Gabrielle Lorraine Kessler (; born September 14, 1994) is an American former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who last played for Houston Dash of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

(NWSL). She also played for Portland Thorns FC.

Early years

Kessler was born in Texas, but was raised in Peachtree City, Georgia, alongside her older brother Zack. Kessler was an impressive multi sport athlete. During high school she was an excellent two-sport athlete in both basketball and soccer. As a basketball player Kessler was a four-year varsity player who broke the all-time scoring record of McIntosh High School with 2003 points. She was also an excellent soccer player and four year varsity player who made the 2012 NSCAA Girls High School All-America Team and NSCAA Georgia Girls State Player of the Year. She finished her high school career ranked 11th nationally by TopDrawer Soccer. Kessler ultimately chose to play soccer in college.

College career

University of Georgia, 2013–2014

Kessler started her college career at the University of Georgia. During her two years with the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

she made 40 appearances and finished with 10 goals and 11 assists. She was named Georgia's Rookie of the Year in 2013. She also made the All-SEC First-Year Honor Roll her freshman year. During her sophomore year at Georgia Kessler was named Georgia's Most Valuable player, she was also named to the NSCAA All-South Region second team, the All-SEC First Team, the SEC Academic Honor Roll and was nominated for the MAC Hermann Trophy.

University of Florida, 2015–2017

After two years at Georgia Kessler opted to transfer to the University of Florida, to join former teammate Savannah Jordan. Due to NCAA transfer rules she was forced to sit out, redshirt, her 2015 season. Kessler made her Gators debut in 2016, starting all 23 matches while scoring one goal and providing 2 assists. Her first year as a Gator saw her pick up NSCAA All-South Region first team, All-SEC first team, SEC All-Tournament, SEC Academic Honor Roll and MAC Hermann Trophy watch list selections. She followed this with a senior year that saw her captain the Gators in 23 games and leading the team with eight assists and six goals. She was once again on the MAC Herman Trophy watch list and was named to the USC All-American third team, USC All-Southeast Region first team, All-SEC first team. Kessler was also selected to play for the Gators women's basketball team for the 2018 season but was unfortunately unable to do so after picking up an injury. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Telecommunications-Management and a master's degree in Management

Professional career

Portland Thorns, 2019–2021

Kessler was selected in the first round, 9th overall, of the

2018 NWSL College Draft The 2018 NWSL College Draft was the sixth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 18, 2018 at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

by the

Portland Thorns The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Unit ...

. Kessler however missed the totality of the 2018 season due to rehabilitation to her knee. However, Mark Parson's confidence in her resulted in her making the 2019 Portland Thorns squad. She signed in April 2019 and made her debut for the club on April 20 against the Chicago Red Stars.

Houston Dash, 2021

Kessler scored her first professional goal against the North Carolina Courage on a free kick. She retired from professional soccer in January 2022.

International career

Kessler has been called into several United States Women's National Team camps at the U-18, U-19, U-20 and U-23 levels.

Personal life

She married McClain Kessler on December 18, 2021, and began using her married name Gabby Kessler.https://www.theknot.com/us/gabrielle-seiler-and-mcclain-kessler-dec-2021-59fa4578-b065-4d9c-b03f-d1d110fc0d6c

Career statistics

''As of June 3, 2019''

References

External links

NWSL

Portland Thorns

Soccerway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Gabrielle 1994 births Living people People from Peachtree City, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state) Women's association football defenders American women's soccer players Florida Gators women's soccer players Georgia Bulldogs women's soccer players Portland Thorns FC draft picks Portland Thorns FC players National Women's Soccer League players Houston Dash players