In her hockey career, Ruggiero was named as the best player in the NCAA and in the world by The Hockey News and named the US Olympic Committee’s Player of the Year. She was a member of the United States Women's National Ice Hockey Team, medaling in four successive Winter Olympic Games, including one gold medal in 1998, two silvers in 2002 and 2010, and one bronze in 2006. She competed in ten Women's World Championships, winning four gold medals and six silver medals. In that time she was named Best Defenseman twice at the Olympics and four times at the World Championships.