Kati Jo Spisak (born November 22, 1983) is retired American

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 In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. She is currently an assistant coach for

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and cont ...

in the

NWSL 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 ...

Playing career

College

Spisak attended

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

where she was a three time All-American and team captain, and repeatedly on the Herman Trophy watch list. She would also earn team honors as Newcomer of the Year (2002) and Defensive MVP (2003).

Club

Washington Freedom

After college, Spisak began her professional career with

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Germantown, Maryland, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's Uni ...

competing in

USL W-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. She would step into starting goalkeeper after the retirement of

Nicci Wright Nicole Cheri Wright (born 12 August 1972) is a Canadian soccer player who played as a goalkeeper for the Canada women's national soccer team. She was part of the team at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. She played for the Washington Freedom in ...

. During the restructuring of the W-League into the new

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

as the top flight women's league, the Washington Freedom officially drafted Spisak in

Round 8 Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the numbe ...

Saint Louis and Boston

Ahead of the 2010 season, Spisak joined

Saint Louis Athletica Saint Louis Athletica was an American professional soccer club that was based in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. Athletica started the 2009 season playing its home games at Ralph Korte S ...

as a "developmental player," deputizing for

Hope Solo Hope Amelia Stevens (; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Aft ...

. Athletica would fold mid-way during the season, releasing all rostered players as free agents. After Athletica folded, Spisak joined

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

but made no appearances for the club.

International

Spisak was named to the United States U-21 team that competed and won the 2004 Nordic Cup.

Managing career

Washington Spirit

Ahead of the 2014 season, Spisak would return to Washington as an assistant coach for the

, supporting

Mark Parson Mark Parson (born May 9, 1986) is a former American football cornerback. He was released by the Edmonton Eskimos on June 3, 2012. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Born in Chesterfield Court House, Virginia, ...

. She also worked as head coach of the

Washington Spirit Reserves Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and guided the team to their first W-League Title in 2015.

Honors

Manager

Washington Spirit Reserves

* W-League:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spisak, Kati 1983 births Living people American women's soccer players Women's association football goalkeepers Washington Freedom players Saint Louis Athletica players Boston Breakers players United States women's under-20 international soccer players Soccer players from Missouri Texas A&M Aggies women's soccer players Women's Professional Soccer players