Holly Elizabeth Hein (born October 1, 1991) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

defender who played for Finnish club

Åland United Åland United is a Finnish women's football club based in Lemland, Åland. They compete in the Kansallinen Liiga, the premier women's football league in Finland. In 2004 Åland's clubs Lemlands IF and IF Finströms Kamraterna decided to stren ...

in the

Naisten Liiga The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja ('Women's Football Finnish Championship Series') during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten Lii ...

. She previously played for the Houston Dash and Seattle Reign FC in 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 ...

Early life

Born in

Castaic, California Castaic () (Chumash: ''Kaštiq''; Spanish: ''Castéc'') is an unincorporated community in the northwestern part of Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 19,015. For statistical purposes the Census Bureau h ...

, Hein attended

West Ranch High School West Ranch High School is a public high school in the William S. Hart Union High School District located in Stevenson Ranch, California. The school mascot is the Wildcat, and navy blue and gold are the school's official colors. ''The Paw Print'' is ...

in Santa Clarita where she played for the varsity soccer team for two years. She also played club soccer for the Irvine Strikers and Real SoCal U18. In 2006, she was part of the USYSA national championship-winning team.

University of Michigan

Hein attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 2009 to 2013 where she played for the Wolverines for five years. During her first season with the team, she started in 19 of the games in which she played, scored three goals and served two assists. The following year, she missed the majority of the season due to injury but played in six matches. In 2011, she underwent surgery for

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...

and missed the majority of the season. She returned in 2012 and started in all 24 matches of the season. As captain of the team playing in the defender position, she scored two goals. She was named to the All Big Ten First Team and NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team. In 2013, Hein captained the team for the second consecutive year and led a defensive line that set a new school record with only 12 goals conceded. She scored one goal and served one assist while starting all 23 matches in the season. She was subsequently named to the All Big Ten First Team for a second year as well as the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team. The same year, she was named a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Finalist.

Playing career

Houston Dash

In 2014, Hein signed with the Houston Dash for the

2014 National Women's Soccer League season The 2014 National Women's Soccer League season is the second season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (20 ...

as a discovery player. She made seven starts in her eight appearances for the team before being waived.

Seattle Reign FC

In July 2014, Hein signed with league-leading Seattle Reign FC. Of the signing, Reign FC head coach

Laura Harvey Laura Harvey (born 15 May 1980) is an English football manager and former player who currently manages OL Reign of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She holds USSF "A" and UEFA "A" coaching licenses. Harvey previously managed ...

said, "Holly has been training with us for several weeks and has quickly integrated into the group. She'll give us additional depth in the defense, which should prove valuable as we continue our push towards the playoffs."

References

External links

Houston Dash player profile
1991 births Living people National Women's Soccer League players Kansallinen Liiga players Åland United players Houston Dash players Seattle Reign FC players American expatriate women's soccer players American women's soccer players Expatriate women's footballers in Finland Women's association football defenders Michigan Wolverines women's soccer players People from Castaic, California Ottawa Fury (women) players USL W-League (1995–2015) players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate sportspeople in Finland Expatriate women's soccer players in Canada {{US-women-footy-bio-stub