Ashlyn Harris

Ashlyn Harris

Harris with United States Women's National Soccer Team, June 2014
Personal information
Full nameAshlyn Michelle Harris
Date of birthOctober 19, 1985
Place of birthCocoa Beach, Florida, United States
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Club information
Current team
Washington Spirit
Number1
Youth career
2001–2004Satellite High School
2006–2009North Carolina Tar Heels
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2009Pali Blues5(0)
2010Saint Louis Athletica0(0)
2010Washington Freedom9(0)
2011–2012Western New York Flash18(0)
2012-2013FCR 2001 Duisburg6(0)
2013–Washington Spirit37(0)
2013→ Tyresö FF (loan)7(0)
National team‡
2000–2004United States U-19
2005–2006United States U-21
2013–United States6(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of December 11, 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of February 13, 2015

Ashlyn Michelle Harris (born October 19, 1985) is an American professional soccer goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team and NWSL club the Washington Spirit.[1] She previously played for the Saint Louis Athletica, Washington Freedom, and Western New York Flash of Women's Professional Soccer as well as FCR 2001 Duisburg of Fußball-Bundesliga (women) in Germany[2] and Tyresö FF of the Swedish Damallsvenskan.

Early life

Harris was a four-year (2001–2004) starter at Satellite High School in Satellite Beach, Florida. Harris played for legendary high school coach Fidgi Haig.[3] Haig is now the head soccer coach at Florida Tech University. Harris has the distinction as being the first Four-Time Parade All-American in women's high school soccer history.[4] Harris led the Scorpions to the state titles in 2002 and 2003.

Harris starred for the 2002 team that finished 29-1-1, scoring 178 goals, allowed 10 goals in 31 games and finished No. 1 in the state and No. 5 nationally by Student Sports Magazine. An incredible 16 players went onto play college from the 2002 squad, with 10 going Division 1, with Harris being the cream of the crop.

In 2004, during her senior year, Harris recorded 15 shutouts while allowing only 8 goals and making 52 saves.[5] She was named the 2004 Gatorade National Women's Soccer Player of the Year.[6] In 2004, her team was rated No. 1 in the country by StudentSports.com.

High School controversy

In 2003, Harris was mired in an attendance controversy between her and the Brevard County School Board. In 2002, during her sophomore year at Satellite, Harris missed 39 days of school. Despite missing these classes, she still kept up a 3.5 GPA. The following year, the School Board enforced its rule of failing students who missed more than nine classroom days per semester. In August 2002, Harris was set to embark on a 17-day trip to compete in the FIFA Women's World Championship in Victoria, British Columbia. Due to this rule, Harris was going to fail out of school.[7] However, Harris ended up staying eligible by making up all of her coursework.

University of North Carolina

During her collegiate career, Harris served as the starting goalkeeper for the University of North Carolina women's soccer team.[4]

Harris signed with the Tarheels to play for head coach Anson Dorrance. Harris did not play in 2004 due to national team commitments but came back to play for the Tar Heels in 2005. However, Harris tore her right anterior cruciate ligament during her first practice with UNC. Despite being hurt, Harris still made the 2005-2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll team.

Redshirt Freshman Season (2006) Harris tore her ACL again in the summer of 2006. However, she came back to play in the final six games of the regular season for the Tar Heels. Dorrance employed a unique strategy, playing Harris in the second half of the games.[8] Harris played in the 2006 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament, and played the second half versus University of North Carolina-Asheville in a 7-0 victory, vs. Navy in a 3-0 victory in the second round of the tourney, vs. the University of Tennessee in a 6-2 victory in the Round of 16, vs. Texas A&M in a 3-2 victory in the quarterfinals, vs. UCLA in a 2-0 victory in the semifinals of the final four, and started the second half in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship vs. Notre Dame in a 2-1 victory.[9]

Redshirt Sophomore Season (2007) Dorrance again employed the two-goalkeeper method, as Harris split time with junior GK Anna Rodenbough. Harris played in 19 games and made 9 starts, playing in a total of 1120 minutes and 7 seconds to lead all goalkeepers. Her record was 10 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. She faced 78 shots, made 29 saves, and allowed only 9 goals in 19 games for a 0.66 goals allowed per game average. On November 24, 2007, UNC lost for only its 7th time in school history in the NCAA tournament as they lost 3-2 to Notre Dame in the first round. Harris started and played all 90 minutes and allowed all three goals. The three goals came off of a header on a throw-in, a goal off of a failed clear, and a breakaway goal. The first two goals were scored only 14 seconds apart. The three goals UNC allowed were the most allowed in a NCAA game in 17 years when they won 4-3 versus North Carolina State on November 11, 1990.[10]

Redshirt Junior Season (2008) Dorrance has employed Harris in the two-goalkeeper system along with senior Anna Rodenbough. Rodenbough plays the first 45 minutes while Harris plays the last 45 minutes. Through September 28, 2008, UNC is 9-1-1 and is currently ranked No. 3 in the country according to the national rankings by Soccer Buzz Magazine. Harris has played 476 minutes and 24 seconds while holding a record of 4-0-1 with 14 saves.[11]

Playing career

Club

Saint Louis Athletica

Harris was selected with the 19th pick in the 2010 WPS Draft by the Saint Louis Athletica.[12] On June 1, 2010, she became a free agent upon the team's dissolution.[13]

Washington Freedom

On June 2, 2010, Harris signed with the Washington Freedom.[14] She started all ten of her appearances for the Freedom for a total of 930 minutes in goal.[15][16]

Western New York Flash

By 2011, Harris was considered a top goalkeeper and was offered a starting position with an expansion team, the Western New York Flash. She started in each of the eighteen games for the Flash, allowing just eighteen goals for a GAA of 1.00. Despite being left off of the roster for the US Women's National Soccer team for the 2011 World Cup, Harris led the Flash to the 2011 WPS Championship. When a 1-1 tie with the Philadelphia Independence left the outcome of the match to be decided by penalty kicks, both teams were nearly perfect, but Harris made the last save to clinch the win for the Flash. She was named the 2011 Coast Guard Goalkeeper of the Year.[17]

FCR 2001 Duisburg

In June 2012 after the folding of the WPS, Harris signed a two-year contract with FCR 2001 Duisburg in the Fußball-Bundesliga (women) league[2] but announced via Twitter on February 23 that she would be ending her time in Germany to return home and join the National Women's Soccer League. During her time with the team, she started all seven of her appearances for a total of 630 minutes.[15]

Washington Spirit

On January 11, 2013, Harris was allocated to the Washington Spirit during the NWSL Player Allocation for the inaugural season of the NWSL.[1][18][19]

Tyresö FF (Damallsvenskan)

After signing a short term contract through November,[20] Harris played her first game for Tyresö on August 21, 2013 just days after the end of the NWSL season. She joined U.S. Women's National teammates Christen Press, Ali Krieger, and Meghan Klingenberg at the defending Swedish champions. While some American players delayed their return from Sweden, to try and win the UEFA Women's Champions League, Harris announced that she would return to the Washington Spirit for the start of the 2014 campaign.[21]

International

Harris represented the United States as a member of the U-16, U-17, and U-19 teams. She is a member of the United States national women's soccer team player pool.[22] She earned her first appearance with the senior team on March 11, 2013 against Sweden.

Honors

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.ussoccer.com/NWSL/Allocated-Players.aspx
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.womenssoccerunited.com/group/fuballbundesliga/forum/topics/ashlyn-harris-western-new-york-flash-usa-champion-keeper-signs-a
  3. ↑ Florida Institute of Technology
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 University of North Carolina Tar Heels Official Athletic Site
  5. ↑ Ashlyn Harris
  6. ↑ All-time Gatorade National Players of the Year | Coach and Athletic Director | Find Articles at BNET.com
  7. ↑ APSE | Associated Press Sports Editors
  8. ↑ ESPN - North Carolina's freshman orientation is on the field - College Sports
  9. ↑ NCAA soccer: Daily roundup of 2006 Division I women's game scores
  10. ↑ University of North Carolina Tar Heels Official Athletic Site
  11. ↑ UNC Moves Up In NSCAA, Soccer Buzz Polls
  12. ↑ http://www.womensprosoccer.com/players/legacy/stlouis/bios/ashlyn-harris
  13. ↑ http://www.womensprosoccer.com/news/press_releases/100527-athletica-folds
  14. ↑ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/403194-qa-with-washington-freedoms-newest-goalkeeper-ashlyn-harris
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Ashlyn Harris". Soccer Way. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "Freedom Newbies: Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  17. ↑ "Independence sweep top WPS awards". Philly.com. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  18. ↑ "NWSL allocation easier said than done". ESPN. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  19. ↑ "Player distribution sees NWSL take shape". FIFA. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  20. ↑ Kassouf, Jeff (22 July 2013). "Ashlyn Harris to join Tyresö after NWSL season". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  21. ↑ Kassouf, Jeff (16 December 2013). "Ashlyn Harris leaves Tyresö, returning to Spirit". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  22. ↑ "Ashlyn Harris player profile". US Soccer. Retrieved 11 January 2013.

External links