Rebekah Kay McDowell (born March 21, 1978 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 ...

) is a retired 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 ...

player who played in the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first Women's association football, women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000 in sports, 2000, the league began its first se ...

(WUSA).

Early life and education

McDowell was born in Denver, Colorado on March 21, 1978 to Scott and Kathy McDowell. She grew up with four siblings in

Lakewood, Colorado The City of Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Col ...

. McDowell attended

Wheat Ridge High School Wheat Ridge High School is a public secondary school operated by the Jefferson County School District R-1 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, United States. Extracurricular activities Athletics State championship titles: *Baseball: 1992 (5A) *Boys' ice h ...

, where she excelled in athletics. She earned recognition as the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

for her school's track, basketball, cross country, and soccer teams. Her achievements in soccer led to her being named first-team All-League and All-State for all four years. In the realm of running, she made history by becoming the first person in Colorado state history to secure four individual state championships. In basketball, she garnered first-team All-League honors three times over her four-year varsity tenure. In 1995, the

Colorado Sports Hall of Fame The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (CSHoF) is a hall of fame and museum that honors — by public acknowledgment or commemoration — individuals who merit recognition and distinction for their exploits, accomplishments, and leadership in spo ...

named her the Female Prep Athlete of the Year. The subsequent year, she received the Fred Steinmark High School Athlete of the Year Award. After graduating from high school in 1996, she attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, graduating in 2000.

Career

Athletic career

In 1995, McDowell participated in the U.S. Olympic Festival. While attending the

, McDowell played for the school's soccer team, where she was an All-American and All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

player. During her tenure, the team won three national championships. From 1995 to 1998, McDowell played for the United States women’s under-21 soccer team at the Nordic Cup, winning the match in her final year. In 2003, McDowell was traded to play for the

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Germantown, Maryland, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's Uni ...

, though she never played for the team before being sent to play for the

Carolina Courage Carolina Courage was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Fetzer Field on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in 2001, and then at the soccer-specific SAS Stadium in Cary, North Carolina i ...

, who quickly waived her. She ultimately played the season with the

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 ...

. After WUSA folded at the end of the 2003 season, McDowell played in the

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). T ...

. In 2006, McDowell signed with the Tennessee Lady Blues.

Coaching

Beginning in 2003, McDowell coached an under-12 team in Colorado. In 2015, McDowell took on the position of assistant coach at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School.

Honor

McDowell was inducted into the Colorado Sportswomen Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, Rebekah 1978 births Soccer players from Denver Living people American women's soccer players Philadelphia Charge players Boston Breakers (WUSA) players Women's association football midfielders Women's United Soccer Association players North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer players