Abby Wambach is now the all-time leading goal scorer in women’s international

Abby Wambach is now the all-time leading goal scorer in women’s international soccer after scoring four goals in the first half on Thursday at Red Bull Arena. Her third came in the 29th minute and gave her the outright record with 159 goals, breaking Mia Hamm’s old record. At halftime, Wambach has 160 career goals.

Wambach finished a shot with her right foot in the 10th minute to pull within one goal of the record and nearly tied it two minutes later, but Korea Republic goalkeeper Kim Jungmi stuck out her right foot to deflect the open shot.

The second goal, however, came in the 19th minute on a header off an assist from Lauren Cheney. In typical Wambach fashion, it was a header inside the 6-yard box. Ten minutes later, Wambach emphatically headed in a Megan Rapinoe corner kick giving her a third.

Her fourth came off a left-footed tap-in from off a low cross from Alex Morgan.

Wambach reached the milestone in 68 fewer games than Hamm, who played for the United States from 1987-2004. Hamm is still the all-time leader in points, having accumulated 144 assists along with goal scoring mark. Hamm has 460 points all-time. Wambach, who now has 378 points.

Wambach began her career in 2001 but did not score until the next calendar year, when she finished 2002 with five goals. The Pittsford, N.Y., native increased her output marginally in 2003 before exploding onto the scene in 2004 with 31 goals.

One of Wambach’s 31 goals in 2004 — still her most productive year to date — was the Olympic gold medal winning header vs. Brazil. Wambach tucked away a corner kick from Kristine Lilly, who remains the leading assist provider on Wambach goals with 15. The win gave Hamm, along with fellow legends Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain a happy ending to their career.

Last year proved to be the second-most productive for Wambach (27 goals). It coincided with the full-scale emergence of Alex Morgan as a world-class forward. In 2012, Morgan joined Hamm as the only U.S. player to score 20 goals and add 20 assists in a calendar year. Twelve of Morgan’s 28 all-time assists have been on Wambach goals.