Profile

Jessica
McDonald

Position Forward
Number 14
Date of Birth Feb 28 1988
Hometown Phoenix, AZ
Height 5' 11"
Club North Carolina Courage

Jessica McDonald is a powerful forward with a proven track record of goal-scoring—she was the first NWSL player to reach 33 regular-season goals. In 2017 and 2018, McDonald’s goals and assists helped lead the North Carolina Courage to two NWSL Shields. She is also mother to seven-year-old Jeremiah and her son is a huge part of her motivation to chase her dreams. “I want him to be proud of his mom,” McDonald says with an ear to ear smile.

NWSL Mom

In the past ten years, Jessica McDonald has played for nine different professional teams—the Chicago Red Stars, SC Herford, Melbourne Victory FC, the Seattle Reign, the Portland Thorns, the Houston Dash, and the North Carolina Courage (previously the Western New York Flash). As a mother, moving from city to city wasn’t easy, but McDonald refused to give up her dream: to one day make the National Team. “I wanted to be able to tell my son Jeremiah that I went for it,” says McDonald. On November 2016, she earned her long-awaited call-up to the U.S. WNT. At age 31, her years of unwavering perseverance and steady goal scoring paid off. She’s headed to France for the 2019 World Cup, where she’ll look to inject speed and strength into the frontline.

A Family Affair

As a kid, Jessica’s grandma told her she couldn’t just sit on the couch—that she had to pick up a sport. Her brother played soccer, so she thought to herself, I guess I’ll play soccer like Brandon. He continued to inspire her, playing on Youth National Teams as a kid and playing in the MLS from 2008 through 2011. Since then, he’s played in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand—and he follows his sister’s career as closely as she follows his. He couldn’t be happier for his sister as she heads to her first World Cup, where she’ll hope to make an impact on the pitch.