Christine Marie Nairn is an American retired soccer player from Annapolis, Maryland. She previously played for the Houston Dash, Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit, and Seattle Reign FC in the United States National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and had regular loan spells with Melbourne Victory in the Australian W-League. She represented the United States at senior level and numerous youth levels. In 2008, she helped the under-20 national team win gold at the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile. Nairn retired from professional soccer on September 18, 2021, to pursue a career as a professional firefighter with the Houston Fire Department.
Emily Louise van Egmond is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Australia national team. She previously played for German side 1. FFC Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, Danish side Fortuna Hjørring in the Elitedivisionen, Chicago Red Stars and Orlando Pride in the NWSL, West Ham United in the FA Women's Super League, as well as Canberra United, Western Sydney Wanderers, Newcastle Jets and Melbourne City in Australia's W-League.
Women's soccer in the United States has developed quite differently from men's soccer. Until the 1970s, organized women's soccer matches in the U.S. existed only on a limited basis.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. Headquartered in New York City, it is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federation.
The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and continues to field both an amateur Women's Premier Soccer League team and a youth team, both under the Spirit name.
Lansing United was an American amateur soccer club based in East Lansing, Michigan that competed in the Premier Development League and the National Premier Soccer League. The club's men's team folded after the 2018 season, with Lansing Ignite FC beginning play in USL League One. The club continued to field a women's team in United Women's Soccer.
The expansion of the National Women's Soccer League began with the league's sophomore season in 2014, when the league expanded to a ninth team in Houston, and is an ongoing process that currently has seen five expansions, three direct or indirect relocations, and one contraction. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was established as the top level of professional women's soccer in the United States in 2013 in the wake of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association and Women's Professional Soccer.
Celia Jiménez Delgado, commonly known as Celia, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right wing-back for the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Spain national team.
Megan Leigh Montefusco is an American professional soccer player who plays for Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League. She has been capped internationally at senior level by the United States.
Shelina Laura Zadorsky is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for Women's Super League club West Ham United and the Canada national team. She previously played for Australian W-League club Perth Glory and Swedish top-division club Vittsjö GIK. Zadorsky won a bronze medal with Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won a gold medal with Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the United States, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to the league. They play their home games at Inter&Co Stadium in downtown Orlando.
Carson Leighann Pickett is an American professional soccer player who plays as a left back for the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Florida State Seminoles before being drafted by the Seattle Reign in 2016. She received NWSL Best XI honors twice while playing for the North Carolina Courage in 2021 and 2022. She has also played for the NWSL's Racing Louisville FC and the Australian club Brisbane Roar FC. She made two appearances for the United States national team in 2022.
Danielle Marie Weatherholt is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the North Carolina Courage in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer at Santa Clara University and was drafted by the Orlando Pride in the 2016 NWSL College Draft. She has also played for Melbourne Victory, OL Reign, and Angel City FC.
McKenzie Marie Berryhill is an American retired soccer player who played as a defender. A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Berryhill was a two-sport athlete at Greenway High School and played four years of college soccer at Arizona State University (ASU). She was named First Team All-Pac-12 Conference as a senior and helped the Sun Devils qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
Kylie Allyssa Strom is an American soccer player who plays as a defender for the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Megan "Meggie" Dougherty Howard is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for San Diego Wave FC, Orlando Pride, and Washington Spirit.
Darian Michelle Jenkins is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a forward.
Crystal Elaine Marie Thomas is a former American soccer player who most recently played for Hibernian in the Scottish Women's Premier League.
Zoe Anne Morse is an American former professional soccer player who last played as a defender for Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women's Super League. Morse has represented the United States on the under-17, under-18, and under-20 national teams. She played collegiate soccer at the University of Virginia.
Tziarra Lanae King is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Seattle Reign. She played college soccer for the NC State Wolfpack and was drafted by the Utah Royals in 2020.
