Goal Five Review – Sportswear Genuinely Designed By Women, For Women

Most athletic apparel brands historically built their women's lines as scaled-down or recolored versions of men's designs, rather than starting from women's actual bodies and movement patterns. Goal Five built its entire brand around rejecting that approach — women's sportswear and performance apparel designed and fit specifically for her, with a mission tied directly to advancing equity in women's sports. After going through their full product range, brand mission, and substantial customer and press validation, here's a complete breakdown to help you decide if it's the right activewear brand for your training.

Goal Five's positioning is direct and consistent throughout the site: designed by her, for her — a brand built specifically around women's sport, fit, and empowerment rather than a generic unisex athletic label with a women's section added on.

1. How the Catalog Is Organized

The site is organized cleanly across Bottoms (shorts, leggings, joggers, track pants) and Tops & Bras (tanks, tops, bras, graphic tees, outerwear), alongside dedicated New Arrivals and Clearance/Final Few sections for value-conscious shoppers.

2. Standout Bestsellers

Indie 2.0 and Indie Women's Sport Shorts ($54-$59). The brand's clear flagship shorts line, with multiple colorways and enough sustained popularity to warrant a "2.0" iteration reflecting genuine product refinement over time.

Excel Women's Workout Shorts ($59). Another consistently referenced bestseller, with customer feedback specifically praising fit consistency across repeated wears — a genuinely meaningful claim for athletic shorts, where fit inconsistency is a common frustration.

Fast & Free Women's Workout Shorts ($69). A slightly higher-tier training short offered across multiple prints and colorways including camo and multi-stripe options.

99'er Padded Sports Bra and Pionxr Bra Top ($59 each, both discounted from $79). Two distinct bra styles — one with padding for more moderate support activities, and one with a stylish color-blocked design — reflecting attention to both function and aesthetic variety within the bra category.

Foudy Collection (Longsleeve Top, 2.0 Longsleeve, Mid-Weight ½ Zip). A dedicated line of training tops named after Julie Foudy, the retired U.S. women's national soccer team captain and World Cup/Olympic champion — reflecting a real, meaningful connection to elite women's soccer rather than just a generic athlete-inspired name.

Go Again Leggings (Full Length and 21" Cropped). Squat-proof, high-rise leggings with side pocket storage — genuinely practical functional details customers specifically praised for compression fit and all-day wearability without needing readjustment.

3. Outerwear & Layering

The Freasy Relaxed Fit Hoodie, Powerstripe Track Pant, and Powerstripe LS Track Jacket round out the layering options, with the track pant and jacket set specifically showing substantial markdowns (up to 60% off) at the time of this review — a genuinely strong value for a matching track set.

4. Brand Mission & Advocacy

This is genuinely central to Goal Five's identity, not an afterthought — the brand maintains a dedicated "Equal Play" page and an "Athletes" page, and its marketing consistently ties back to advancing equity and opportunity for women and girls in sport. The brand has partnered with organizations and podcasts specifically focused on women's sports advocacy, and its "Her Fifth Gear" blog series features real stories, including one specifically covering the Women's Coaching Alliance's work developing future women's sports leaders.

5. Athlete & Press Credibility

Goal Five has been specifically featured in ESPN W, HuffPost, People Magazine, and Forbes, with press coverage specifically discussing the brand as a notable, dedicated women's soccer apparel brand and referencing at least one prominent former professional soccer player's personal favorite pieces. Having this kind of sustained, specific mainstream press coverage — rather than vague "as seen in" logo placement — reflects genuine credibility within the women's sports and lifestyle media landscape.

6. Customer Reviews & Social Proof

The brand cites over 5,000 five-star reviews specifically on its shorts line, alongside an active, genuine customer social media following. Recurring customer themes include specific praise for consistent shorts fit across repeated wears, no-slip performance during high-intensity training, cropped legging compression that doesn't require readjustment during workouts, and repeated personal stories connecting the brand's apparel to real, ongoing athletic journeys — from recreational training to competitive soccer.

7. What Stood Out to Me

A genuine, consistent design mission, not just marketing language. Building specifically around women's fit and movement, backed by dedicated advocacy pages and real partnerships with women's sports organizations, gives the "designed by her, for her" positioning real substance.

A meaningful connection to elite women's soccer. Naming an entire product line after Julie Foudy, a genuinely accomplished former U.S. women's national team captain, reflects real athlete involvement rather than a generic celebrity-name licensing arrangement.

Substantial, specific customer review volume. Over 5,000 five-star reviews specifically on the shorts category alone is a genuinely large, trustworthy sample size for evaluating fit and durability claims.

Real, sustained mainstream press coverage. Being featured across ESPN W, Forbes, People, and HuffPost — with coverage specifically discussing the brand's positioning and product specifics rather than passing mentions — reflects genuine credibility.

Genuinely functional design details. Squat-proof leggings with side-pocket phone storage, and shorts specifically engineered to stay in place during weighted training, reflect real attention to how women actually move during workouts rather than purely aesthetic design choices.

A real, active advocacy component. The Equal Play initiative and partnerships with women's sports-focused podcasts and organizations give customers a way to support a cause they may care about through their purchase, beyond just buying activewear.

8. A Few Things to Keep in Mind

Premium athletic apparel pricing reflects the brand's positioning. With shorts and tops generally in the $54-$89 range (before sale pricing), it's worth budgeting accordingly as a premium activewear investment rather than a budget athletic brand.

Sizing and fit preferences are still personal. While customer reviews consistently praise fit consistency, it's worth checking the brand's specific sizing guide before ordering, especially for compression-fit items like leggings where personal preference around tightness varies.

Clearance and sale items may have limited color or size availability. Given the deep markdowns visible on some outerwear pieces, it's worth checking specific size and color availability for clearance items before assuming full range is in stock.

Free shipping has a meaningful spending threshold. At $99 for free US shipping, it's worth bundling items (perhaps taking advantage of the shorts-and-tank combo discount) to reach that threshold rather than ordering single pieces.

9. Final Verdict – Is Goal Five Worth It?

If you want women's athletic apparel genuinely designed around women's fit and movement, backed by a real mission around advancing women's sports, Goal Five is a well-credentialed, thoughtfully built brand worth adding to your training wardrobe. The combination of a consistent, substantive "for her" design philosophy, genuine athlete connections like the Julie Foudy-inspired line, a very large and specific customer review base, sustained mainstream press coverage, and real functional design details makes it easy to see why the brand has built such a dedicated following among women athletes at every level.

👉 Shop the full Goal Five collection here

about the author

Gainify Select
Senior Trends Analyst

About the author – gainifyselect Team
Gainify Select Team is a group of independent researchers and writers who review products and services across different industries. Our content is based on publicly available information and careful analysis, with the goal of helping readers understand what a product offers before making their own decisions.