Karina Chenelle LeBlanc (born March 30, 1980) is an American-born Canadian former 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 ...

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 o ...

and current general manager of the

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 ...

. She played for the Canadian national team and multiple professional women's teams in the United States over her fourteen-year career.

Early life

LeBlanc was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia, to a Dominica father (from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

) and a Jamaican mother, Vans LeBlanc and Winsome LeBlanc, who had temporarily relocated to Atlanta to avoid the dangers of

Hurricane David Hurricane David was an extremely deadly hurricane which caused massive loss of life in the Dominican Republic in August 1979, and was the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the country in recorded history. A Cape Verde hurricane that rea ...

. LeBlanc grew up in Dominica until age eight when her family moved to

Maple Ridge, British Columbia Maple Ridge is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the northeastern section of Greater Vancouver between the Fraser River and the Golden Ears, which is a group of mountain summits which are the southernmost of the Garibaldi ...

. LeBlanc began playing soccer at age 12 and was named one of the top 20 Division I recruits by ''USA Today'' in 1997, even though Maple Ridge Secondary School did not have a girls soccer team. She was also an all-provincial basketball player and was voted British Columbia's Most Defensive Player in basketball in 1997.

University of Nebraska

LeBlanc attended the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

and earned a degree in business administration. She played goalkeeper for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

from 1997 to 2000 and became one of the school's most decorated goalkeepers in the history of the program. She was a finalist for the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

in 2000 and named to the 2001 Umbro Select All-Star Classic Women's Elite College Team. She was also a two-time All-Big 12 selection and was named an All-American.

Playing career

Club

Boston Breakers

LeBlanc played for

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 ...

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 ...

, the first women's professional soccer league in the United States.

Montreal Xtreme, New Jersey wildCat

In 2004, she played for the

Montreal Xtreme The Montreal Xtreme were a women's soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They played only the 2004 season in the W-League. The team played its home games in Soccerplexe Catalogna in Lachine, Quebec. The team's colours were blue and wh ...

of the W-League followed by the

New Jersey Wildcats The New Jersey Wildcats is an American women’s soccer team, founded by Vincent Baldino in 1996. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played ...

from 2005 to 2006.

Los Angeles Sol

In 2009, she was acquired in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2009 WPS General Draft by the

Los Angeles Sol The Los Angeles Sol was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The team was co-owned and operated by Blue Star, LLC and AEG, a subsidia ...

. She started and played in 19 regular-season matches for the team, saving 78 of 93 shots. LeBlanc was named to the 2009 WPS All-Star Team Starting XI.

Philadelphia Independence

In 2010, she was selected in the first round (second overall) of the 2010 Los Angeles Sol Dispersal Draft by the

Philadelphia Independence The Philadelphia Independence was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010 and played its home games at West ...

magicJack

In August 2011, it was reported that LeBlanc had signed with

magicJack MagicJack is an Internet-based telephone service (VoIP) provider in the United States and Canada. It offers nationwide VoIP and cellphone services. MagicJack VOIP service is a computer peripheral that, in combination with telephony service ...

and stepped in as goalkeeper after

Hope Solo Hope Amelia Stevens (; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Afte ...

was sidelined with an injury.

Sky Blue FC

In December 2011, she was signed to the

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 ...

for the 2012 season; however, the WPS league folded before the season began.

Portland Thorns FC

Karina LeBlanc 2013-05-04 Spirit - Thorns-142

On January 11, 2013, it was announced that LeBlanc was one of two Canadian national team members selected to join the

by way of weighted allocation. On January 13, 2014, Portland Thorns FC announced that LeBlanc had been traded to the

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...

in exchange for the 2nd round draft pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft.

Chicago Red Stars

LeBlanc finished her 2014 season with 76 saves and a goal against per game average of 1.0, in 21 matches; just behind league leaders

Alyssa Naeher Alyssa Michele Naeher (born April 20, 1988) is an American soccer goalkeeper for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She was on the 23-player roster for the United States at t ...

's 106 saves, and

's .90 goal against average. Because of participation in

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

LeBlanc played eight matches for Red Stars in 2015. At the end of 2015 season, LeBlac called it a career and retired from professional soccer. For her performance in her last professional match LeBlanc was named NWSL Player of the week of week 21.

International

LeBlanc represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at five FIFA Women's World Cups, at the 2008 Olympics and at two

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

, winning the gold medal with the national team at the

2011 Pan Am Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán ...

by stopping two penalty shots in the final. She made her one hundredth appearance for Canada in March 2012 and later that year was part of the Canadian team that won the bronze medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Prior to

, LeBlanc announced her retirement from international soccer at the end of the tournament.

Coaching career

LeBlanc served as an assistant coach at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

from 2005 to 2009. She has also served as a goalkeeper coach with the Canadian under-15 national team, and developed goalkeeping clinics throughout the United States and Canada.

Management career

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...

hired LeBlanc to be the head of women's soccer in July 2018. She left that position in 2021 to become general manager of the Portland Thorns FC. Her predecessor,

Gavin Wilkinson Gavin Wilkinson (born 5 November 1973) is a former New Zealand footballer who served as general manager and President of Soccer for the Portland Timbers from 2009 to 2022. Prior to this position, Wilkinson was manager of Portland Timbers in th ...

, was removed because of the 2021 NWSL abuse scandal.

Honours

* Canada Soccer Hall of Fame (2022) * She received the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

(2022) "for her contributions to the sport of soccer worldwide, and for her use of soccer as a tool for social change."

Personal life

LeBlanc was raised

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

but later became a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

while studying in college. LeBlanc married Jason Mathot in October 2016. On March 24 2020, she gave birth to their daughter, Paris.

References

External links

* * * / Canada Soccer Hall of Fame
Chicago Red Stars player profile

Portland Thorns FC player profile

Los Angeles Sol player profile

Nebraska player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leblanc, Karina 1980 births Living people Canada women's international soccer players Black Canadian women's soccer players Olympic soccer players of Canada Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Nebraska Cornhuskers women's soccer players Boston Breakers (WUSA) players Los Angeles Sol players Philadelphia Independence players MagicJack (WPS) players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2011 Pan American Games USL W-League (1995–2015) players FIFA Century Club National Women's Soccer League players Olympic medalists in football Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Portland Thorns FC players Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Soccer players from Atlanta Soccer people from British Columbia People from Maple Ridge, British Columbia Canadian people of Dominica descent Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent Dominica emigrants to Canada Chicago Red Stars players Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian soccer commentators Women's association football goalkeepers Canadian women's soccer players Pan American Games medalists in football New Jersey Wildcats players Converts to Baptist denominations from Roman Catholicism Canadian Baptists Women's Professional Soccer commentators Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Women's Professional Soccer players Members of the Order of Canada