Meagan McClelland

Last updated

Meagan McClelland
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-08-05) August 5, 2000 (age 24)
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Carolina Ascent
Number 1
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2018–2022 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 102 (0)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2023 Chicago Red Stars 0 (0)
2023 San Diego Wave 0 (0)
2023–2024 NJ/NY Gotham FC 0 (0)
2024 Odense 0 (0)
2024– Carolina Ascent 14 (0)
International career‡
2016 United States U-17
2017 United States U-19 1 (0)
2019 United States U-20 2 (0)
2019 United States U-23 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of December 14, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 13, 2019

Meagan Erin McClelland (born August 5, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for USL Super League club Carolina Ascent FC. She played college soccer for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, where she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and four-time All-Big Ten.

Contents

Early life and college career

McClelland grew up in Kearny, New Jersey, one of three children born to Coleen and Patrick McClelland. [1] She began playing soccer when she was three and joined Mike O'Neill's PDA academy at age eight. She played multiple outfield positions before turning to goalkeeper when she received goalkeeping gloves as a Christmas present in third grade. [2] [3] She also played basketball growing up and starred in both sports at Kearny High School. She kept 20 clean sheets in one-and-a-half seasons with the soccer team, and she scored 1,348 points in 91 games for the basketball team. [4] She committed to Rutgers as a sophomore. [5]

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

McClelland succeeded Casey Murphy as the starting goalkeeper for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. [5] In her freshman season in 2018, she played all 20 games and kept 8 clean sheets, leading the Big Ten Conference in goals against average. Rutgers placed second in the conference and qualified for the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, losing in both first rounds. McClelland was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and third-team All-Big Ten. [1] [6] In her sophomore season, she kept 12 clean sheets in 21 games, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors and helping Rutgers repeat as Big Ten regular-season runners-up. They made the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament but lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. [1] [7] She became team captain in her junior season, which was pushed back to the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She kept 7 clean sheets in 16 games, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors, as Rutgers made the Big Ten tournament semifinals and the second round of the NCAA tournament. [1]

McClelland and Rutgers had a banner year in her senior season in 2021. She made a career-high 83 saves and kept a career-high 13 clean sheets in 25 games, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors. Rutgers went 10–0 in conference play to claim the program's first Big Ten regular-season title, and they did not concede in the Big Ten tournament until the final where they lost to Michigan. In the NCAA tournament, McClelland saved three penalty kicks and made one herself in a third-round shootout win against TCU, then saved one kick and converted another in a quarterfinal shootout win against Arkansas. The No. 1 seed Scarlet Knights reached their second-ever national semifinal where they fell to eventual champions No. 1 Florida State. [1] [8] McClelland returned to use her fifth year of eligibility, granted by the NCAA due to the pandemic. She kept 8.5 clean sheets in 20 games as Rutgers finished seventh in the conference in 2022. [1] [9] She left college with the second-most minutes played in NCAA history behind McKinley Crone. [10]

Club career

NWSL beginnings

McClelland was not selected in the 2023 NWSL Draft but was invited to preseason training with the Chicago Red Stars, who signed her to a short-term national team replacement contract on April 7, 2023. [11] [12] She signed further short-team deals later that year with San Diego Wave FC in July and NJ/NY Gotham FC in September. She signed a permanent contract with Gotham in November as they finished the season as NWSL Champions. [13] [14]

Odense

McClelland returned to Gotham for the 2024 preseason before going overseas to join Danish Women's 1st Division club Odense Boldklub Q on February 26, 2024. [15] [16] She made her professional debut in a 1–1 playoff draw against B.93  [ da ] on March 16. She ended up making 9 playoff starts and kept 6 clean sheets, helping Odense secure promotion to the top division, before returning to the United States after her last game on June 8. [17] [18]

Carolina Ascent

USL Super League club Carolina Ascent FC announced on June 6, 2024, that they had signed McClelland ahead of the league's inaugural 2024–25 season. [14] She started in the league's first-ever game, a 1–0 victory over DC Power FC on August 17. [19] She started all 14 games for Carolina and kept a league-high 6 clean sheets during the league's first fall series. [17] [20]

International career

She was called into the United States national under-17 team shortly before the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and made the tournament roster as a bench player. [21] She later appeared in friendlies at the under-19, under-20, and under-23 levels. [17]

Honors and awards

NJ/NY Gotham FC

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Meagan McClelland". Rutgers Scarlet Knights . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  2. ↑ Eskilson, J.R. (September 26, 2016). "Meet the 2016 U.S. U17 World Cup squad". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Kearny's McClelland proving to be two-sport star". The Observer . February 2, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  4. ↑ Bernstein, Jason (August 1, 2023). "Going Pro — Kearny's Meagan McClelland signs with San Diego Wave FC". The Observer . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Anzidei, Melanie (January 12, 2023). "Meagan McClelland, former Rutgers star, has eyes set on pro women's soccer draft". NorthJersey.com . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Women's Soccer 2018 Season Recap". Rutgers Scarlet Knights. December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  7. ↑ "2019 Women's Soccer Season in Review". Big Ten Conference. December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  8. ↑ Anzidei, Melanie (December 3, 2021). "Rutgers women's soccer falls to Florida State in heartbreaking Final Four loss". NorthJersey.com . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  9. ↑ Kalegi, Edward (October 30, 2022). "No. 20 Rutgers women's soccer falls in 1st round of Big Ten Tournament". The Daily Targum . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Division I Women's Soccer Records – Goalkeeper Minutes Played" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 8. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  11. ↑ Anzidei, Melanie (January 20, 2023). "Rutgers' Meagan McClelland invited to Chicago Red Stars training camp". northJersey.com . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Chicago Red Stars Sign Meagan McClelland". Chicago Red Stars. April 27, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Gotham FC adds Goalkeeper Meagan McClelland". NJ/NY Gotham FC. November 11, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  14. 1 2 Cover, Amanda (June 6, 2024). "NWSL Champion Goalkeeper, Meagan McClelland, Signs with Carolina Ascent FC". Carolina Ascent FC . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Gotham FC Adds Ten Players for Preseason Training". NJ/NY Gotham FC. February 13, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Meagan McClelland er ny målmand i OB Q" (in Danish). Odense Boldklub Q. February 26, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  17. 1 2 3 Meagan McClelland at Soccerway OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  18. ↑ "Meagan McClelland drager tilbage USA" (in Danish). Odense Boldklub Q. June 6, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  19. ↑ Cover, Amanda. "Carolina Ascent FC Record Historic First Win". Carolina Ascent FC . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Player Stats". USL Super League. Archived from the original on December 29, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Snow names U17 roster for Women's World Cup". United States Soccer Federation. August 26, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2024– via TopDrawerSoccer.
  22. ↑ "USL Super League Team of the Month – September". USL Super League. October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
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