Ward began playing soccer at age four.[2] She played for various club teams, including Atlanta Fire United and Tophat SC.[1][3] She also played for the Georgia Olympic Development Program (ODP) team.[4] She played four years of high school soccer at St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta, helping win the NSCAA national championships in 2009 and three state titles from 2009 to 2011.[1]
Ward was first invited to try out for the women's deaf national team at age 12.[7] At age 15, she knew little sign language before joining the team for the 2009 Summer Deaflympics in Taiwan, where she was a flag bearer for her country at the opening ceremony.[5][7] She started every match to help the team win gold, scoring two goals, including one in the final, and was the youngest goalscorer in tournament history.[7][8] She started every game at her next international tournament, the 2012 World Deaf Football Championships in Turkey, and recorded one goal and four assists as United States took the gold medal.[8] She continued to win gold with the team at the 2013 Deaflympics in Bulgaria, where she opened scoring in the final, and the 2016 World Championships in Italy.[5][9]
Ward was raised in Chamblee, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, one of three children born to Tony and Joan Ward.[3][14] Her family realized when she was three years old that she was deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other.[15] She became totally deaf at the age of six and had surgery to wear cochlear implants.[5][15]