cunningham who appeared at only a few games. Lilly would play four games with the W-League’s Delaware Genies before joining her current club, the Boston Breakers, in 2001. However, the Breakers were non-existent between 2003 and 2009. During the hiatus, Lilly only played on one team outside of the US National TeamSweden’s KIF rebro DFF club.After beginning her career with the United States national team in 1987, Lilly has been a five-time FIFA World Cup Champion and earned three Olympic Medals. She holds over 340 caps, the most out of either men or women players. The second most-capped female player is Mia Hamm, with 275, and Julie Foudy is third with 271. The most-capped male player is Mohamed Abdullaziz Al-Deayea, who earned 181 caps with the Saudi Arabia National Team.