Courtney Tole (; born April 13, 1992) is an American

women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries and 176 national ...

coach for the La Salle Explorers women's soccer team, and a retired professional soccer player who last played as a defender for the

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage is a professional women's soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acquired National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise rights from the Western New York ...

of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Early life

Tole was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. She played high school soccer at Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls, where she was a four-year varsity letter-winner in both soccer and lacrosse, and played club soccer for FC Delco Sting.

Collegiate career

Tole attended La Salle University, where she played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for the

Explorers Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

until switching to defense during the preseason of her sophomore year to cover for a teammate's injury. She scored 8 goals and had 14 assists in 87 appearances for the Explorers, starting every game her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. The Atlantic 10 Conference named her its defensive player of the year in 2012 and to the all-conference first team in 2012 and 2013. The Explorers won the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship in 2012 and 2013, with Tole scoring in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

in the latter to help secure the title. La Salle named Tole to its Hall of Athletes in 2021.

Club career

Tole registered for the

2014 NWSL College Draft The 2014 NWSL College Draft was the second annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 17, 2014, at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was open ...

but was not selected.

Portland Thorns (2014–2015)

In March 2014,

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

invited Tole to open tryouts and she was selected to the club's preseason roster. Portland signed Tole to a professional contract on April 9, 2014. Following an ankle injury to starter

Rachel Van Hollebeke Rachel Marie Buehler Van Hollebeke ( ; ; born August 26, 1985) is an American former soccer player who last played as a defender for the Portland Thorns FC and the United States women's national soccer team. In 2015, Van Hollebeke retired from ...

before the 2014 season's opening match, Tole became a starting outside back for the club. On June 24, 2015, the Thorns waived Tole.

Western New York Flash (2016)

The

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American soccer club based in Elma, New York that competed in the United Women's Soccer league. They have won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-League in 2010, Women's Pro ...

signed Tole for the 2016 season. Tole appeared in six matches for the Flash, starting in four, and played 395 total minutes. The team picked up her contract option to extend her through 2017. Tole was an unused substitute for the Flash in the 2016 NWSL Championship match, which the Flash won in a

North Carolina Courage (2017)

On January 9, 2017, the NWSL announced that the Western New York Flash's NWSL franchise rights had been sold to new ownership, with its roster and player rights reassigned to the newly created

. On May 27, 2017, Tole announced her retirement from professional soccer without making an appearance for the Courage.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Tole joined the La Salle Explorers women's soccer coaching staff in July 2017 as an assistant coach while returning to the university to attend graduate school.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

La Salle University * Atlantic 10 Conference Championship: 2012, 2013 Western New York Flash * National Women's Soccer League Championship: 2016 Individual *

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

Defensive Player of the Year: 2012 * First Team All-Atlantic 10: 2012, 2013 * First Team NSCAA All-Mid Atlantic Region: 2012 * Second Team NSCAA All-Mid Atlantic Region: 2013 * La Salle University Hall of Athletes: 2021

References

External links

* *
Portland Thorns player profile

La Salle Hall of Athletes profileplayer profilecoach profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niemiec, Courtney 1992 births Living people National Women's Soccer League players Portland Thorns FC players Soccer players from Philadelphia La Salle University alumni La Salle Explorers women's soccer players Western New York Flash players North Carolina Courage players Women's association football defenders American women's soccer players