Abigail Mackenzie Smith (born October 4, 1993) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for the

Houston Dash The Houston Dash are an American professional soccer team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Dash began play in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium. His ...

in the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL). She previously played for the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...

, Utah Royals,

Kansas City Current The Kansas City Current are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded as an NWSL expansion, expansion team in 2021 NWSL ...

, and

Portland Thorns Portland Thorns FC is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL, which received supp ...

of the NWSL as well as the

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

of Australia's

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

. She played collegiate soccer for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

. She has played for two

NWSL Championship The NWSL Championship is the annual championship game of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top-flight women's soccer league in the United States. It is the culmination of the NWSL playoffs, which is contested by the teams with the ...

–winning teams, the 2022 Portland Thorns and 2023 NJ/NY Gotham FC. She has represented the United States on the under-17, under-20, under-23 and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

national teams.

Early life

Raised in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "flat surface" /'plano/) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the largest city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County. A small portion of Plano is located in Denton County, Texas, Denton Count ...

, Smith began playing soccer in elementary school. She played club soccer for the Dallas Texans 94 Red Soccer Club from 2005 to 2012.During the 2011–12 season, the team ranked first nationally in the ESPNHS Elite Clubs National League. She captained the team for four years and helped the team win the Nike Cup in Portland, Oregon and

Gothia Cup The Gothia Cup () is an international youth association football tournament organized by professional football club BK Häcken, which has been held annually since 1975 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Considered the biggest tournament in the world in terms ...

in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2008. Smith participated in the

Olympic Development Program The United States Youth Soccer Association (US Youth Soccer, abbreviated USYS) is the largest youth affiliate and member of the United States Soccer Federation, the governing body for soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer includes 54 S ...

(ODP) from 2005 to 2010 and was a member of the Region III ODP Team. She played in the US Youth Soccer (USYS) Region III championship finals in 2009 and earned the USYS ODP National Championship Golden Glove. Smith attended Plano West High School and was the starting goalkeeper on the girls' soccer team before graduating a semester early to facilitate travel with the national team. She was twice named a

National Soccer Coaches Association of America The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of United States, American soccer Coach (sport), coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization i ...

Youth All-America honoree in 2010 and 2011 and was named Parade Magazine All-American in 2010. Top Drawer Soccer ranked her as the 13th-best player in the United States and the second-best player in Texas. ESPNHS ranked her fifth in college prospects across the nation.

College career

Smith attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

where she played for the

from 2012 to 2015. During her freshman year, she was the starting goalkeeper in the last 12 matches of the season allowing 8 goals and making 34 saves. She set a new record for a Texas rookie goalkeeper for lowest goals-against average at 0.63 – last set in 2001 and tied the school record for shutouts by a freshman with seven. Smith's .810 save percentage ranked first in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

and second in overall

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

(GAA). Smith helped lead a defensive line that tied the regular season record for fewest goals allowed (five) in the Big 12 Conference. She was named the Soccer America Goalkeeper of the Week following a 1–0 shutout against Oklahoma State on October 5, 2012. During her sophomore season, Smith was the starting goalkeeper in all 20 matches and scored her first career goal. With a 12–6–2 overall record, she recorded a 0.78 goals-against average (GAA) and made 72 saves with eight shutouts. She was named Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week on September 10 after helping defeat

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

and

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

as well as making a game-saving penalty kick stop in the 87th minute of one of the matches. She scored her first career goal off a 50-yard

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

. In 2014, Smith recorded nine shutouts tying the school record for the most in a single season. Her 24 career shutouts ranked second in school history. She was named to the All Big-12 Conference first team. Smith finished her junior season with a 0.92 GAA and her 98 saves ranked first in the Big 12 Conference. During her senior season, Smith was a national finalist for the 2015 Senior Class Award and was named to the All-Big 12 Conference First-Team Academic team. She was named ESPNW Player of the Week for week 9 on October 21, 2015 and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week twice in October. Smith ranked first in the Big 12 Conference for total saves with 96 and saves-per-match with 5.33. Her 30th career shutout on October 30 set a new school career shutout record. She scored her third career goal (a game-winner) on a 90-plus-yard punt against the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Club career

Boston Breakers, 2016–2017

Smith was drafted by

in the third round of the

2016 NWSL College Draft The 2016 NWSL College Draft was the fourth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 15, 2016, at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention ...

. She signed with Boston in April 2016. Smith suffered a season-ending injury to her right knee, straining her ACL and tearing her patellar tendon during the second game of the season in May 2016. Smith rehabilitated during the offseason and won the starting job at the beginning of the 2017 season. In June 2017, she required a

platelet-rich plasma Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), also known as autologous conditioned plasma, is a concentrate of plasma protein derived from whole blood, centrifuged to remove red blood cells but retaining platelets. Though promoted for treating various medical con ...

injection in her previously injured knee, forcing her to miss time, but she still appeared in 19 games for the Breakers.

Utah Royals, 2018–2020

After the

folded prior to the

2018 NWSL season The 2018 National Women's Soccer League season was the sixth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2 ...

, Smith was selected by the Utah Royals with the 5th pick in the Breakers Dispersal Draft on January 30, 2018. Though she had fully recovered from her knee injury prior to the start of the 2018 season, Smith continued to split time in goal, appearing 17 games for the Royals while

Nicole Barnhart Nicole Renee Barnhart (born October 10, 1981) is an American retired soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. She played professionally for FC Gold Pride and Philadelphia Independence in Women's Professional Soccer, and FC Kansas City, Utah ...

started in the remaining eight league games. After leading the Royals to their first franchise win on May 5 and notching three shutouts, Smith was named to the NWSL Team of the Month in May. She signed a new contract with the team in March 2019, but didn't make a single appearance for the Royals during the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

Loan to Western Sydney Wanderers, 2019–2020

In search of game time during the NWSL offseason, Smith went on loan to the

. She appeared in eight matches for the Australian side, keeping three clean sheets and helping the club to its first appearance in the W-League finals.

KC NWSL, 2021

After the sale of the Utah Royals, the full roster was transferred to KC NWSL. While in Kansas, she split time with Nicole Barnhart until Barnhart was released by the team in July 2021. The following month, Smith was traded to the Portland Thorns in return for

Adrianna Franch Adrianna Nichole "AD" Franch (born November 12, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Birmingham City. She previously played for Kansas City Current, and Portland Thorns FC, winning the NWSL Championship in 2017 with th ...

, a Kansas City native. Smith made six league appearances for Kansas City.

Portland Thorns FC, 2021–2022

Smith saw no action with the Portland Thorns in the 2021 season and played one league match and two

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

matches for the Thorns in 2022. The Thorns finished the season in second place and won the 2022 NWSL Championship. Following the completion of the 2022 NWSL season, Smith was part of the league's first class of

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2023–present

NJ/NY Gotham FC announced a three-year contract with Smith on November 28, 2022. She started in 15 league matches, keeping four clean sheets and winning Team of the Month honors in May before suffering a season ending injury during a 2–1 win against the San Diego Wave on August 19, 2023. Gotham finished out the season with

Mandy Haught Amanda Kathleen McGlynn (formerly Haught; born November 3, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Utah Royals of the National Women's Soccer League. She previously played for NJ/NY Gotham FC, winning t ...

in goal, claiming six place and winning the

2023 NWSL Championship 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

. On October 25, 2024, Smith returned to the pitch 433 days after her injury, coming on as a substitute in the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup Final against

International career

Smith has represented the United States on the under-17, under-20, and under-23 national teams. She was called up to the USWNT for friendlies in May 2017 and March 2018, but has yet to receive a cap.

Honors

NJ/NY Gotham FC *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Portland Thorns FC *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual * NWSL Player of the Week: Week 7, 2023 * NWSL Team of the Month: May 2018, May 2023

References

External links

*
Abby Smith #4
at

NJ/NY Gotham FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sk ...

Abby Smith #14
at

(archived)
Abby Smith #1
at

Abby Smith
at U.S. Soccer (archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Abby 1993 births Living people American women's soccer players Texas Longhorns women's soccer players Boston Breakers players National Women's Soccer League players Soccer players from Portland, Oregon Soccer players from Plano, Texas Boston Breakers draft picks United States women's under-20 international soccer players Utah Royals players Women's association football goalkeepers Kansas City Current players African-American soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen 21st-century African-American sportswomen Portland Thorns FC players Gotham FC players United States women's youth international soccer players