[2] A former professional soccer player, she is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup champion.

As head coach in 2013, Parlow Cone led the Portland Thorns FC to clinch the inaugural National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) championship title.

[6] Born to Larry and Josephine Parlow, Cindy was raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where she attended Germantown High School.

At age 13, she attended a local autograph signing by U.S. national team head coach Anson Dorrance after the U.S. won the inaugural 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup in China.

Four years later, she decided to graduate high school early and attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she played for the Tar Heels women's soccer team led by Dorrance.

[10] Parlow's freshman year ended when she scored an own goal in 20th minute of the 1995 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament semifinals.

At age 18, she was the youngest player to win an Olympic gold medal and FIFA Women's World Cup title.

[27][28] In August 2000, Parlow was named to the U.S. squad for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia by head coach April Heinrichs.

[33] In August 2003, Parlow was named to the roster for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup by head coach April Heinrichs.

[34] During the team's group stage match against Sweden, she scored a header goal off a corner kick from Mia Hamm in the 36th minute of the U.S.' 3–1 win.

[38] Parlow, along with fellow starters Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Shannon Boxx were rested during the team's final group stage match: a 3–0 win against North Korea before advancing to the quarter-finals where they faced long-time rival Norway.

[44] On October 21, Parlow scored her seventh hat-trick for the national team, moving ahead of Michelle Akers in the record books and one fewer than Mia Hamm.

She concluded her career with 158 caps (the ninth most in United States Women's National team history) and 75 goals (fifth most).

[1][52] The league folded in September - five days before the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup in the United States (originally slated for China, but moved due to the SARS epidemic.

During the second overtime period, she scored the league's first golden goal to advance the Beat to the Founders Cup championship match[54] where they were defeated in penalty shots by the San Jose CyberRays in front of 21,078 fans at Foxboro Stadium in Boston.

[1] After playing the first two games of the season, Parlow was forced to miss the third due to FIFA rules and national team commitments.

[56] Playing against the New York Power on June 9, she scored a goal and recorded an assist to Charmaine Hooper lifting the team to a 2–0 win.

They defeated the San Diego Spirit during the semifinals and advanced for the second time to the WUSA Founders Cup where they faced the Washington Freedom led by Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach.

As of 2023[update], the season marked the last time the Tar Heels won the national championship (despite being the winningest team in the history of collegiate soccer).

[63] In December 2012, Parlow Cone was hired as the head coach for Portland Thorns FC ahead of the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

[16] In 2015, she coached at the Berkshire Soccer Academy for Girls along with her former teammates Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Tisha Venturini, and Brandi Chastain.

[71] In early March 2020, Parlow Cone was named President of U.S. Soccer after Carlos Cordeiro suddenly resigned after a growing outcry from players, board members, supporters and sponsors over assertions made in court documents.

[72][73] One of her first acts as president was to apologize for a recent legal brief and "offensive assertions made by the Federation that do not represent our core values.

[76] Following the success of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, Parlow and her teammates were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the Sportswomen of the Year.