Shea Ellese Groom (born March 4, 1993) 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

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 ...

for

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 ...

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 ...

. Groom played collegiate soccer for

Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also referred to as "A&M" or "Texas Aggi ...

before starting her professional career with

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 ...

in 2015. She was traded 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 ...

after

ceased operations in 2018, before joining

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, ...

in 2019. She is currently a member of the

. Groom is a former United States youth international. She received her first call-up to the full national team in October 2016 but has yet to win a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

Early life

Born in

Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to Willi ...

to Kelly and Lesa Groom, Groom attended Liberty High School where she led the girls' soccer team to a state championship and was named Missouri's Player of the Year in 2010. She was named Gatorade Missouri Player of the year twice in 2010 and 2011. Groom was a NSCAA High School Girls' All-America Soccer Team selection and named NSCAA State Player of the Year in 2010. In 2011, she was named All-American by ESPN Rise.

Collegiate career

Groom played collegiate soccer with

. She capped a decorated college career with 16 goals and seven assists in 26 matches in 2014. She ranked third in the Southeastern Conference and 19th in the nation for goals, which helped her win the

SEC Offensive Player of the Year Coaches and media of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) bestow the following individual awards at the end of each college football season. Player of the Year * 1933: Beattie Feathers, HB, Tennessee * 1934: Dixie Howell, TB, Alabama * 1935: Willie G ...

award. She recorded 41 goals and 25 assists in 84 career matches for the Aggies.

Club career

FC Kansas City, 2015–2017

Groom was selected by

as the 12th overall pick of the

2015 NWSL College Draft The 2015 NWSL College Draft was the third annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 16, 2015 at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, PA. Format *Draft order wa ...

. She made her debut for Kansas City against

on 12 April 2015. Shea scored her first goal for Kansas City in a 0–2 win over

on 2 May 2015. Groom was named Player of the Week for week 13 of the

2015 National Women's Soccer League season The 2015 National Women's Soccer League season was the third season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2 ...

after recording one goal and two assists against 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 ...

. She was also named the team's rookie of the year for 2015. Groom appeared in the 2015 NWSL Championship game as a second-half substitute,

won the Championship with a 1–0 win over the

Seattle Reign OL Reign is an American professional Women's association football, 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 S ...

Sky Blue FC, 2018

On December 29, 2017 it was announced that

Utah Royals FC Utah Royals FC was an American women's professional soccer club based in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah. Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion club, the Royals played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) from 2018 ...

had traded Groom along with teammate

Christina Gibbons Christina Marie Gibbons (born December 30, 1994) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender. Club career FC Kansas City, 2017 After spending four years playing at Duke University, Gibbons was drafted by FC Kansas City with the 5th ove ...

and the no. 4 overall selection in the 2018 NWSL College Draft. The New Jersey club has acquired the players in exchange for the defender

Kelley O'Hara Kelley Maureen O'Hara (born August 4, 1988) is an American soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, and Olympic gold medalist. She currently plays as a defender for the Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and ...

, midfielder

Taylor Lytle Taylor Marie Lytle (born March 31, 1989) is an American professional association football, soccer player who last played as a midfielder for Utah Royals FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Early life Lytle was raised in Las Cruces, ...

and the no. 25 overall pick in the

2018 NWSL College Draft The 2018 NWSL College Draft was the sixth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 18, 2018 at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

Reign FC, 2019

On January 15, 2019,

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, ...

acquired Groom from

Houston Dash, 2020–present

On February 3, 2020,

acquired Groom,

Megan Oyster Megan Leigh Montefusco (; born September 3, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League. She has been capped internationally at senior level by the United States. Montefusco ...

, and a conditional draft pick from Reign FC in exchange for

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 ...

and

Amber Brooks Amber Jean Brooks (born January 23, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She has previously played for Adelaide United, Houston Dash, OL Re ...

International career

Groom has represented the United States at various youth levels. She played for the under-23 national team at the 2015 La Manga Tournament. She started in all three matches and scored the first goal of the 2–0 victory over Norway. In October 2016, Groom received her first call-up to 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 ...

for a pair of friendlies against Switzerland. She did not play in either game.

Personal life

Groom's older sister, Kami, is a competitive

ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *''Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *''The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilatio ...

player and has represented the United States on various national teams.

Club statistics

Honors

FC Kansas City * NWSL Championship:

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 ...

Houston Dash * NWSL Challenge Trophy:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Individual * NWSL Second XI:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

References

External links

* *
FC Kansas City player profile

Texas A&M player profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Groom, Shea 1993 births Living people American women's soccer players Texas A&M Aggies women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players FC Kansas City players Soccer players from Missouri Sportspeople from the Kansas City metropolitan area People from Liberty, Missouri Women's association football forwards FC Kansas City draft picks NJ/NY Gotham FC players OL Reign players Houston Dash players