American soccer player (born 1997)
Elisabeth Charlotte Jean (born January 31, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Early life
Jean was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee ,[ 1] and grew up in Coventry, Connecticut . As a child, she practiced gymnastics before taking up soccer, initially at Northeast United.[ 3] At age 13, she moved teams to youth soccer club Oakwood SC in Glastonbury, Connecticut , where she played for five years.[ 3] She attended Coventry High School but did not play soccer for the school, instead competing in cross country running .[ 1] [ 3] The Hartford Courant named her its cross country runner of the year in her senior year.[ 3]
College career
In the 2015 season , Jean was credited with six assists in 26 matches played for the Nittany Lions, and the team won the national championship .[ 4] [ 3] She redshirted in her sophomore season to play for the United States women's national under-20 soccer team at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup .[ 1] Jean finished her Penn State career in 2018 with 100 appearances, one goal, and eight assists.[ 2]
Club career
Jean played for the New England Mutiny of United Women's Soccer in 2018 and 2019.[ 5]
FC Nordsjælland, 2020
Jean opted not to register for the 2020 NWSL College Draft .[ 6]
On January 14, 2020, Jean signed a contract with semi-professional Danish club FC Nordsjælland of the Danish Women's League .[ 7] However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports , all sport in Denmark was locked down and banned on March 6, 2020, suspending the 2019–20 season .[ 8] Jean returned to the United States in March.[ 9]
PSV Eindhoven, 2020–2022
On May 1, 2020, Jean was transferred to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and signed a two-year contract with the club.[ 10] She appeared in 22 league matches for PSV, and four matches of the team's 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League campaign, debuting in the European competition in December 2020 in a 1–4 loss to FC Barcelona .[ 6] [ 4]
NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2022–2023
On January 31, 2022, NWSL club NJ/NY Gotham FC paid an undisclosed transfer fee to acquire Jean from PSV with six months remaining on her contract with the Dutch club.[ 11] Gotham signed her to a one-year contract with an option for an additional year.[ 12]
In 2023, newly appointed Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós shifted Jean from her traditional role as a fullback to center back , pairing her with Ali Krieger .[ 13] Gotham FC would go on to win the NWSL Championship .
Racing Louisville FC, 2024–
On December 12, 2023 Gotham FC traded Jean to expansion team Bay FC in exchange for 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft protection.[ 14] On December 18, Jean was traded to Racing Louisville FC .[ 15]
International career
Jean was called into camp for the United States under-15 team in October 2012.[ 16]
On September 25, 2013, Jean was named to the United States under-17 roster for the 2013 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship .[ 17] Jean captained the team at the tournament.[ 2] [ 18]
In 2016, Jean started in all six matches for the United States under-20 team at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup .[ 4]
In March 2017, Jean was called into camp for the United States under-23 team for the first time.[ 19] In June 2017, she was named to the under-23 roster for the 2017 Nordic Cup , where the United States finished in second place.[ 20] Jean was called into under-23 camp again in July 2017[ 21] and January 2018,[ 22] and in March was named to the roster that would compete in the 2018 Portland Thorns FC Spring Invitational pre-season tournament.[ 23]
Personal life
Jean is Dominican American .[ 24] [ 25]
Jean's birth father, Domingo Jean , had been a pitcher for the New York Yankees in 1993.[ 3] He left the family when Jean was a child, and Jean's mother, Rebecca, raised her as a single parent.[ 24] Jean's mother remarried, and Jean's stepfather Kevin Bacher was an assistant coach for the UConn Huskies men's soccer team,[ 3] [ 25] [ 26] which inspired Jean to play soccer. Jean would later reconnect with her father and half-brother as an adult after returning to the United States from the Netherlands in 2022.[ 25]
Honors
Penn State Nittany Lions
PSV Eindhoven
NJ/NY Gotham FC
References
^ a b c d e "Ellie Jean" . Penn State Nittany Lions . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ a b c d "#21 Ellie Jean" . NJ/NY Gotham FC . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ a b c d e f g Riley, Lori (October 27, 2016). "Coventry's Ellie Jean Ready For U-20 World Cup Soccer Run" . Hartford Courant . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ a b c d Sigal, Jonathan (December 10, 2020). "Ellie Jean plays in Champions League for PSV Eindhoven vs. FC Barcelona" . New England Soccer Journal . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "Five More UWS Alumnae Sign Pro Deals" (Press release). United Women's Soccer . August 17, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ a b "NJ/NY Gotham FC Adds Champions League Experience, Signing Defender Ellie Jean" (Press release). NJ/NY Gotham FC . January 31, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ Sigal, Jonathan (January 14, 2020). "Ellie Jean signs with FC Nordsjælland: "I wanted to branch out" " . New England Soccer Journal . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "Sporten lukker ned i Danmark: Få overblikket her" (in Danish). TV2 . 6 March 2020.
^ Lapreziosa, Madeline (December 9, 2020). "Former Penn State women's soccer player Ellie Jean strives to make a difference on and off the field" . Daily Collegian . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ Sigal, Jonathan (May 4, 2020). "Ellie Jean signs with PSV Eindhoven: How the transfer came together" . New England Soccer Journal . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ a b "Jean maakt transfer naar Gotham FC" [Jean transfers to Gotham FC] (Press release). PSV Eindhoven . January 31, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ Derksen, Linda (February 1, 2022). "Gotham FC koopt contract Ellie Jean bij PSV af" . ED (in Dutch). Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ Albert, Cameron (May 24, 2023). "The secrets of their success: Why Gotham FC now top NWSL table" . Hudson River Blue . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "Bay FC Acquires defender Ellie Jean from NJ/NY Gotham FC, Allocation Money from Racing Louisville FC in three-team trade" . Bay FC . 2023-12-12. Retrieved 2023-12-13 .
^ "Racing acquires defender Ellie Jean in trade" .
^ "U.S. under-15 and under-14 national team rosters" . Soccer America . October 18, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "U.S. under-17 women's national team roster" . Soccer America . September 25, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "J17 WNT beats Canada 2–0 to win Group B" . TopDrawerSoccer.com (Press release). United States Soccer Federation . November 4, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "Ellie Jean, Kaleigh Riehl selected for U.S. U-23 camp" . Centre Daily Times . March 22, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "U.S. U-23 WNT Finishes Second at Four-Nations Nordic Tournament" (Press release). Penn State Nittany Lions . June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "U.S. Womens' [sic] U-23 Camp Coming To UW Campus" (Press release). Washington Huskies . July 21, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "Roster announced for first U.S. U-23 WNT training camp of 2018" . SoccerWire (Press release). United States Soccer Federation . January 2, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ Scavuzzo, Diane (March 8, 2018). "U223 Women's Roster for Thorns Spring Invitational" . SoccerToday . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ a b Jean, Ellie (June 5, 2020). "Interview: Best of 2020 Part 3, Black Women Athletes Speak Out" . Burn It All Down (Interview). Interviewed by Amira Rose Davis. Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ a b c Tonelli, Jenna (February 22, 2022). "Gotham Has a New Defender: Ellie Jean" . Nets Republic . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ Sigal, Jonathan (October 8, 2018). "Oakwood midfielder Owen Guglielmino verbally commits to UConn" . New England Soccer Journal . Retrieved June 10, 2023 .
^ "NWSL Championship highlights: Gotham FC crowned champions as Rapinoe, Krieger end careers" . USA Today . 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2022-11-12 .
External links
Head coach: Yanez
Goalkeeping coach: Gonzalez