Ellie Jean
![]() Jean with Racing Louisville in 2024 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Elisabeth Charlotte Jean[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | January 31, 1997||
Place of birth | Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States[1] | ||
Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Racing Louisville FC | ||
Number | 5 | ||
Youth career | |||
Oakwood SC | |||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2018 | Penn State | 100 | (8) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2018–2019 | New England Mutiny | ||
2020 | FC Nordsjælland | ||
2020–2022 | PSV Eindhoven | 22 | |
2022–2023 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 33 | (0) |
2024– | Racing Louisville FC | 0 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2013 | United States U17 | ||
2016 | United States U20 | ||
2017–2018 | United States U23 | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 10, 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 10, 2023 |
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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Jean played for the New England Mutiny of United Women's Soccer in 2018 and 2019.[5]
FC Nordsjælland, 2020
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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–
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Penn State Nittany Lions
PSV Eindhoven
- KNVB Women's Cup: 2020–21[11]
NJ/NY Gotham FC
References
[edit]- ^ 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
[edit]- Ellie Jean at the National Women's Soccer League
- Ellie Jean #5 at Racing Louisville FC
- Ellie Jean #21 at NJ/NY Gotham FC
- Ellie Jean #14 at Penn State Nittany Lions
- Ellie Jean at PSV (archived) (in Dutch)
- Ellie Jean at Soccerway
- Ellie Jean at FBref.com
- 1997 births
- Living people
- African-American soccer players
- American sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent
- American women's soccer players
- Soccer players from Tennessee
- Sportspeople from Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Women's association football defenders
- American expatriate women's soccer players
- Expatriate women's footballers in the Netherlands
- American expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
- Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer players
- United States women's under-20 international soccer players
- New England Mutiny players
- FC Nordsjælland players
- PSV (women) players
- NJ/NY Gotham FC players
- United Women's Soccer players
- Eredivisie (women) players
- National Women's Soccer League players
- United States women's youth international soccer players
- 21st-century American sportswomen