Angela Marguerite Salem (born July 24, 1988) is an American

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 ...

coach and former professional player who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. She is currently an assistant coach for the

Bay FC Bay Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team began play in the NWSL as an expansion team in the 2024 Nat ...

of the NWSL. In 2016–17, she 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 ...

. She previously played for the Spirit, the

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

in the Australian W-League, the Atlanta Beat and

Sky Blue FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional 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 Sky Blue FC from 2008 un ...

in the

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 ...

(WPS) league,

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American women's soccer club based in Elma, New York, that most recently competed in the United Women's Soccer league in 2018. They won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-Leag ...

in the NWSL, and the Finnish club

Åland United Åland United is a Finnish women's football club based in Lemland, Åland. They compete in the Kansallinen Liiga, the premier women's football league in Finland. In 2004 Åland's clubs Lemlands IF and IF Finströms Kamraterna decided to st ...

of the

Naisten Liiga The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja ('Women's Football Finnish Championship Series') during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten L ...

Early life and education

Born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

Salem attended Copley High School in

Copley, Ohio Copley is an unincorporated community in Summit County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. History Variant names were Greenfield and Copley Center. The first settlement at Copley Center was made around 1819. The community was named for its location ...

where she ended her high school career with 81 goals and 46 assists. She scored 23 goals and recorded 13 assists in her senior year alone, leading Copley to its fourth straight Suburban League title. Salem also played club soccer for Cleveland FC and was a member of the Ohio Olympic Development Program (ODP) team.

Francis Marion University

Salem attended

Francis Marion University Francis Marion University is a public university near Florence, South Carolina. It is named in honor of American Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Marion. History The university dates back to 1957, when the University of South Caroli ...

. During her freshman year, she tied the school record by recording 11 assists. As a sophomore, Salem was ranked third in scoring on the team. The midfielder was named team

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

during her sophomore and junior years. She was a co-captain and the team's leading scorer during the 2008 season. She is the first female alumna from Francis Marion University to play professional soccer.

Springfield College

While playing professional soccer for

Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, 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 ...

, Salem earned a master's in education in clinical mental health education from

Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...

, graduating in May 2020. During her masters education, she was the graduate assistant coach for three years under head coach John Gibson within Springfield's women's soccer program.

Playing career

Sky Blue FC (WPS)

Salem signed with the

for the

2010 WPS season The 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season was the second season for the WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. Regular season champion FC Gold Pride won the WPS Championship on September 26 with a 4–0 vict ...

. She played three games for the club. Sky Blue won the WPS Championship.

Åland United (Naisten Liiga)

In 2011 Salem played for

, a Finnish club that plays in the top national women's league, the

Atlanta Beat (WPS)

In 2011 Salem also played for the Atlanta Beat in the WPS. She started 9 of the 11 games she played.

Western New York Flash (WPSL Elite)

Salem appeared in all 16 matches for the Western New York Flash in the 2012 WPSL Elite season. She helped the team to its third consecutive championship, scoring the game-winning penalty kick after double overtime in the championship game against the

Chicago Red Stars Chicago Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Chicago metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league as the Chic ...

Newcastle Jets (W-League)

Salem played in the Australian W-League for the

during the 2012–13 season.

Western New York Flash (NWSL), 2013–2014

In 2013, Salem signed with the

for the inaugural season of 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).

Return to Newcastle Jets

In September 2014 Salem joined

together with fellow Americans

Katherine Reynolds Katherine Alexandra Reynolds (born September 14, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player who last played in 2020 as a defender for the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for the Phi ...

and

Tori Huster Victoria Lauren Huster (born September 23, 1989) is an American retired women's association football, soccer player who spent most of her career with Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, she was elected presid ...

Washington Spirit (NWSL), 2015

Following the 2014 NWSL season, the Flash traded Salem and Kat Reynolds to the

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the USL W-League (1995� ...

for

Jordan Angeli Jordan Leigh Angeli (born May 31, 1986) is an American former soccer player and current soccer commentator. Known for her versatility, Angeli played for Boston Breakers in the Women's Professional Soccer, and the Washington Spirit and Western ...

and a first-round pick—sixth overall—in the 2015 NWSL College Draft. That pick was later used to select Lynn Williams.

Boston Breakers (NWSL), 2016–17

On November 19, 2015, Salem was acquired by the

in exchange for two second-round

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 ...

picks (12 & 20 respectively) from the Washington Spirit. She played for the Breakers in the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and 2017 seasons.

Portland Thorns (NWSL), 2018–2021

On January 30, 2018, the

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 ...

selected Salem as the number fifteen pick in the

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...

following the Breakers' cessation of operations. She scored her first goal for the Thorns, her first goal since 2016, on June 5, 2021, against

Racing Louisville FC Racing Louisville Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Louisville, Kentucky, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It began playing in 2021 at Lynn Family Stadium. The team i ...

. Salem scored her second goal for the club against rival OL Reign on August 29, 2021, at

Lumen Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), Seattle Sounders FC of Major League ...

in Seattle. In February 2022, Salem announced her retirement from professional soccer.

Coaching career

Washington Spirit (2022–2023)

On March 23, 2022, the

named Salem, who holds a

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

B license, as an assistant coach. After the Spirit fired head coach Kris Ward, Salem acted as ''de facto'' head coach for one game on August 27, 2022. On December 6, 2023, she announced on social media her departure from the Spirit to pursue other opportunities.

Bay FC (2024–)

On December 14, 2023, Salem was announced as part of

manager Albertin Montoya's inaugural coaching staff. Salem and Montoya worked together when Montoya took on the interim position at the Washington Spirit through the end of the

2022 NWSL season The 2022 National Women's Soccer League season was the tenth 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 ...

Honors

Western New York Flash *

NWSL Shield The NWSL Shield is an annual award given to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team with the best regular season record as determined by the NWSL points system. The NWSL Shield has been awarded annually since 2013 and is recognized as a ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Portland Thorns FC *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

NWSL Challenge Cup The NWSL Challenge Cup is an annual supercup competition organized by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), a division 1 women's league in the United States soccer league system. The current (2025) cup holder is the Washington Spirit, who ...

* NWSL Community Shield :

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

International Champions Cup The International Champions Cup (ICC) was an annual club association football (soccer) official competition staged from 2013 to 2019. COVID-19 resulted in the 2020 edition being cancelled. The tournament was later abolished, but the Women's I ...

Individual *

NWSL Best XI NWSL Best XI and Second XI are annual awards presented to the best and second-best eleven players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). the teams of the season awards are voted on by players (40%), owners/general managers/coaches (25%), ...

: 2021

Personal life

, Salem is

engaged An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

, and is the mother of a daughter born in October 2022.

References

External links

Western New York player profile

Newcastle Jets player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salem, Angela Living people 1987 births Soccer players from Akron, Ohio American women's soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen American women's soccer coaches Female association football managers Women's Professional Soccer players Atlanta Beat (WPS) players Gotham FC players National Women's Soccer League players Western New York Flash players Francis Marion Patriots women's soccer players Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia Newcastle Jets FC (women) players Åland United players Kansallinen Liiga players Expatriate women's footballers in Finland Women's association football midfielders Washington Spirit players Boston Breakers players Portland Thorns FC players Washington Spirit non-playing staff