McCall Zerboni

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McCall Zerboni
McCall Zerboni (27944473957) (cropped).jpg
Zerboni with the United States national team in 2018
Personal information
Full name McCall RaNae Zerboni [1]
Date of birth (1986-12-13) December 13, 1986 (age 37)
Place of birth Camarillo, California, United States
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
NJ/NY Gotham FC
Number 7
Youth career
1996–2005 Southern California Blues
2000–2002 Clemente Wildcats
2003–2004 Laguna Beach Breakers
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2005–2008 UCLA Bruins
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2007 Vancouver Whitecaps 1 (0)
2009 Los Angeles Sol 10 (0)
2010 Atlanta Beat 20 (0)
2011–2014 Western New York Flash 46 (4)
2015 Portland Thorns FC 18 (2)
2016 Boston Breakers 8 (0)
2016 Western New York Flash 12 (0)
2017–2019 North Carolina Courage 69 (6)
2020– NJ/NY Gotham FC 57 (4)
International career
2003 United States U-17
2017–2019 United States 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 4, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of April 7, 2019

McCall RaNae Zerboni (born December 13, 1986) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Contents

Early life

Born in Camarillo, California, to parents James and Lindy, Zerboni was a four-year letter-winner at San Clemente High School in San Clemente, California. She was named CIF Offensive Player of the Year during her freshman and sophomore years. She was a three-time South Coast League MVP and four-time first-team All-Orange County selection. In 2005, she was named Gatorade Player of the Year. She was ranked as the number 17 overall recruit and fifth-best midfielder in the nation by Student Sports Magazine. [1]

In addition to her high school playing experience, Zerboni was an Olympic Development Program (ODP) State and Region-IV team member and played club soccer for the Southern California Blues for several years, helping them to League Cup Championships in 2001 and 2002, a Region-IV Championship in 2000 and their first-ever Surf Cup title in 2004. [1]

UCLA

Zerboni attended UCLA and played for the Bruins women's soccer team from 2005 to 2009. [2] She scored a goal in her first collegiate match at UCLA, a 3–0 opening day victory over Long Beach State in 2005. Zerboni became the 16th player in UCLA history to register a hat trick in a 5–0 victory over Fresno State in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. She was named MVP for UCLA's 2008 season. [ citation needed ]

Club career

In WPS league, on July 8, 2009 McCall Zerboni.jpg
In WPS league, on July 8, 2009

Los Angeles Sol (WPS)

Zerboni was chosen as the 47th pick overall in the 2009 WPS Draft by the Los Angeles Sol. In her first season with the Sol, she made 10 appearances with four starts, tallying both a goal and an assist.[ citation needed ]

Atlanta Beat (WPS)

Zerboni signed to the Atlanta Beat during the 2009 WPS Expansion Draft. [3]

Western New York Flash (WPS, WPSL Elite, NWSL)

Zerboni signed with the Western New York Flash for the 2011 season. [4]

After the WPS folded in early 2012, Zerboni played for the Western New York Flash in the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite as the team captain.

In January 2013, the Western New York Flash announced that Zerboni would return to the team its inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League. [5] During the 2013 season Zerboni scored 1 goal in 20 games for the Flash. [6] In her final season with the Flash, she added another 24 appearances of which 23 were starts while playing 2,036 minutes (ranked seventh overall in the league), scoring three goals, and adding a pair of assists. [7]

Portland Thorns FC (NWSL) 2015

The Portland Thorns FC acquired Zerboni in a trade alongside Kathryn Williamson in exchange for midfielder Amber Brooks on November 6, 2014 in an attempt to give the team more available full-time players for the coming 2015 season, during which the Thorns anticipated needing to fill in for players called up to the national team to participate in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. [7] On the June 19 match against FC Kansas City, Zerboni despicably stepped on the back of FC Kansas City forward Shea Groom, resulting in a 2 games suspension.

Boston Breakers (NWSL) 2016

On October 26, 2015, Boston Breakers announced that they had obtained Zerboni from Portland Thorns FC in a package deal along with Sinead Farrelly for first-round (No. 2 overall) and second-round (No. 20 overall) picks in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League College Draft. [8]

She was traded to WNY Flash on June 14, 2016. [9]

Western New York Flash, 2016

McCall played the remainder of the 2016 NWSL season with the Western New York Flash, starting in all 11 of her 12 caps. The Western New York Flash won the 2016 NWSL Championship after beating the Washington Spirit in penalties.

North Carolina Courage, 2017–2019

It was announced on January 9, 2017, that the Western New York Flash was officially sold to new ownership, moved to North Carolina, [10] and rebranded as the North Carolina Courage. In the 2017 season Zerboni was named to the Team of the Month for July. North Carolina won the 2017 NWSL Shield and advanced to the Championship game, but lost 1–0 to the Portland Thorns. She was named to the 2017 NWSL Best XI.

In 2018 North Carolina repeated as NWSL Shield winners. Zerboni was named to the team of the month in April, May, June & July. She appeared in 20 games for North Carolina. Her 2018 season ended early as she suffered a broken elbow while playing for the U.S WNT in September. As a result, she missed the last regular season game and playoffs. [11] Zerboni was named to the 2018 NWSL Best XI, and was a finalist for the Most Valuable Player Award.

NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2020–

On January 10, 2020, Zerboni was traded to Sky Blue FC for the rights to Hailie Mace. [12] Zerboni tore her ACL at the San Diego Waves on August 19, 2023. She made a successful return on June 8, 2024 in a home game against Angel City FC, coming on in the 77th minute and assuming the captain’s armband.

International career

In 2003, Zerboni was a member of the United States women's national under-17 soccer team. [13]

On October 20, 2017, Zerboni was called up to the United States senior team. She made her debut as a halftime substitute against South Korea on October 22, 2017, [14] making her the oldest player to earn a first cap for the U.S. women's national team at two months shy of her 31st birthday. [15] She continued to receive call-ups in 2018 and was named to the roster for the 2018 Tournament of Nations. Zerboni suffered a broken elbow in a friendly against Chile on September 4, making her unavailable for the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship. [16] She returned to senior team training camps in January 2019.

Personal life

Zerboni has a twin sister, Blake Zerboni. [17]

She was previously in a relationship with Scott Vallow. [18]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States 201710
201860
201920
Total90

Honors

Western New York Flash

North Carolina Courage

NJ/NY Gotham FC

United States

Individual

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "McCall Zerboni player profile". UCLA. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  2. "Alumna McCall Zerboni auctions signed sports bras for breast cancer research". UCLA Daily Bruin. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  3. "Beat Signs Nonen and Zerboni". Atlanta Beat. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  4. "Akron coming ... McCall Zerboni signs ... awards". ESPN. December 15, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  5. "Zerboni returning to WNY Flash". Equalizer Soccer. January 28, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  6. "2014 Player Statistics – National Women's Soccer League". Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Thorns FC acquire defender Kat Williamson, midfielder McCall Zerboni from Western New York Flash in exchange for midfielder Amber Brooks". Portland Thorns FC Communications. November 6, 2014.
  8. "Breakers acquire midfielders McCall Zerboni and Sinead Farrelly from Portland Thorns FC". Boston Breakers. October 26, 2015. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  9. Ltd, Simplestream. "National Women's Soccer League". nwslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  10. "North Carolina Courage joining NWSL signals long-term ambition for young league &124; FOX Sports". FOX Sports. January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  11. "McCall Zerboni has broken elbow, NWSL season over". September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  12. "Sky Blue FC Acquires McCall Zerboni from North Carolina Courage". January 10, 2020. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020.
  13. "North Carolina Courage: McCall Zerboni". nccourage.com.
  14. "Pugh Out, Sullivan Returns to Stanford, Zerboni Called Up for USA vs. KOR in N.C." ussoccer.com.
  15. "WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM MCCALL ZERBONI". ussoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  16. "U.S. WNT ROSTER NAMED FOR 2018 CONCACAF WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP". ussoccer.com. September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  17. "Player Bio: Blake Zerboni – UCLA Official Athletic Site". UCLA.
  18. "NWSL continues to make history as Spirit, Flash clash for title". ESPN.com. October 6, 2016.
  19. "NWSL Championship highlights: Gotham FC crowned champions as Rapinoe, Krieger end careers". USA Today. November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2022.