Paige Kathleen Nielsen (born October 14, 1993) 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 ...

defender who currently plays for Angel City FC 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 ...

Early life

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska to Kathy Nielsen, Paige attended

Lincoln Southeast High School Lincoln Southeast High School is a public government education school located in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln Public Schools school district. Lincoln Southeast High School has the highest accreditation from th ...

where she was a four-year varsity soccer player. She was twice named a Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year nominee in 2011 and 2012. She set new school records after ending her high school career with 79 goals and 35 assists. She was twice-named to All-State, All-Conference and All-City soccer teams. Nielsen played club soccer for Toro Bravo soccer in Omaha, Nebraska and helped lead the team to three state championships, the Midwest Regional League championship in 2011, and National League Red Division championship in 2012. She played for the Nebraska Olympic Development (ODP) team from 2007 to 2010.

College career

University of North Carolina

Nielsen attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill from 2012 to 2015 where she played for the Tar Heels. During her freshman season, Nielsen played in 20 games for the Tar Heels, starting five. That same year, the team won the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship for the 21st time. The following year, Nielsen ranked fourth on the team in goals scored. She finished her sophomore season with six goals and four assists. During her junior season in 2014, she played in 20 games, starting nine. Four of the five goals she scored were game-winning goals, which ranked first on the team in game-winning goals. Nielsen captained the Tar Heels during her senior season and finished her collegiate career with 13 goals and 7 assists playing as both a defender and forward.

Club career

Seattle Reign FC, 2016

In January 2016, Nielsen was selected as the 25th overall pick of the

2016 NWSL College Draft Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film di ...

by the Seattle Reign, becoming the first Nebraskan native to be drafted by an NWSL team. She signed with the club in May of the same year. She made her debut for the club in a match against the Chicago Red Stars on May 22. The following week, she played the full ninety minutes in the forward position in a friendly against recent

FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

champion

Arsenal L.F.C. Arsenal Women Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is an English professional women's football club based in Islington, London, England. The club plays in the Women's Super League, the top tier of English women's football. Arsen ...

Nielsen was waived by the Reign in July 2016.

Western Sydney Wanderers, 2016–2017

After short stint with

Apollon Apollon may refer to: * Apollo, ancient Greek god of light, healing and poetry * Apollon (Formula One), Formula One constructor * Apollon Kalamarias, Greek football club * Apollon Athens, a Greek football club from Athens * Apollon Limassol B.C., ...

in Cyprus, Nielsen signed with the Western Sydney Wanderers for the

2016-17 W-League 16-17 is a band from Basel, Switzerland. Their music combines punk rock, hardcore punk, jazz and industrial music. Biography 16-17 was founded in 1983 by Alex Buess, Knut Remond and Markus Kneubühler. When the group played its first conc ...

season where she started all twelve games for the Wanderers.

Suwon UDC, 2017–2018

After the conclusion of the W-League season, Nielsen signed with Suwon UDC in the WK League in South Korea.

Canberra United, 2018

In November 2018, Nielsen signed with

Canberra United Canberra United Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the southern Canberra suburb of Wanniassa, Australian Capital Territory. Founded in 2008 by Capital Football, the club was an inaugural member of the W-League and t ...

in the W-League. She departed the club in December after making five appearances for the team.

Washington Spirit, 2019–2021

In February 2019, Nielsen returned to the

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 ...

signing with the Washington Spirit.

Angel City FC, 2021–

On 16 December 2021 Nielsen was selected by Angel City in the 2022 NWSL expansion draft.

References

External links

North Carolina player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Paige Living people 1993 births American women's soccer players OL Reign players Washington Spirit players Western Sydney Wanderers FC (A-League Women) players Canberra United FC players National Women's Soccer League players A-League Women players Women's association football defenders Women's association football forwards Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska Soccer players from Nebraska North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer players Apollon Ladies F.C. players OL Reign draft picks Suwon FC Women players American expatriate women's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate women's footballers in Cyprus American expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia American expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate women's footballers in South Korea