Briana Scurry was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Ernest and Robbie Scurry. She was the youngest of nine children born into the working class family. She started playing sports at age 10 and started soccer at 12. When she joined the soccer team, her coach put her in the position of goalkeeper to “protect” her. She was the only African-American and the only girl on the team.
Scurry played soccer competitively throughout high school and was recruited by over 70 colleges, but eventually accepted a full scholarship to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she continued to dominate in soccer and other sports. In 1993, while she was still in college, the U.S. women’s national team coach recruited Scurry to play goalkeeper for the team.
Scurry was a goalkeeper for the United States women’s national soccer team for most of the years between 1994–2008, earning a record 173 caps for the United States. She started in all 159 of the games played during her time on the team and finished her international career with a record of 133–12–14. She also earned 71 shutouts. Scurry was the starting goalkeeper for the United States women’s national soccer team at the 1995 World Cup (3rd place), 1996 Summer Olympics (gold medal), 1999 World Cup (champions), 2003 World Cup (3rd place), and the 2004 Summer Olympic Games (gold medal). She played in the semi-final and playoff for third place in the 2007 Women's World Cup (3rd place).