Lauren Kate Barnes (born May 31, 1989) is an American professional

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 currently plays as a defender for

OL Reign OL Reign is an American professional Women's association football, 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 S ...

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). She previously played for the

Philadelphia Independence The Philadelphia Independence was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010 and played its home games at West ...

in the WPS and represented the United States on the under-15, under-20, and under-23 national teams.

Early life

Barnes was born in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of th ...

to parents, Joyce and Gary Barnes. She attended

Upland High School Upland High School is a four-year public high school located in the city of Upland, California. The school was established in 1955 as part of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, and since 1988 it has been a member of the Upland Unified ...

Upland, California Upland is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States on the border with neighboring Los Angeles County. The municipality is located at an elevation of 1,242 feet (379 m). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 79,040 ...

where she was a four-time first-team All-CIF selection. She was rated as the number two overall recruit in the nation by RISE Magazine and Soccer Buzz and was named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of California. In 2005 and 2006 she was named Parade All-American, NSCAA/adidas Girls Youth All-American, and 2006 CIF-Southern Section Co-Player of the Year. In addition to her high school play, Barnes played for local club soccer team, Arsenal FC.

UCLA Bruins, 2007–2010

Barnes attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

where she played for the Bruins from 2007 to 2010. During her freshman year, she finished the season with one goal and three assists for a total of five points. She was one of six players and just two freshmen to start all 24 matches for the team. She was named to the Soccer America Freshman All-American and Pac-10 All-Freshman Teams. She scored her lone goal for the season in a 3–1 victory over Arizona State and assisted on the game-winning goal in a 3–2 NCAA Quarterfinal victory over University of Portland. During her sophomore year, Barnes appeared in all 25 matches, starting 24. She ended the season with six points (six assists). Barnes helped the UCLA defense rank first in the country in goals against average (0.23), allowing only six goals in 25 matches. In 2009, Barnes was one of just three players who started all 25 matches and ranked fourth on the team in scoring with 14 points (two goals and ten assists). She tied with

Lauren Cheney Lauren may be a given name or surname.The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius. ...

for the team lead in assists with 10. Barnes scored the game-winning goal in a 3–2 double-overtime victory over Arizona State. During her senior year, Barnes played and started 22 of 23 matches. She was a leader of the Bruin defense that surrendered less than a goal a game (0.84). Under her direction, the defense posted nine shutouts in 23 matches. She was also a contributor for the offense, ranking second on the team in scoring with 16 points (scoring five goals and providing six assists). She scored game-winning goals in wins over San Diego and Washington State and assisted on the game-winning goal in a 2–1 victory over the University of Central Florida in the NCAA Second Round. She was a First-Team All-Pac-10 selection and named Third-Team NSCAA All-American.

Club career

Philadelphia Independence, 2011

Barnes was selected in the third round (fifteenth overall) of the 2011 WPS Draft by the

. She was included on the bench for nine matches, but did not make an appearance. The Independence finished second during the regular season with a record. The team advanced to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

where they defeated

magicJack MagicJack is an Internet-based telephone service (VoIP) provider in the United States and Canada. It offers nationwide VoIP and cellphone services. MagicJack VOIP service is a computer peripheral that, in combination with telephony service ...

2–0 in the Super Semifinal. They faced regular season winners

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American soccer club based in Elma, New York that competed in the United Women's Soccer league. They have won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-League in 2010, Women's Profess ...

in the WPS Final where they were defeated 5–4 in penalty kicks after a 1–1 draw.

Reign FC, 2013–

Barnes was selected by the

Seattle 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, ...

during the 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft as their second pick (tenth pick overall). Barnes was key component in the Reign's defense playing primarily as a center-back for the squad throughout the 2013 season. During a home match against

FC Kansas City FC Kansas City was an American professional women's soccer club based in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was one of the eight founding clubs of the National Women's Soccer League in 2012, and began play in 2013. They were two-time NWSL champions ...

on June 9, 2013, her defensive skill was especially highlighted when she reached a shot just before it crossed the goal line that had bounced over goalkeeper Hope Solo's head. With a diving tackle into the netting, Barnes tipped the ball over the crossbar and out of the goal. Along with teammate

Christine Nairn Christine Marie Nairn (born September 25, 1990) is an American retired soccer player from Annapolis, Maryland. She previously played for the Houston Dash, Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit and Seattle Reign FC in the NWSL and has had regular lo ...

, Barnes was one of only two players on the Reign to play in all 22 matches during the 2013 season. She was the only player to start every game tallying 1,949 minutes. After the season ended, Barnes earned team honors for Defender of the Year. Srfcvsbos-041614 30

Barnes returned to the Reign for the 2014 season. The team set a league record unbeaten streak of 16 games during the first part of the season. During the 16 game stretch, the Reign compiled a 13–0–3 record. The Reign finished first in the regular season clinching the

NWSL Shield The NWSL Shield is an annual award given to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team with the best regular season record as determined by the NWSL points system. The NWSL Shield has been awarded annually since 2013 and is recognized as a ...

for the first time. After defeating the

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 ...

2–1 in the playoff semi-finals, the Reign were defeated 2–1 by

during the championship final. Following the regular season, Barnes along with goalkeeper

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 ...

and fellow defender

Stephanie Cox Stephanie Renee Cox (; born April 3, 1986) is an American soccer coach and former professional player who played as a defender. She is currently the interim head coach of the Puget Sound Loggers women's soccer team. As a player, Cox played as a ...

were named to the Second XI team. Barnes finished the 2014 season having started in 22 of the 23 games in which she played. After returning to the Reign for the 2015 season, Barnes started in all 20 games of the regular season playing for all 1,800 minutes in the defender position. During an away match 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 ...

on May 9, she scored an equalizer goal resulting in a 1–1 draw. Barnes served two assists throughout the season. The Reign finished the regular season in first place clinching the

for the second consecutive time. After advancing to the

, Seattle faced fourth-place team

and won 3–0, advancing to the championship final. Seattle was ultimately defeated 1–0 by

during the championship final in Portland. Barnes, along with teammates

Kim Little Kim Alison Little (born 29 June 1990) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains Arsenal of the English FA WSL. Before her retirement from international duty in 2021, Little was vice-captain of the Scotland women's nat ...

Beverly Yanez Beverly Goebel Yanez (born Beverly June Goebel; July 19, 1988) is an American association football, soccer coach and former professional player who is currently the assistant coach of Racing Louisville FC and most recently at NJ/NY Gotham FC of t ...

, and Jess Fishlock were named to the NWSL Best XI team. On May 15, 2021, Barnes became the second player in

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 ...

history to play in 150 regular season matches and the first to do so playing for a single club,

Loan to Melbourne Victory, 2014

In January 2014, Barnes joined Seattle Reign FC teammate Jess Fishlock on the

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 ...

squad in Australia's W-League as a guest player from the Reign. During her five appearances for the team, she scored two goals and helped the team win the Grand Final where the Victory defeated

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

2–0. Barnes scored the Victory's second goal of the match. The win marked the Victory's first Grand Final title in the history of the team. Following her successful guest stint, Barnes signed with Melbourne Victory the following season on a loan deal.

Loan to Melbourne City, 2016–present

In October 2016, Barnes signed a loan deal with Melbourne City, alongside Seattle Reign FC teammate Jess Fishlock, with whom she previously played at Melbourne Victory. In October 2017, she commenced pre-season training with Melbourne City, re-signing with them for the

2017–18 W-League The 2017–18 W-League season was the tenth season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. Clubs Stadia and locations Personnel and kits Managerial changes Transfers Foreign players The ...

season. Barnes went on to be awarded Melbourne City W-League Player of the Year and was named to the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) W-League Team of the Year. It was confirmed that Melbourne City re-signed Barnes for the 2018–2019 W-League and 2019/20 seasons.

International career

Barnes has represented the United States at the U-15, U-20, and U-23 levels. In 2010, she helped lead the U-23 team to the 2010 Four Nations Tournament title. In 2016, she received her first senior national team call-up for the 2016 SheBelieves Cup.

FIFA 16 and coaching career

In 2016, Barnes' likeness was added to

FIFA 16 ''FIFA 16'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS. The gam ...

as a player for the U.S. national team. In 2012, she was an assistant coach for Division 1 team,

UC Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

. She has served as a trainer for Beast Mode Soccer along with teammate

Honors

Club

; with Philadelphia Independence * WPS Championship runners-up: 2011 ; with Reign FC *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

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 ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

The Women's Cup The Women's Cup is an annual club women's soccer invitational tournament hosted by Racing Louisville FC in the United States. History Launched by OnSide Entertainment, FXE Futbol, and Agrinzonis Management Group in 2021, it currently features si ...

NWSL Championship The National Women's Soccer League Playoffs (or NWSL Playoffs) are a single elimination tournament among six teams in the National Women's Soccer League of the United States, deciding the winner of the NWSL Championship. Since playoff games cann ...

runners-up: 2014, 2015 ; with Melbourne Victory * W-League Championship:

; with Melbourne City * W-League Championship:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, 2020 * W-League Premiership: 2019–20

International

United States * SheBelieves Cup:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Individual

* NWSL Defender of the Year: 2016 * NWSL Best XI: 2015, 2016 * NWSL Second XI: 2014, 2019 *PFA W-League Team of the Year: 2017–18

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Independence player profile

UCLA player profile

US Soccer player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Lauren 1989 births Living people American women's soccer players Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games Melbourne City FC (A-League Women) players Melbourne Victory FC (A-League Women) players National Women's Soccer League players Pan American Games medalists in football Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Parade High School All-Americans (girls' soccer) People from Upland, California Philadelphia Independence players OL Reign players Soccer players from California Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California UCLA Bruins women's soccer players United States women's under-20 international soccer players A-League Women players Women's association football defenders Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games OL Reign draft picks