Jennifer Kim Mead (born June 13, 1972) is an American former

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 played as a goalkeeper, making six appearances for the United States women's national team. She also played basketball during her collegiate career.

Soccer career

Mead played for the Bridgewater-Raynham Trojans soccer team in high school, where she was a league MVP and named to the All-New England and All-State selections. In college, she played for the Providence Friars from 1991 to 1993, having not participated in her freshman season as she was preoccupied with basketball, the main focus of her athletic scholarship to attend the school. She helped the team win the 1993 Big East championship, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. She was named in the All-New England selection while playing for the Friars, and was a second-team All-American. While at Providence, she also set a school record for fewest goals allowed in a season (12) in 1991. In 1993, Mead was awarded the Honda Inspiration Award, which is given to a collegiate athlete "who has overcome hardship and was able to return to play at the collegiate level". She overcame a heart issue requiring

open-heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...

, and rebounded to become an All-American soccer player. After graduating from Providence, she went to play for the George Mason Patriots during the 1994 season. That season she was a '' Soccer America'' First-Team All-American, an All-Region selection, was named the

ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year The ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year was an annual award created by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America (ISAA) to recognize the best U.S. college soccer goalkeeper. The ISAA began naming an annual men's Goalkeeper of the Year in 1983. In ...

, and was included in the All-

CAA CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Citizenship Amendment Act protests, Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright transfer agreement, Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to ...

selection. With her season at George Mason, she set a school record for the best save percentage (.904) in a career or a season, the fewest goals against average (0.54) in a career or a season, and the most shutouts (10) in a season. Mead appeared for U.S. under-17 national team. She made her international debut for the United States on June 21, 1993, in a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

match against Canada. In total, she made six appearances for the U.S., earning her final cap on December 13, 1997, in a friendly match against Brazil. In club soccer, Mead played for the Boston Renegades. In 2001, she joined the

Bay Area CyberRays San Jose CyberRays was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San José State University in San Jose, California. Stars included U.S. National ...

for the inaugural WUSA season, though a knee injury only allowed her to make one appearance during the season. She retired from her playing career at the end of the season. Mead later began coaching, working as an assistant for the Colorado College Tigers, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Louisville Cardinals, and Boston College Eagles. She also worked as the head coach of the Newton North Tigers and Walpole Rebels high school girls' teams.

Basketball career

Mead played as a center in basketball. She played for the Bridgewater-Raynham Trojans in high school, with '' The Boston Globe'' selecting her as one of the top twelve high school basketball players as a junior. As a senior she helped the school win the state championship, and was named in the All-Scholastic team and the State Basketball Player of the Year by ''The Boston Globe''. In college, she played for the Providence Friars from 1990 to 1993. She was included in the Big East All-Freshman Team in 1991.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;" , 1990–91 , style="text-align:left;" ,

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, 32, , -, , -, , 44.6, , 0.0, , 60.6, , 5.8, , 1.3, , 0.9, , 0.1, , -, , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1991–92 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 12, , -, , -, , 54.0, , 0.0, , 74.2, , 8.9, , 2.3, , 1.5, , 0.3, , -, , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1992–93 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 28, , -, , -, , 38.8, , 30.0, , 54.7, , 7.4, , 1.6, , 1.1, , 0.2, , -, , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 2, , -, , -, , 47.4, , 0.0, , 75.0, , 6.5, , 0.5, , 1.5, , 0.5, , -, , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 , Career , 74, , -, , -, , 44.5, , 26.3, , 63.4, , 7.0, , 1.5, , 1.1, , 0.2, , -, , 11.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="14", Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.

Personal life

Mead was born in

Norwood, Massachusetts Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Norwood is part of the Greater Boston area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,611. The town was named after Norwood, England. Norwood is ...

, but grew up in Raynham. She attended Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, where she also played softball. She graduated from

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

. Mead received a master's degree in exercise science from

Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...

, where she also taught and later earned a doctorate. She currently works as an associate professor at

Bridgewater State University Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU ha ...

. She resides in Fairhaven with her wife and two children.

Career statistics

International

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mead, Jen 1972 births Living people Basketball players from Massachusetts Soccer players from Massachusetts People from Norwood, Massachusetts People from Raynham, Massachusetts American women's soccer players United States women's international soccer players United States women's youth international soccer players American soccer coaches American women academics American women's basketball players Boston College Eagles women's soccer coaches Boston Renegades players Bridgewater State University faculty Centers (basketball) George Mason Patriots women's soccer players Louisville Cardinals women's soccer coaches Providence Friars women's basketball players Providence Friars women's soccer players Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's soccer coaches San Jose CyberRays players USL W-League (1995–2015) players Women's association football goalkeepers Women's United Soccer Association players