Michelle Jenny Betos (born February 20, 1988) 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 plays as a goalkeeper for NJ/NY Gotham FC 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). Betos previously played for Vålerenga,

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC ( el, Απόλλων Λεμεσού, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Divisi ...

, Portland Thorns FC,

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 ...

, OL Reign, and Racing Louisville FC. In 2015, while playing for Portland, Betos won the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year award.

Early life

Born in Queens, New York to parents Luke and Susan Betos, Michelle began playing soccer at age five. She attended

St. Francis Preparatory School , motto_translation = My God and My All , location = , streetaddress = 6100 Francis Lewis Boulevard , city = New York City (Fresh Meadows, Queens) , state = New York , ...

in the New York City borough of Queens. She was a two-year captain on the soccer team and was named 2005 Most Valuable Player. She played for the Albertson Fury '87 from 2004 to 2006 and was a member of the Region I Olympic Development Program (ODP) team in 2006. In 2005, she was named an ENYSSA State Team player and participated in the Super Y-League Olympic Development Program (ODP) National Camp.

University of Georgia

Betos attended the University of Georgia. She finished her college career with a total of 316 saves, ranking third all-time at Georgia and second in shutout count (26) and win totals (48). During her senior year, she started all 22 games, logging 1,929 minutes and earned eight shutouts and a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.12 per game. Her junior year, she appeared in all 23 games making 22 starts. She recorded seven shutouts and a 1.19 GAA, finishing the season with 117 saves. Betos was named SEC All-Tournament Team and SEC Defensive Player of the Week on October 21, 2008. In 2007, she started all 24 games, finishing with 18 wins, eight shutouts and a 0.79 GAA. She recorded a save percentage of .816, making 84 saves and allowing 19 goals. She was named the team's Defensive Most Valuable Player. During her freshman year, Betos appeared in 12 games in goal, making eight starts. She led Georgia in GAA (1.18), save percentage (.732), fewest goals allowed (11), wins (5), shutouts (3) and saves (30). She was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team the same year.

Club career

Atlanta Silverbacks

Betos played for the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

of the W-League during the 2009 season. She was named W-League Goalkeeper of the Year after leading the Atlanta Silverbacks to the regular season Southeast Division title. She finished the season with a 9–1–1 record and the team finished 10–1–1. She ranked second in the league for her 0.188 goals-against average, nine wins and nine shutouts.

New York Fury

Betos signed with the

in the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite for the 2012 season.

Apollon Limassol

Betos signed with

in the UEFA Women's Champions League for the 2012–2013 season. She recorded five appearances for the team for a total of 450 minutes.

Seattle Reign FC

Betos was selected by the Seattle Reign FC during 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 ...

as their fifth pick (34th pick overall). She was the starting goalkeeper for seven of the club's matches during the beginning of the 2013 season before Hope Solo returned from wrist surgery recovery. Betos made 34 saves and registered a 2.0 goals against average.

Portland Thorns FC

In the 2013–14 offseason, Seattle traded Betos and

Kristie Mewis Kristen Anne Mewis (born February 25, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. Early life Mewis grew up in Hanson, ...

to the Boston Breakers for Sydney Leroux. Boston soon traded Betos to Portland for the thirty-fourth pick in the 2014 NWSL College Draft. Initially serving as a backup to

Nadine Angerer Nadine Marejke Angerer (born 10 November 1978) is a German football coach and player who is the goalkeeping player-coach for Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Angerer has played for Frauen-Bundesliga clubs Bayern Mu ...

, Betos made 14 starts during the 2015 season. On June 19, 2015, Betos scored the equalizing goal for 10-man Portland in the 95th minute 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 ...

. This was the first ever goal scored by a goalkeeper in the NWSL. Her goal was featured on ESPN SportsCenter as the #2 play during the show's Top 10 feature. She was subsequently named NWSL Player of the Week. Following the season, she was named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year. Betos was part of the 2016 Thorns team that won 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 ...

Sydney FC

In September 2015, Betos joined

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

on loan for the 2015–16 season.

Vålerenga

Betos signed with Norwegian

Toppserien The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984. History Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in ...

side Vålerenga Fotball Damer in 2017.

Return to Seattle Reign FC

On January 30, 2018, Seattle Reign FC announced that Betos would be returning to the club for the 2018 National Women's Soccer League season.

Racing Louisville FC

On November 12, 2020, Betos was selected by Racing Louisville FC in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft.

NJ/NY Gotham FC

Betos returned to the New York metro area by signing with NJ/NY Gotham FC on January 11, 2022.

References

External links

*
Georgia player profile

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Betos, Michelle Living people 1988 births Sportspeople from Queens, New York Soccer players from New York City American women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players OL Reign players New York Fury players Portland Thorns FC players Fortuna Hjørring players Sydney FC (A-League Women) players Racing Louisville FC players Georgia Bulldogs women's soccer players Expatriate women's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate women's footballers in Denmark Expatriate women's footballers in Argentina Apollon Ladies F.C. players Women's association football goalkeepers Atlanta Silverbacks Women players Vålerenga Fotball Damer players Boston Aztec (WPSL) players Women's Premier Soccer League players Club Atlético River Plate (women) players OL Reign draft picks American expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark American expatriate sportspeople in Argentina NJ/NY Gotham FC players