Born in Rochester, New York, Wambach was raised in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford. She is the youngest of seven siblings (with two sisters and four brothers) born to Pete and Judy Wambach. She began playing soccer at the age of four after her sister decided she wanted to try the sport. Their mother checked out a book from the library explaining how to play the game, and from then on soccer became part of their family tradition.

In 2002, Wambach was selected second during the first round of the 2002 WUSA Draft by the Washington Freedom for the second season of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). After tying with the Carolina Courage for last place during the previous season, the Freedom hoped to turn things around in 2002. With Mia Hamm out for the first half of the season for knee surgery and recovery, the Freedom found themselves in sixth place. After Hamm's return, the team finished the remainder of the season 9-1-2, finishing third with a berth into the playoffs. Of the team's turnaround, Wambach noted, "Early on in the season it was difficult to get everyone on the same page. Mia was out, we had just started playing with the Chinese players, Steffi hadn't come yet. There were so many factors that went into us not playing as well. Since people have returned, and we have been able to grasp what exactly one another was doing out there, it's been easier to get results." During the semifinals, the Freedom upset the Philadelphia Charge 1-0. During the final against the Carolina Courage, the Freedom lost in front of 12,000 spectators at Herndon Stadium in Atlanta. Wambach assisted on Hamm's 64th-minute goal, the team's second goal, after the Courage's Danielle Fotopoulos scored an own goal in the 31st minute; however, it was not enough to equalize Carolina's three goals. After leading all first-year players in the league in scoring, Wambach was named WUSA Rookie of the Year in 2002. She was Washington's leading scorer with ten goals and ten assists and finished tied for fourth for scoring in the WUSA.  During the 2003 season, Wambach tied with Freedom teammate, Mia Hamm for the league's scoring lead with 33 points. Her contributions in Washington helped to propel the Freedom to a victory in the Founders Cup III, where Wambach was named the MVP. During the seventh minute of regulation time, she scored the second-fastest goal in Founders Cup history after she headed the ball into the lower left side of the net past Beat goalkeeper and national team teammate, Brianna Scurry. She scored the game-winning goal in the sixth minute of overtime off a cross from Jenny Meier, leading the Freedom to defeat the Atlanta Beat 2-1 during the championship match.  Five days before the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, the first World Cup that Wambach would play in, the WUSA folded citing financial difficulties and a lack of sponsorship.  In 2008, a new professional league was announced for women in the United States: Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). During the 2008 WPS Player Allocation in which twenty-one players from the United States national team player pool were assigned to the seven teams in the new league, Wambach was assigned to the Washington Freedom. She was voted WPS Player of the Week for the week of April 26 (Week 5) after scoring two goals in the Washington Freedom's 4-3 victory over the FC Gold Pride, the Freedom's first victory in the new league. During the Freedom's next game on May 3, 2009, she received a yellow card for a tackle on St. Louis Athletica midfielder Daniela that left Daniela with two damaged knee ligaments and a crack in the tibia and sidelined her for the rest of the season. Wambach was suspended for one game after the challenge was reviewed by the league commissioner.  Wambach won the WPS Player of the Week award for the week of July 28 (Week 18) for scoring two goals against the Chicago Red Stars and Sky Blue FC and for the week of Aug 11 (Week 20) for scoring two goals and having one assist against Sky Blue. She ended the 2009 season with eight goals more than any other American player in the WPS and was named to the 2010 WPS All-Star Team.  Wambach returned to the Washington Freedom for the 2010 WPS season, winning the WPS Player of the Week award in week 2 for scoring one goal and serving two assists against the Atlanta Beat. She was the top overall vote-getter in WPS All-Star voting, making her one of two captains for the 2010 WPS All-Star Game. Wambach received 100% of the media's and coaches' votes and received the most fans' votes-with 31%.  In 2011, the Freedom relocated to Boca Raton, Florida and became the magicJack under new ownership. On July 22, 2011, Wambach was named the player-coach for the magicJack for the rest of the 2011 WPS season. She was named WPS Player of the Week for the seventh time in August 2011.  On October 26, 2011, the Women's Professional Soccer League Governors voted to terminate the magicJack franchise. The league suspended operations in early 2012.  In 2012, a new professional women's soccer league was announced in the U.S. that featured allocated players from the American, Mexican, and Canadian national teams. On January 11, 2013, Wambach was allocated to the National Women's Soccer League club, Western New York Flash, in her hometown of Rochester, New York, as part of the NWSL Player Allocation. After missing the preseason because of national team commitments, she made her debut on April 14, 2013 during the team's season opener against Sky Blue FC.  During the team's second regular season match against the Washington Spirit in Boyds, Maryland, Wambach was struck hard in the face from close range on an attempted clearance by her teammate, Brittany Taylor, in the 80th minute of the match. She dropped to the ground and appeared disoriented after standing up. Though she continued playing to finish the match and even attempted to score a goal with her head, she dropped to the ground after the final whistle and was described by Spirit goalkeeper, Ashlyn Harris as dazed and mumbling. Wambach was assessed after the game for concussion. US Soccer announced several days later that she had suffered a concussion and acknowledged that the injury should have been handled differently by the referee, coaching staff, and players. Wambach sat out the next game as a precautionary health measure. She made her home debut for the Flash on May 1 and scored the match-winning goal in the 20th minute to defeat Sky Blue 2-1. It was the team's first league win and lifted them to a three-way tie for third place in the league.  Wambach was named Week 5 NWSL Player of the Week after scoring both goals in the Flash's 2-1 victory over FC Kansas City. She became the first player in the league to win the award twice after scoring a goal and serving an assist during the Flash's 3-0 win over Sky Blue FC during Week 9.  Wambach announced on March 18, 2015, that she was sitting out the entire 2015 NWSL season in order to focus on the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Two weeks later, on March 30, 2015, Wambach's playing rights were traded along with midfielder Amber Brooks and a first-round pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft to Seattle Reign FC in exchange for forwards Sydney Leroux and Amanda Frisbie. Answer this question using a quote from the following article:

What did she do with the NWSL club?
Wambach was named Week 5 NWSL Player of the Week after scoring both goals in the Flash's 2-1 victory over FC Kansas City.