Natalie Margaret Neaton (born May 24, 1974) 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 ...

player who played as a

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 ...

. She made six appearances for the United States women's national team between 1995 and 1998, and is a member of the William & Mary Athletic Hall of Fame.

Career

Neaton played for the Detroit Country Day Yellowjackets in high school, scoring 222 goals in four seasons, three shy of the national record. She was also an All-State

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the Yellowjackets. In college, she played for the

William & Mary Tribe The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly. William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in wo ...

. In total, she scored 81 goals and recorded 28 assists during her career with the Tribe, making her the school's record goalscorer. She also has the second most career points (goals and assists) for the school, with 190. She was

ISAA Player of the Year The ISAA Player of the Year was an annual U.S. college soccer award presented by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America (ISAA) between 1984 and 1995. In 1984, the ISAA began recognizing outstanding men's NCAA soccer players with an annua ...

in 1995,

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...

and ''

Soccer America ''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the US, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California. History and profile The magazine was founded by Clay Ber ...

'' First-Team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in 1994, and NSCAA Second-Team All-American in 1992, 1993, and 1995. She was included in the ''Soccer America'' All-Rookie Team in 1992, and was a finalist for the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

in 1994. Neaton made her international debut for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on January 23, 1995 in a friendly match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In total, she made six appearances for the U.S. and scored four goals, earning her final cap on December 16, 1998 in a friendly match against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Neaton later played club soccer in Japan for two years, having received multiple offers from Japanese teams to join once she graduated from college. She was inducted into the William & Mary Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.

Personal life

Neaton, a native of

Brighton, Michigan Brighton is a city in the Detroit metropolitan area in southeastern Livingston County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,444. Brighton forms part of the South Lyon-Howell-Brighton Urban Area. It is one of ...

, now resides in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She has three sons with her husband Jim Simpson.

Career statistics

International

International goals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neaton, Natalie 1974 births Living people People from Brighton, Michigan Sportspeople from Livingston County, Michigan Soccer players from Michigan American women's soccer players United States women's international soccer players American expatriate women's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate women's footballers in Japan Women's association football forwards Detroit Country Day School alumni William & Mary Tribe women's soccer players