Rebecca Lynn Edwards (born May 22, 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 ...

player who played for Swedish club

Kristianstads DFF Kristianstads DFF () is a women's association football club from Kristianstad, Sweden. The club is affiliated to the Scania Football Association. History Wä IF was founded in 1935 and their women team played from 1990 to 1994 and again in 199 ...

in the

Damallsvenskan The (; ), known as OBOS for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is one of the best women's leagues in the world, and was founded in 1988. The division consists of a league of 14 teams. From 2013, t ...

. She previously played for

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Pride began play in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season, 2016 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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

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) as well as

FC Gold Pride FC Gold Pride was an American professional women's soccer club based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which participated in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Associati ...

and the championship-winning

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).

Early life

Raised in

Downingtown, Pennsylvania Downingtown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, west of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 7,898. Downingtown was settled by European colonists ...

, she attended Downingtown West High School and led the soccer team to the state championship in 2004 (the first state title in the school's history). During the championship match, she scored the game-winning goal less than 20 seconds into the match. Twice named

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

at the school, Edwards was named

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

Youth All-American in 2006 and was an All-Star selection by Southeastern Pennsylvania Coaches in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2006, she was named one of the top 25 college recruits by ''Soccer Buzz''. Edwards played club soccer for the West Chester Predators and played for the

USYSA 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 ...

regional semifinalist team in 2005 and 2006 as well as the EPYSA State Championship team in 2004, 2005 and 2006. She played for the regional Olympic Development Program (ODP) from 2001 to 2005. In 2006, she was a

USL W-League USL W-League may refer to: * USL W League * USL W-League (1995–2015) The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...

Eastern Conference finalist with the

New Jersey Wildcats The New Jersey Wildcats is an American women's soccer team, founded by Vincent Baldino in 1996. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League (1995–2015), W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and C ...

. She played for SoccerPlus Connecticut in the

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States. History The WPSL is the longest-running active women's soccer league as it enters its 25th season in 2023. The WPSL is also the largest women ...

(WPSL) in 2008 and the

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom may refer to: * Washington Freedom (cricket) * Washington Freedom (soccer) {{dab ...

in the W-League in 2009. Edwards was twice-named the most valuable player on the school's basketball team and was the leading scorer during her junior and senior years.

Florida State Seminoles, 2006–2009

Edwards played collegiately for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

. Among her teammates at FSU were Australian international

Selin Kuralay Selin Kuralay (born 25 January 1985 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian soccer player of Turkish ancestry. She plays at national league level for Australian W-League team Melbourne Victory. Club career Junior football Kuralay took up f ...

and Japanese international

Mami Yamaguchi is a Japanese football coach and former player. She is currently an assistant coach with the NWSL's Washington Spirit. She played for the Japan national team and last played for Detroit City FC. Club career Yamaguchi previously played for the ...

Club career

WPS Years: 2010–2011

Edwards was selected as the 12th overall pick in the

2010 WPS Draft The 2010 WPS College Draft took place on January 15, 2010. It was the second college draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of college players to the American-based teams. Format FC Gold Pride FC Gold Pride was an American professional women's soccer club based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which participated in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Associati ...

. During her time with the FC Gold Pride she made 25 appearances (21 starts) as a rookie, helping to lead the team to a WPS Championship. Played with Thorns FC teammates

Christine Sinclair Christine Margaret Sinclair (born June 12, 1983) is a retired Canadian professional Association football, soccer player who most recently played as a Forward (association football), forward for the Portland Thorns FC, Portland Thorns of the ...

and

Rachel Buehler Rachel Marie Buehler Van Hollebeke ( ; ; born August 26, 1985) is an American former soccer player who last played as a defender for the Portland Thorns FC and the United States women's national soccer team. In 2015, Van Hollebeke retired fro ...

with FC Gold Pride. After joining the

for the

2011 WPS season The 2011 Women's Professional Soccer season is the third season for the WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The season started with the opening match on April 9, with the 2011 WPS Championship scheduled for ...

, Edwards played in 19 matches and scored 3 goals, helped the team to the 2011 WPS Championship.

Kristianstads DFF, 2012

In 2012 Edwards played for Swedish team

where she recorded two goals in 18 matches and 17 starts, helping the team to the quarterfinal of the Swedish Cup.

Portland Thorns FC, 2013

Edwards was signed as a free agent with the

ahead of the inaugural season of the

NWSL 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 ...

Houston Dash, 2014

On January 10, 2014, it was announced that Edwards had been selected by the

with the eighth pick in the 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft.

Western New York Flash, 2015

On October 16, 2014, Edwards was traded to the

in exchange for

Carli Lloyd Carli Anne Hollins (; born July 16, 1982) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player. She is a two-time Olympic Games, Olympic gold medalist (2008 and 2012), two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion (2015 and 2019) ...

, along with

Whitney Engen Whitney Elizabeth Engen (born November 28, 1987) is an American former soccer player and FIFA Women's World Cup champion. She played as a defender for the United States women's national soccer team as well as the Boston Breakers of the Nationa ...

and a third-round pick in the 2016 NWSL Draft.

Orlando Pride, 2016

On September 22, 2016, Edwards announced her retirement from professional soccer.

Kristianstads DFF, 2017–2018

In 2017, Edwards came out of retirement to sign with

International career

Edwards has extensive experience at the youth level for the United States. Edwards captained the team that won the

2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 4th edition of the tournament. It was held in Chile between 19 November and 7 December 2008. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in the final competition, i ...

, playing alongside future Portland Thorns teammates

Alex Morgan Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American former professional association football, soccer player.She co-captained the United States women's national soccer team, United States national team with ...

, Nikki Marshall, and

Nikki Washington Madeline Nicole Washington (born August 1, 1988) is an American retired professional soccer forward and right midfielder who last played for Boston Breakers in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and is currently an assistant coach for the ...

. In 2011, she played for the

United States women's national under-23 soccer team The U-23 Women’s Youth National Team, operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer, plays a pivotal role in bridging the significant gap between college soccer and the development of players for the full Women’s National Team. It functions as ...

helping the team win the championship at the Four Nations Tournament in La Manga, Spain. Edwards was called into her first full

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...

training camp in 2011.

Coaching career

In 2019, Edwards began working as a graduate assistant coach for her alma mater, the

. In February 2021, she joined the

Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing. Sponsored teams Men's varsit ...

as an assistant coach. In June 2022, she then joined as an assistant for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

. She was also appointed an assistant coach for the U.S. under-20 national team at the

2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup () was the 10th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its ...

Personal life

Edwards was previously in a relationship with professional golfer

Brooks Koepka Brooks Koepka ( ; born May 3, 1990) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. He formerly played on the PGA Tour and has won five major championships, the PGA Championship three times (2018, 2019, 2023) and ...

References

External links

*
Orlando Pride player profile

Portland Thorns FC player profile

Florida State player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Becky 1988 births Living people Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games Florida State Seminoles women's soccer players FC Gold Pride players Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden American women's soccer players Portland Thorns FC players Kristianstads DFF players Damallsvenskan players National Women's Soccer League players Sportspeople from Downingtown, Pennsylvania Women's association football midfielders Women's association football defenders Western New York Flash players Houston Dash players Orlando Pride players United States women's under-20 international soccer players Soccer players from Chester County, Pennsylvania Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in football Women's Professional Soccer players United States women's youth international soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen