Meredith Beard

Meredith Beard
Teaching soccer to an Afghan girl in June 2004
Personal information
Full name Meredith Grace Beard
Birth name Meredith Grace Florance[1]
Date of birth (1979-05-10) May 10, 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Dallas, United States
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1994–1996 Dallas Sting
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2000 North Carolina Tar Heels
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001 Carolina Courage 20 (2)
2002–2003 Washington Freedom 19 (1)
International career
1999–2001 United States 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Meredith Grace Beard (née Florance; born May 10, 1979) is an American former professional soccer player. A forward, she represented the Carolina Courage and the Washington Freedom of Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). She won three caps for the United States national team.

College career

As a senior at North Carolina, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top soccer player.[2][3]

Club career

Beard was the Carolina Courage's second draft pick ahead of the inaugural 2001 season of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).[4] Ahead of the 2002 season she joined the Washington Freedom as a free agent. She was mainly a substitute at the Freedom, as coach Jim Gabarra preferred to field celebrated forwards Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach.

In 2003, Beard's Freedom team won the Founders Cup, but she did not play in the post-season fixtures. When WUSA subsequently folded, she began working for a kitchen and bathroom showroom.[5]

International career

In February 1999, Beard won her first cap for the United States national team. She played the second half of a 3–1 behind closed doors win over Finland in Orlando.[6] She played two more matches for the national team in January 2001, both against China.[7]

Personal life

In February 2002 she married Ryan Beard.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Meredith Florance". North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "Meredith Florance Wins Honda Soccer Award". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  3. ^ "Soccer". CWSA. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  4. ^ "Rating the eight WUSA teams" (PDF). Soccer America. December 25, 2000. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  5. ^ Steinberg, Dan (June 13, 2004). "Coping with the loss of Freedom". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  6. ^ "American kids defeat Finland 3-1". Soccer Times. February 24, 1999. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  7. ^ "Forward: Meredith Florance". Soccer Times. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  8. ^ "USA arrives in Panyu, China after long day of travel". United States Soccer Federation. January 9, 2001. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
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