PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -
Portland's new women's professional soccer team has its first head coach.
Portland Thorns FC named Cindy Parlow Cone as head coach Wednesday. She is one of the all-time leading scorers for the U.S. Women's National Team and a FIFA Women's World Cup champion.
She will lead the Portland team in the inaugural season for the National Women's Soccer League in 2013.
Parlow Cone played nine years on the U.S. Women's National Team and won gold medals at the 1996 and 2004 Olympics.
Following her playing career, she served as an assistant coach for the women's soccer program at the University of North Carolina. The team won national championships in 2009 and 2012.
The Thorns are operated by the Portland Timbers and are set to begin play in the spring.
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