Kristen Claire McNabb (born April 17, 1994) is an 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 plays as a defender for San Diego Wave 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). McNabb has represented the United States on the under-18 and under-23 national teams. She played collegiate soccer at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Early life and education

McNabb was raised in

Montville, New Jersey Montville is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 21,528, reflecting an increase of 689 (+3.3%) from the 20,839 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in tu ...

where she attended

Montville Township High School Montville Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Montville Township, in suburban Morris County, United States. The school was founded in 1971 and serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as the ...

. She played club soccer for PDA Charge and captained the team to the national championship games twice. She was ranked 34 nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.

Virginia Cavaliers, 2012–2016

McNabb attended the

where she played for the

Cavaliers The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

from 2013 to 2016 after redshirting the 2012 season due to injury. During the 2013 season, she made 19 appearances for the Cavaliers including two starts. She endured a knee injury in a match against Virginia Tech on October 31 which prevented her from playing the remainder of the season. The following season, she started in all 26 games and scored her first goal during a match against Tennessee. During the 2015 season, McNabb started in all 23 games and was named to the Second-Team NSCAA All-Southeast Region. In the 2016 season, McNabb captained the Cavaliers. That September she was named the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) Co-Offensive Player Of The Week while playing as a defender and scoring twice against Virginia Tech. The same year, McNabb helped the Cavaliers to a record. The team reached the Round of 16 of the NCAA Division 1 Soccer Championship for the 12th straight season.

Club career

OL Reign, 2017–2021

In January 2017, McNabb was selected by

Reign FC OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

as the 37th overall selection in the

2017 NWSL College Draft The 2017 NWSL College Draft was the fifth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 12, 2017 at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention in ...

. She made her debut starting for the club during the season opener on April 15 against

Sky Blue FC NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...

. She scored her first professional goal on April 22 against the

Houston Dash The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC. History Establishment On November ...

Melbourne Victory, 2017 (loan)

In October 2017, McNabb joined Australian club

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

on loan for the off-season.

San Diego Wave FC, 2022–

In December 2021, San Diego Wave selected McNabb in the

2022 NWSL Expansion Draft The 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft (formerly named the 2021 NWSL Expansion Draft) was an expansion draft held by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) on December 16, 2021, for two expansion teams, Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC, to select pla ...

International career

McNabb has represented the United States on the under-18 and under-23 national teams.

Personal life

Professional hockey player

Colin Blackwell Colin Blackwell (born March 28, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey center for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Early life Blackwell was born on March 28, 1993, to parents Jim and Carla Blackwell in North Andov ...

is McNabb's cousin.

References

External links

*
U.S. Soccer player profile

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNabb, Kristen 1994 births Living people Soccer players from New Jersey Montville Township High School alumni People from Montville, New Jersey Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer players OL Reign draft picks OL Reign players Sportspeople from Morris County, New Jersey Melbourne Victory FC (A-League Women) players National Women's Soccer League players A-League Women players American women's soccer players Women's association football defenders American expatriate women's soccer players Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia American expatriate sportspeople in Australia San Diego Wave FC players