Known locally for her ability to thwart opponents as the goalkeeper at Lebanon High and the University of New Hampshire, Sally Rainey has now taken her skills to Italy as a member of AC Milan’s women’s soccer club.
The 2021 Lebanon graduate has been with the Italian team, which competes in Serie A, the country’s top division, for about a month and has been enjoying her time overseas.
“I mean, it has been an amazing experience so far. The team has been so welcoming; the whole staff has been equally as welcoming,” Rainey said, adding that the club has a family atmosphere.
So far, Rainey and her squad have taken part in preseason camp and some friendlies before competition begins this weekend.
For Rainey — who was a multi-time All-State selection for the Raiders, posted the lowest career goals-against average in program history (0.78) at UNH, played a season at Indiana as a graduate student, and won a championship with Red Star Belgrade in the Serbian Women’s Super League during the 2025-2026 season — signing with AC Milan was a pinch-me moment.
After Rainey and her agent sent out feelers to clubs in May, AC Milan reached out. While surrounded by family at her grandmother’s house in Delaware as they prepared to attend a World Cup game in Philadelphia, she learned that playing for the club would soon be a reality.
“It was a little bit of, almost like, impostor syndrome, like feeling like, ‘Wow, this is like a really prestigious club,'” said Rainey, 23. “It means a lot to soccer. It has such a rich history.”
AC Milan, founded in 1889, has the second-most UEFA Champions League/European Cup men’s soccer titles in history (seven). The women’s club was officially added in 2018.
“Overall, I think, as the conversations kept happening, my family, my siblings and my parents really just kind of kept assuring me that I deserved the opportunity and like I was kind of in the right place and that I had like worked for this, and so it was cool to kind of see it all come to fruition,” Rainey said.
As the daughter of former Dartmouth College and current Albion (Mich.) College women’s soccer coach Ron Rainey, a 30-year veteran, futbol is in her blood.
That was readily apparent to her Lebanon High coach, Breck Taber, who shared his excitement for his former goalie’s signing with the Italian club.
“Sally came in as a freshman unlike any other I’ve coached: no nerves, unafraid to speak up and an immediate leader,” he wrote in an email, noting that Rainey received some captain votes from her teammates as a first-year player after one week of preseason.
“Her skill level as a freshman was insanely high. I felt my job was to just keep her from regressing and to keep her skill set fresh,” Taber added.
Not only did Rainey not regress, but she improved — thanks in large part to the work she has put in during her career.
She detailed the commitment she made to honing her craft, whether that was working in the weight room or meeting up with other players at Hanover High during the COVID-19 pandemic to sharpen her skills.
One individual who got an up-close look at Rainey’s work habits was Lebanon High boys soccer coach Rob Johnstone.
Over several years, Rainey did summer goalkeeping sessions with Johnstone and fellow athletes. He recalled her willingness to work tirelessly on different techniques and prepare for situations she might see come match time.
“Every goal conceded, every turnover was — and this is cliché — a teachable moment, a learnable moment, and that’s one of the things that truly separates Sally from really the vast majority of the people who play this game,” he said.
As good as she is as a player, Rainey has also been a standout as a teammate.
“I can’t speak for her teammates, but it’s safe to say she’s an amazing teammate: encouraging, respectful, but also demanding when necessary,” Taber wrote. “She brought out the best in others by leading by example.”
Johnstone echoed those points, noting that Rainey continued with the aforementioned goalkeeping sessions as she got older to help other upcoming soccer players.
“She really became such a mentor to so many other younger kids that we would have for these sessions. It’s pretty awesome,” he said.
While the level of competition increases with AC Milan, Rainey’s former coaches have no doubt she will hold her own.
“I told Sally before she left for Italy to just keep being herself and she’d do great. I have no doubt she will,” Taber noted.
“A young woman like Sally is going to that with eyes wide open and one, knowing what to expect, and two, embracing that — what could be better than to have the highest level competition, the highest level coaching — even though that means it’s the most difficult to get your feet on to that field,” Johnstone said. “That’s the kind of challenge she’s always looked for, and that’s why I think she’s going to be happy and do well.”
As for Rainey’s goals and mindset heading into her first soirée with AC Milan, she is keeping things team-first.
“The message that we are landing on as a team is controlling what we can control, which is our attitude and our effort every day, and having a sense of togetherness, like we are a team, we can accomplish great things when we work together as a team,” she said.
Those great things Rainey and her teammates would like to accomplish are winning Serie A and qualifying for the Champions League.
“It starts with us, controlling our attitude every day in practice and all being good teammates, checking in with one another, and having a solid core first before we face any adversity (or) any challenges,” she said.
