Kristen Marie Graczyk (born June 27, 1983) 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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

and defender who played for

FC Gold Pride FC Gold Pride was an American professional soccer club based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association as the top-l ...

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 ...

. Her brother, Mike Graczyk, is a goalkeeper and played for

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. Graczyk played for the

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's fo ...

from 2001 to 2004 and she played a big part in the Huskies run to the 2003 National Championship game. Graczyk scored the match winning goal in overtime against Central Connecticut to help the Huskies advance in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Gracyzk scored both goals for the Huskies in their 2-0 College Cup victory over Florida State in 2003 to advance to the National Championship game. Her first goal was a header to the near post off of a cross from nine yards. Her second goal sealed the game for the Huskies. She had a ball played to her in front of the box that she drilled into the back of the net. Graczyk also scored both goals for the Huskies in their win over Notre Dame in the 2004 BIG EAST Tournament Championship Game. Graczyk found the ball just outside the box and nailed a left footed shot from about 20 yards out to tie the game for the Huskies with about 18 minutes left in the second half. Graczyk headed in a Karyn Riviere cross at 86:48 to give the Huskies a 2–1 victory to earn their Second BIG EAST Tournament Championship and give the Huskies their automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Gracyzk was the 2003 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and was an All-American in 2003 & 2004. She is UConn's third leading scorer, finishing her career with 57 Goals and 32 Assists for 146 career points. Her 26 career points (10 Goals and 6 Assists) in the NCAA Tournament is a school record. Graczyk got her start with

Chicago Cobras The Chicago Cobras, are a former USL W-League team based in Chicago, Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan ar ...

of the W-League. In her first season with the club, she appeared in 10 games, netting 6 goals. In her second, and final season with the club, she appeared in 13 games, scoring 16 goals before moving on to

Hampton Roads Piranhas Hampton Roads Piranhas was an American women's soccer team, founded in 1995. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Atlantic Divisio ...

for the 2005 season. The next season brought another change in teams, this time signing with

SoccerPlus Connecticut SoccerPlus Connecticut is an American women's soccer team, founded in 2006. The team is a member of the Women's Premier Soccer League, the third tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the North Division of the Ea ...

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). T ...

. She was invited to train with

in 2009. She made the final roster and played an integral role with the club in its first year. She retired from soccer in January 2011 after FC Gold Pride folded.

References

External links

FC Gold Pride player profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graczyk, Kristen 1983 births Living people UConn Huskies women's soccer players American women's soccer players FC Gold Pride players Women's association football defenders Women's association football forwards Hampton Roads Piranhas players USL W-League (1995–2015) players Women's Premier Soccer League players Women's Professional Soccer players Chicago Cobras players