Kelsey Laine Wys (born February 4, 1991) is an American soccer

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former professional

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. She currently serves as an assistant coach for the

Appalachian State Mountaineers The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and wer ...

Playing career

College

Wys attended Florida State University and played for the

Seminoles The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

from 2010 to 2013.

Club

Western New York Flash

In January 2014, Wys was selected by 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 Profes ...

in the second round (18th selection overall) of 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 ...

. She made her debut for the team on May 11, 2014, during a home match against

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 201 ...

. During the game, Wys provided a direct assist to striker

Abby Wambach Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American retired soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on the U.S. women's na ...

, a first for a goalkeeper in the league.

Washington Spirit

In 2015, Wys was traded to the

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and con ...

in exchange for goalkeeper

Chantel Jones Chantel Nicole Jones (born July 20, 1988) is a retired American professional soccer player who works as a goalkeeping coach at Canberra United in the W-League. She previously played as a goalkeeper for the professional Icelandic team, Þór Ak ...

. She made her debut for the Spirit during a 3–1 defeat to

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 Seattle on 2 May. Wys started in 11 games for the Spirit in 2015. The Coral Springs, Fla native tallied 35 saves and three shutouts. In 2016, Wys started 12 regular season matches and both post season matches for the Spirit. After four seasons with the Spirit, Wys was waived ahead of the 2019 season to pursue opportunities overseas.

=Loan to Newcastle Jets

= In November 2016, Wys joined Australian club

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...

on a season long loan. In her 3rd match, on November 20, 2016, Wys tore her

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

ruling her out for the rest of the season.

UMF Selfoss

In April 2019, Wys joined

UMF Selfoss Ungmennafélag Selfoss, commonly known as Selfoss or UMF Selfoss, is an Icelandic multisport club, located in the town of Selfoss in the Southern Region. In May 2019, the Selfoss men's handball team won the national handball championship for th ...

of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild kvenna. On 17 August 2019, she helped Selfoss defeat KR, 2–1, in the Icelandic Cup finals, securing the club's first major trophy.

Coaching career

Appalachian State

In February 2020, Wys was announced as an assistant coach for the women's soccer team at

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

. In February 2022, Wys was announced as goalkeeper coach at the University of Missouri.

Personal

Wys currently resides in Columbia, Missouri. Wys reportedly spends her time off the pitch managing a grade V bilateral quad strain.

References

External links

*
Washington Spirit player profile

Florida State Seminoles player profile
1991 births Living people American women's soccer players Florida State Seminoles women's soccer players Newcastle Jets FC (A-League Women) players National Women's Soccer League players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' soccer) Kelsey Wys Kelsey Wys A-League Women players Washington Spirit players Western New York Flash draft picks Western New York Flash players Women's association football goalkeepers American expatriate women's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Australia American expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate women's footballers in Iceland Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia Appalachian State Mountaineers coaches College women's soccer coaches in the United States {{US-women-footy-bio-stub