McClelland's new NWSL contract spotlights Rutgers and NJ's role as pipeline for the pros
The number of Jersey-bred players in professional women’s soccer is growing.
The Chicago Red Stars just signed former Rutgers goalkeeper Meagan McClelland. The Kearny native joins several Scarlet Knights in the National Women’s Soccer League, including former teammates Amirah Ali, Gabby Provenzano, Frankie Tagliaferri, Madison Pogarch, Kristen Edmonds and Casey Murphy.
It’s been an exciting couple of months for McClelland since ending her collegiate career.
In January, the goalkeeper had her eyes set on the NWSL draft. Though her name wasn’t called at the draft in Philadelphia, the Chicago Red Stars invited her to training camp the following week, and they now have signed her to a deal.
McClelland is no stranger to professional soccer. She had a taste for playing at the NWSL level last spring when she was called up to the U-23 national team for the 2022 Thorns Preseason Tournament. Her squad played against the Portland Thorns, Racing Louisville FC and OL Reign.
The experience was like “an awakening,” she told me earlier this year. “Every time I trained or played in the game, I was like, ‘Okay, I might not be playing against Sophia Smith right now. But when I did play against her, this is what I had to do.’”
Ties between the NWSL and Rutgers run deep with the number of Scarlet Knights on active NWSL rosters growing in recent years.
The program has long been a familiar name in pro circles with former grads like Cari Lloyd representing Rutgers on some of the world’s biggest stages. The team’s current assistant coach, Madison Tiernan, is also a Rutgers grad and former pro who played for New Jersey’s Sky Blue FC, which is now Gotham FC.
One of the program’s more prominent alums right now is Casey Murphy, a goalkeeper with the North Carolina Courage and a familiar face on the United States Women’s National Team rotation. Murphy — who McClelland leaned on this past off-season in training sessions — is likely to earn a spot on the 23-player roster for this summer’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.
It should come as no surprise that players from New Jersey are thriving at the highest level of soccer.
Kristen Edmonds on Gotham FC
The sport is incredibly competitive in the Garden State. A town like Kearny, where McClelland is from, is referred to as Soccertown USA and just one town over from Red Bull Arena, one of the largest soccer-specific stadiums in the country. The stadium, home of the New York Red Bulls and Gotham FC, has welcomed teams from all over the world since its opening in 2010, including the Argentinean men’s national team for their farewell tour before heading to the World Cup last year.
This weekend, another Rutgers star will be enjoying a homecoming of her own. Edmonds, who signed with Gotham as a free agent in the offseason, has played every minute of the team’s first two games since opening day. On Saturday, Gotham travels to Orlando to face one of her former clubs, the Orlando Pride, where she played from 2016 to 2020.
The Metuchen native is a 2008 Rutgers grad and was the first rookie to lead the Scarlet Knights in scoring since Carli Lloyd. Edmonds has played on several professional clubs since her pro debut in 2011, including clubs in Iceland and Russia. Most of her NWSL career was in Orlando. Last year, she played with the Kansas City Current.
Pro women soccer players from throughout NJ
It’s not just Rutgers stars from New Jersey that make it pro, of course. There are plenty of NJ stars from other schools in the big leagues, like Roxbury’s Paige Monaghan. The former Butler University Bulldog was selected by Sky Blue as the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft, becoming the first player from her alma mater to be drafted into the league. She played for Sky Blue, now Gotham, through the 2022 season, before being traded to Racing Louisville this year.
Hazlet’s Jyllissa Harris, a fifth-year defender with the University of South Carolina, was the sole player from New Jersey signed by a NWSL team during this year's college draft. The Red Bank Catholic alum has been suiting up for the Houston Dash this season.
So, it should go without saying: though McClelland is the latest Jersey player to sign with a NWSL team, she won’t be the last.
Women & Sport is a NorthJersey.com column devoted to female athletes from the rec league level to those in college and the pros. If you've got a tip on an athlete from North Jersey who should be noted in the column, no matter how young they are or how old, please drop me a line at anzidei@northjersey.com.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NWSL: Rutgers, NJ have become key pipeline for pro women's soccer
