Amanda Da Costa to retire after Orlando game

It’s a midseason for NWSL retirements, apparently. Boston Breakers midfielder Amanda Da Costa has announced she will retire following Boston’s August 19 home game against the Orlando Pride. Da Costa will be attending grad school to pursue a masters in school psychology, and will be involved with coaching at her company, Advantage Training.

“Making this decision to retire from soccer was never going to be an easy one, and I want to thank the Boston Breakers for supporting me in this choice. I have opportunities happening around me that I can’t pass up at this point in my life, and I am looking forward to seeing where life after soccer takes me,” said Da Costa via a team press release. Da Costa had more to say via her social media.

Da Costa has had a bit of a journeyman’s career, playing for Boston, Chicago, and Washington, with a long stint overseas in the FA WSL for Liverpool under then-head coach Matt Beard. Beard brought in Da Costa for the 2017 NWSL season to try and help bolster his midfield, acquiring her from the Red Stars in exchange for draft picks. Da Costa was also a Breaker in 2012 in WPSL Elite, the season that helped bridge the end of WPS and the beginning of NWSL.

Da Costa has played 10 games for the Breakers this season; her time in blue was interrupted by the Euros when she was called up to the Portugal women’s national team.

Da Costa wasn’t seeing a ton of minutes, although she became more crucial to Boston as their bench dwindled due to injury and Beard needed to rotate his roster to manage a midweek game with a quick turnaround for the weekend. But even if she had been starting every game, the ability to move on from soccer into a better-paying job is something most non-NT league players keep in the backs of their minds. If Orlando’s Maddy Evans was still making $16k/year after playing for five years, you can surmise that Da Costa probably wasn’t in a much higher pay bracket, and at 27, anyone would start to think about how they’re going to construct a more stable adult life.

The Boston Breakers are going to be a bit shorthanded after Da Costa leaves. They have three defenders out with Allysha Chapman, Brooke Elby, and Christen Westphal all dealing with various levels of injury. Rose Lavelle continues to recover from an injury from being overworked by the USWNT. And Beard has said that both Julie King and Midge Purce are dealing with tweaks that have them playing at less than 100%. After Saturday, Boston will have 12 healthy field players.

Boston Breakers vs Orlando Pride kicks off at 4 PM ET on Saturday, August 19 at Jordan Field. It will stream on go90 and NWSLSoccer.com.