In her youth, McDermott played in the Washington Area Girls Soccer League and Virginia Youth Soccer Association Olympic Development Program.[8] She played for the McLean Highlanders in high school, where she was selected in the all-metropolitan team. She also participated in basketball and field hockey at McLean, and was chosen as the team's most valuable player in both sports. In college, she played for the North Carolina Tar Heels from 1983 to 1986. The team won the national championship in three of the seasons (1983, 1984, and 1986). During her career with the Tar Heels, she scored 26 goals and recorded 46 assists in 89 matches.[9][10][11][12] She was an NSCAA First-Team All-American in 1986, and was included in the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 1983, 1985, and 1986.[5]
McDermott was active in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), having served on the women's committee (1994–2000), board of directors (1999–2000), executive committee (2006–2011), and as president (2010–2011).[2]
Awards
McDermott was included in the ACC 50th Anniversary Women's Soccer Team in 2002.[14] She was inducted into the Virginia–D.C. Soccer Hall of Fame in 2009,[15] and the McLean High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.[16][17] In 2016, the NSCAA announced that they would honor McDermott with the Women's Soccer Award of Excellence.[18]
