Merritt Elizabeth Mathias (born July 2, 1990) 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 ...

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 ...

currently playing for

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in Los Angeles, California, and was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Becky G, Natal ...

in 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

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 ...

and

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, ...

Early life

Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, Mathias attended and played for

Oak Mountain High School Oak Mountain High School is a four-year public high school in the northern Shelby County suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama. It is part of Shelby County School Schools. Academics College preparation Oak Mountain students can take one or more o ...

in Birmingham. Mathias was one of the top-ranked recruits in the nation according to Soccer Buzz Magazine. She was a Parade Magazine high school All-America selection in 2007 and the 2006 and 2007 National High School Coaches Association All-America.

University of North Carolina, Texas A&M University, 2008–2011

Mathias attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

where she played for the

Tar Heels Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace back to North Carolina's promi ...

for two seasons in 2008 and 2009 before transferring to

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 majored in Agriculture leadership and development. During her first season with the Aggies, she started in 20 matches and scored nine goals – third best on the team. She was named to the All-Big 12 first team and the Big 12 All-Newcomer team. She was also a two-time Big 12 Player of the week. During her senior year, she started in all 24 matches and scored eight goals, including three game-winners. She ranked second on the team in assists with 11 and led the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

in all games with 93 shots on the season while ranking second in shots per game at 3.88. She ranked third in assists at eleven and third in assists per game at 0.46. Mathias ranked second in Top Drawer Soccer's Big 12 Top 20 Player Rankings and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team as well as the Big 12 All-Tournament Team. Mathias ended the season ranked at number 17 nationally in total assists was number 35 for assists per game.

Club career

New York Fury, 2012

Following the folding of the WPS, Mathias signed on to play with the

New York Fury New York Fury was a semi-professional American women’s soccer club playing in the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite, the top tier of women’s soccer in the United States in 2012. It was part of the Fury Soccer Organization which also supports ...

of the

WPSL Elite The Women's Premier Soccer League Elite (WPSL Elite) was a women's semi-professional soccer league created by the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) to support the sport in the United States, both from continued interest by WPSL teams in profess ...

FC Kansas City, 2013–2014

Prior to the start of the

's inaugural season, Mathias was selected 22nd overall in the

2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft The 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft took place on February 7, 2013. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 See also *List of NWSL drafts *List of foreign NWSL players References External links NWSL Supplemental Draft to Commenc ...

. During the 2013 season, Mathias started in 20 of the 23 matches in which she played. She scored two goals: one against the

Portland Thorns The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Unit ...

on June 30 resulting in a 2–0 win for Kansas City and the second in the ninetieth minute against

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 ...

on July 24. Kansas City finished the regular season in second place with an 11–6–5 record and advanced to the playoffs. They were eliminated in the semi-finals after being defeated 3–2 by Portland in overtime. During the 2014 season, Mathias helped FC Kansas City finish second in the regular season standings with a 16–6–2 record and ultimately win the league championship after defeating first place Seattle Reign FC 2–1. Mathias started in 18 of the 22 matches in which she played.

Seattle Reign FC, 2015–2017

In November 2014, Mathias was traded to

in exchange for

Kate Deines Kathleen Ann Deines (born September 17, 1989) is an American soccer midfielder- defender. She most recently played for Turbine Potsdam in the German Bundesliga and Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League. Deines was a fourth roun ...

and two 2015 draft picks. During the 2015 season, Mathias started in 19 of the team's 20 regular season games and recorded 1,480 minutes on the pitch. During a match against 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 ...

on May 2, she scored the game-winning goal in the 48th minute helping the Reign win 3–1. During a match 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 ...

on August 12, she scored an equalizer in the 22nd minute. The Reign defeated the Dash 2–1 and earned a berth 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 ...

. Mathias served two assists throughout the season. The Reign finished the regular season in first place 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 second consecutive time. After advancing to the

, Seattle faced fourth-place team Washington Spirit and won 3–0, advancing to the championship final. Seattle was ultimately defeated 1–0 by

during the championship final in Portland. During the 2016 season, Mathias made 17 starts in her 19 appearances for the club. She scored the club's lone goal (a header goal) during a 2–1 loss to

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 ...

in April 2017, the club's first loss at home in 24 games. During the first few months of the season, a number of offensive players became unavailable due to injury including

Manon Melis Gabriëlla Maria "Manon" Melis (; born 31 August 1986) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is a manager of women's football development at Feyenoord. As a professional player she played as a forward. She spent most of her profess ...

Jess Fishlock Jessica Anne Fishlock (born 14 January 1987) is a Welsh professional footballer and coach who plays as a midfielder for OL Reign and the Wales national team. She previously played for Bristol Academy in England's FA Women's Super League (FA ...

and

Megan Rapinoe Megan Anna Rapinoe (; born July 5, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger and captains OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States national team. Winner of the Ballon d ...

. Seattle finished the regular season in fifth place with a record, narrowly missing a playoff spot by two points. Returning to the club for the 2017 season, Mathias scored a goal in the 39th minute in a match against the

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

. After the match, she was fined and suspended three matches for an incident with

Emily Sonnett Emily Ann Sonnett (born November 25, 1993) is an American association football, soccer player who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) as well as the United States women's ...

North Carolina Courage, 2018–2022

Mathias was traded to North Carolina Courage in January 2018. She appeared in 22 regular season games for the Courage, scoring 3 goals. Mathias was an important part of the backline that broke the record for fewest goals conceded, and won the NWSL Shield. She was named to the 2018 NWSL Second XI. In the 2018 play-offs, Mathias was in the starting lineup for the semi-final and final. She recorded an assist in the Championship game as the Courage won the 2018 NWSL Championship.

Angel City FC, 2023–present

In January 2023, Mathias was traded to

in exchange for forward

Tyler Lussi Tyler Tompkins Lussi (born January 26, 1995) is an American professional association football, soccer player who currently plays for North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In college she played for the Princeton Tig ...

International career

Mathias has extensive experience at the youth national team levels having played on the U-15, U-16, U-17, and U-23 teams. In October 2016, Mathias was called up to camp for the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

. She received her first cap for

on June 12, 2018 in a friendly against China PR in Cleveland. Mathias came in as a substitute replacing

Sofia Huerta Sofia Christine Huerta (born December 14, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right back for OL Reign in the National Women's Soccer League and the U.S. women's national soccer team. Huerta played collegiately for the ...

in the 77th minute. She was named to the U.S Roster for the

2018 Tournament of Nations The 2018 Tournament of Nations was the second Tournament of Nations, an international women's association football, football tournament, consisting of a series of exhibition game, friendly games. It was held in the United States, from July 26 to ...

, but she didn't appear in any games. The U.S won the tournament. Mathias was on the provisional 35-player roster for the

2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship The 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women's Championship (also known as the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup or the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament), the quadrennial international football champio ...

but wasn't named to the final 20-player roster, however she would still join the squad to train and help in preparations.

Honors

Club

FC Kansas City * NWSL Champions:

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 ...

Seattle Reign *

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 ...

North Carolina Courage * NWSL Champions:

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 ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Personal *NWSL Second XI:

International

*Tournament of Nations:

References

External links

Seattle Reign FC player profile

FC Kansas City player profile

US Soccer player profile

UNC player profile

Texas A&M player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathias, Merritt 1990 births Living people Soccer players from Birmingham, Alabama American women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players FC Kansas City players OL Reign players New York Fury players North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer players Texas A&M Aggies women's soccer players Women's Premier Soccer League Elite players Women's association football midfielders Parade High School All-Americans (girls' soccer) North Carolina Courage players United States women's international soccer players Women's association football defenders