Ryan Williams (women's soccer)

Last updated

Ryan Williams
NC Courage vs Gotham FC (Mar 2024) 149.jpg
Williams with the North Carolina Courage in 2024
Personal information
Full name Ryan Emilie Williams [1]
Date of birth (1996-02-23) February 23, 1996 (age 28) [2]
Place of birth Centennial, Colorado, United States
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s) Right back
Team information
Current team
 North Carolina Courage
Number 13
Youth career
Colorado Rush
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2017 TCU Horned Frogs 80 (1)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2018– North Carolina Courage 73 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 24, 2024

Ryan Emilie Williams (born February 23, 1996) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right back for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Contents

Williams played college soccer for the TCU Horned Frogs and was drafted by the Courage with the final pick of the 2018 NWSL College Draft. During her time with the club, North Carolina has won two NWSL Shields, two NWSL Championships, and two NWSL Challenge Cups. Williams was named in the NWSL Best XI Second Team in 2024.

Early life and college career

Williams was born in Centennial, Colorado, one of six children born to Charles and Lisa Williams. [2] [3] She began playing soccer at four years old, [4] and she played club soccer for ECNL team Colorado Rush. [5] She attended Cherry Creek High School, where she won the 5A state championship as a sophomore in 2012. [3] [6] As a four-year letterwinner coming out of high school, she was ranked 16th regionally by TopDrawerSoccer . [3]

TCU Horned Frogs

Williams made 80 appearances (79 starts) during four years with the TCU Horns Frogs. [3] She was converted from midfielder to defender in college and named to the Big 12 Conference All-Newcomer Team after making 19 appearances (18 starts) as a freshman in 2014. [4] [7] She provided a team-high 5 assists in 19 games in her sophomore season in 2015. [3] TCU lost in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament in her first two seasons. [8] [9] Williams made 2 assists in 20 starts in her junior season in 2016, missing one game. [3] She helped TCU reach the final of the Big 12 tournament, where they lost to West Virginia 3–2 in overtime. [10] TCU nevertheless qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history, falling to Texas A&M 1–0 in the first round. [11] [12]

Williams recorded a career-high six assists in 22 games in her senior season in 2017. [3] In the Big 12 tournament, she made her penalty kicks in back-to-back shootout victories over Kansas and West Virginia. [13] [14] Head coach Eric Bell placed Williams as the fifth penalty taker "because we know she's got ice water in her veins". [14] In the Big 12 championship game, Williams scored the only goal of her college career, with the help of a penalty, in a 2–1 loss to Baylor. [15] TCU again qualified for the NCAA tournament, where they fell 2–1 to Arizona in the first round. [16] [17] Williams received All-Big 12 first-team honors at the end of the season. [18]

Club career

North Carolina Courage

2018–2020

Williams was drafted by the North Carolina Courage with the 40th and final pick of the 2018 NWSL College Draft, becoming the first player from TCU to be drafted into the NWSL. [19] She was signed to a national team replacement contract on May 31, 2018. [20] Williams made her professional debut on June 3, coming on for Jaelene Hinkle late in a 1–1 draw against the Houston Dash. [21] She was waived two weeks later but signed again the next month as a national team replacement. [22] [23] She appeared in two games at the exhibition 2018 Women's International Champions Cup, making her first start for the Courage in a 1–0 win over French club Lyon in the final. [24] [25] She was unused for the rest of the season, [26] and the Courage went on to win the NWSL Shield and Championship, defeating the Portland Thorns 3–0 in the title game. [27]

Williams agreed to a new contract ahead of the 2019 season but was moved to a supplemental spot on the final roster. [28] [29] Williams made her first NWSL start on June 1, winning 3–0 against the Orlando Pride on June 1. [30] She played her first full match in a 2–1 win at the Washington Spirit on June 29. [31] However, after 4 appearances (3 starts), she was listed out with injury for the rest of the season. [32] North Carolina went on to win their second consecutive NWSL Shield and Championship, defeating the Chicago Red Stars 4–0 in the title game. [33] [34] Williams's contract option was exercised at the end of the season. [35]

When the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams and her roommate Cari Roccaro prepared training videos for other teammates to follow from a far distance. [36] [37] A new month-long tournament, the Challenge Cup, was announced in place of the beginning of the regular season. [38] Williams started in one Challenge Cup match, a 1–0 win over the Chicago Red Stars on July 5. [39] She also started 4 games of the Fall Series, recording her first professional assist, to Lynn Williams, in a 4–1 loss to the Houston Dash on October 4. [40] [41] After the season, she signed a one-year contract with an option to extend for an additional year. [40]

2021–

Williams appeared in 17 games (2 starts) for the Courage in the 2021 regular season as they finished fifth in the standings. [42] She also appeared in 4 games (1 start) in the NWSL Challenge Cup. She made her playoff debut in the closing minutes of the Courage's 1–0 quarterfinal loss to the eventual champions Washington Spirit. [43]

Williams appeared in 3 games off the bench during the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup ahead of the regular season. [44] She was an unused substitute in the Challenge Cup final, which the Courage won 2–1 against the Washington Spirit. [45] She finished the 2022 regular season with 3 assists in 18 appearances (10 starts) as the Courage placed 7th of 12 teams, missing the playoffs. [46]

Williams in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final, 282.jpg
Williams in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final

Williams started all 8 games in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup, playing the full match in a 2–0 victory over Racing Louisville in the final. [47] [48] She started all 22 games and made 2 assists in the regular season as the Courage finished in third place. In the playoffs, she played every minute of their first-round 2–0 loss to eventual champions NJ/NY Gotham FC. [49]

Williams received two yellow cards and was sent off on June 8, 2024, with her second card giving Sophia Smith a penalty that led to a 1–0 away loss to the Portland Thorns. [50] She finished the regular season with 25 starts and 2,237 minutes played, with just her red card and one-match suspension keeping her from completing an iron woman season. [51] She ranked top two in the league in multiple defensive metrics, including tackles, challenges, and interceptions, and ranked first in attempted passes. [52] [53] [54] North Carolina finished the season in fifth place, losing 1–0 to the Kansas City Current in the playoff quarterfinals. [55] She signed a contract extension near the end of the season, keeping her with the club through 2027. [56] She was named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team at the end of the season. [57]

International career

Williams was called into camp with the United States national team in January 2025, her first national team call-up at any level. [58]

Career statistics

As of June 23, 2024 [2]
ClubSeasonLeagueCup [a] Playoffs [b] OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
North Carolina Courage 2018 NWSL 10—00—10
2019 40—00—40
2020 —10—4 [c] 050
2021 1704010—220
2022 18030——210
2023 2208010—310
2024 130———130
Career total7501602040970

Honors

North Carolina Courage

Individual

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ryan Williams". Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC . Retrieved May 27, 2020.
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  4. 1 2 "Off The Field With Ryan Williams". TCU Athletics. December 3, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  5. ↑ Clark, Travis (June 18, 2013). "Girls Commitments: Taking notice". TopDrawerSoccer. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
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  9. ↑ "Baylor Advances On Kicks In Thriller Over TCU". Big 12 Conference. November 4, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Mountaineers Win Big 12 Soccer Title". Big 12 Conference. November 6, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
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  24. ↑ "NC Courage Defeat PSG 2–1 in First Ever Women's ICC match". North Carolina Courage. July 26, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  25. 1 2 "NC Courage Win First Ever Women's International Champions Cup". North Carolina Courage. July 30, 2018. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
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  27. 1 2 Balf, Celia (September 22, 2018). "Courage cap off record-setting season with NWSL Championship win". National Women's Soccer League. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  28. ↑ Communications, NC Courage (March 8, 2019). "NC Courage Reach Agreements with Four More Core Players". North Carolina Courage. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  29. ↑ "North Carolina Courage Announce 2019 Roster in Advance of Home Opener". North Carolina Courage. April 8, 2019. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  30. ↑ Brown, Morgan (June 1, 2019). "Kristen Hamilton Nets Hat Trick in 3–0 Win Over Orlando Pride". North Carolina Courage. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  31. ↑ Brown, Morgan (June 29, 2019). "Goals from Debinha and Pruitt Lead NC Courage Past Washington Spirit, 2–1". North Carolina Courage. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Ryan Williams 2019 Match Logs". Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC . Retrieved June 3, 2020.
    "NWSL Week 15 Preview – Equalizer Soccer". The Equalizer. July 26, 2019. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
    Bush, Chelsey (August 9, 2019). "NWSL Week 17 Preview – Equalizer Soccer". The Equalizer. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
    Bush, Chelsey (October 11, 2019). "NWSL Week 24 Preview – Equalizer Soccer". The Equalizer. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
    "NWSL Injury Report: Who's not playing in championship game". Front Row Soccer. October 27, 2019. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  33. 1 2 Brown, Morgan (October 10, 2019). "NC Courage to Close Out Regular Season and Receive NWSL Shield on Fan Appreciation Night this Saturday". North Carolina Courage. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  34. ↑ Levine, Matthew (October 27, 2019). "North Carolina Courage rolls past Chicago Red Stars to win second consecutive NWSL Championship". National Women's Soccer League. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  35. ↑ Brown, Morgan (November 4, 2019). "North Carolina Courage Announce Roster Update Following the Team's 2019 NWSL Championship Victory". North Carolina Courage. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  36. ↑ Baird, Lisa (March 12, 2020). "Statement from NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird regarding the 2020 season". National Women's Soccer League. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  37. ↑ Brown, Morgan (May 12, 2020). "Courage Return Amidst COVID". North Carolina Courage. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  38. ↑ Hays, Graham (May 27, 2020). "NWSL to return on June 27 with monthlong tournament". ESPN. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  39. ↑ Martin, Hannah (July 5, 2020). "Abby Erceg's Game-Winner Gives Courage an Edge over Red Stars". North Carolina Courage. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  40. 1 2 Birkedal, Morgan (December 15, 2020). "Hailey Harbison, Samantha Murphy, and Ryan Williams Sign Contracts Ahead of 2021". North Carolina Courage. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  41. ↑ Martin, Hannah (October 4, 2020). "Three Players Make NC Courage Debut in 4-1 Loss to Houston Dash" . Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  42. ↑ "2021 North Carolina Courage Stats (NWSL)". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  43. ↑ "Ryan Williams 2021 Match Logs". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  44. ↑ "Ryan Williams 2022 Match Logs". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  45. ↑ "Match Recap: Courage Win 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship". North Carolina Courage. May 7, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  46. ↑ "2022 North Carolina Courage Stats (NWSL)". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  47. ↑ "Ryan Williams 2023 Match Logs". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  48. ↑ "Champions! Courage claim Challenge Cup with 2-0 win Saturday". North Carolina Courage. September 9, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  49. ↑ "2023 North Carolina Courage Stats (NWSL)". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  50. ↑ "Match Recap: NC Courage 0-1 Portland Thorns". North Carolina Courage. June 9, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  51. ↑ "Ryan Williams 2024 Match Logs". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  52. ↑ Schnittker, Nicholas (October 25, 2024). "Ryan Williams: Never satisfied, always improving". North Carolina Courage . Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  53. ↑ "2024 NWSL Defensive Action Stats". FBref.com . Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  54. ↑ "2024 NWSL Passing Stats". FBref.com . Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  55. ↑ "2024 North Carolina Courage Stats". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  56. ↑ "Ryan Williams signs extension through 2027". North Carolina Courage. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  57. 1 2 "Kurtz and Williams among NWSL Best XI". North Carolina Courage. November 18, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  58. ↑ "Emma Hayes Names 26-Player Roster for U.S. Women's National Team January Training Camp in Los Angeles". United States Soccer Federation. January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
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