Bethany Balcer
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Bethany Catherine Balcer (born March 7, 1997) 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 striker for
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 ...
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). Balcer played collegiate soccer at
Spring Arbor University Spring Arbor University (SAU) is a private Free Methodist university in Spring Arbor, Michigan. Developing from an earlier academy and junior college, in 1963 it began offering bachelor's degrees. Attaining university status in 1994, it is t ...
, where she was a two-time NAIA national champion, three-time NAIA national player of the year, four-time first-team All-American, and the school's leading scorer. She went undrafted after college before signing with
Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...
(later Seattle Reign FC) on a supplemental contract, becoming the first NAIA player in the NWSL. During six seasons with the Reign, she was named the
NWSL Rookie of the Year The NWSL Rookie of the Year award is presented annually to the best rookie in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Erika Tymrak (2013), an alumna of the Florida Gators women's soccer, Florida Gators, won the first Rookie of the Year award ...
in 2019 and won the
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 ...
in 2022.


Early life

Balcer grew up in
Hudsonville, Michigan Hudsonville is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan; it is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. The population was 7,721 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. Hudsonville is nicknamed ...
and attended Unity Christian High School, where she played varsity soccer and basketball. She is the fourth of five children.


Collegiate career

Balcer attended
Spring Arbor University Spring Arbor University (SAU) is a private Free Methodist university in Spring Arbor, Michigan. Developing from an earlier academy and junior college, in 1963 it began offering bachelor's degrees. Attaining university status in 1994, it is t ...
from 2015 to 2019, where she was a four-year starter on its varsity soccer team. The Cougars advanced to the NAIA Final Four every year and won two national titles with Balcer on the team. While in college, Balcer played as an amateur with senior teams over the summer. She led Grand Rapids FC to a
United Women's Soccer United Women's Soccer (UWS) is a national pro-am Women's association football, women's Association football, soccer league in the United States. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the Women's ...
championship in 2017 – scoring hat-tricks in five straight matches – and played with
Seattle Sounders Women Sound Football Club is an American women's soccer team in the Women's Premier Soccer League. Sound FC play its home games at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Washington, six miles south of downtown Seattle. The team was founded in 2000 as ...
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 ...
the following year winning the WPSL championship.


Club career


Seattle Reign FC, 2019–2024

Balcer was invited to the
Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...
preseason training camp prior to the
2019 NWSL season The 2019 National Women's Soccer League season was the seventh 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 ...
and subsequently earned a contract on the club's supplemental roster. She is the first NAIA player to sign with an
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 ...
club and only the third NWSL player to previously play collegiately in the United States and finish their collegiate career with a non- NCAA D-I institution. Balcer made her NWSL debut coming on as an 86th-minute substitute at 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 ...
on April 14, 2019. A week later, she made her first start in Reign's home-opener at
Cheney Stadium Cheney Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It is primarily used for baseball and is home to the Tacoma Rainiers of the minor league Pacific Coast League. The stadium also hosted professional soccer t ...
. Curling a shot from the edge of the penalty area into the far corner of the goal, she scored her first-ever pro goal in the 21st minute against
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 ...
in a 1–1 tie. It was also the first home goal scored in the Reign's first season in
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
. She scored her second goal in her second home start, sixth appearance on May 27, 2019, in a 2–1 win against the defending champions
North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...
. Her 13th-minute header from the edge of the box crashed off the underside of the bar to give her side an early lead. Her third goal occurred in the next game in her third home start against the Houston Dash. On a breakaway she picked up a deflected through ball from
Darian Jenkins Darian Michelle Jenkins (born January 5, 1995) is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a forward. Having played college soccer for the UCLA Bruins, Jenkins won the 2013 National Championship and was selected seventh ove ...
and slotted right-footed past the keeper for the first goal of the game in the 32nd minute, Houston tied in the 90th to split the points. At the end of the season, she was awarded the 2019
Rookie of the Year Award A Rookie of the Year award or ROY is given by a number of sports leagues to the top-performing athlete in his or her first season within the league. Athletes competing for the first time in any given league are also known as "rookies". Principal ...
. Balcer established herself as one of the Reign's leading players and was the club's top scorer every season she spent there. She helped lead the Reign to top of the standings for the 2022 season, winning the
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 ...
. She scored 33 goals during her tenure with the Reign, the third-highest total in the NWSL from 2019 to mid-2024.


Racing Louisville FC, 2024–

On August 19, 2024, Balcer was traded to
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 ...
in exchange for
Jaelin Howell Jaelin Marie Howell (born November 21, 1999) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Florida State Sem ...
and $50,000 in allocation money. She made her Louisville debut five days later, starting in a match 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 ...
. She scored her first goal with the club in a comeback victory against
Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The formation of the team was announced on July 21, 2020; it beg ...
on September 14, 2024.


International career

Balcer received her first call-up to the
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 ...
in December 2019. She made her international debut on November 26, 2021, against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. She was previously a member of 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 ...
.


Style of play

Balcer plays as a striker. She is known for her scoring ability off headers.


Personal life

Balcer is a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
. Her brother Nicholas is a soccer referee working for
PRO Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African ret ...
,
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
. and MLS. Her sister Shannon is the head woman's soccer coach at Spring Arbor University (2024).


Career statistics


Club


International


Honors

OL Reign *
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 ...
:
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 ...
*
The Women's Cup The Women's Cup (often stylized as TWC) is an annual club women's soccer invitational tournament originally hosted by Racing Louisville FC in the United States. History Launched by OnSide Entertainment, FXE Futbol, and Agrinzonis Management G ...
:
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 Rookie of the Year The NWSL Rookie of the Year award is presented annually to the best rookie in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Erika Tymrak (2013), an alumna of the Florida Gators women's soccer, Florida Gators, won the first Rookie of the Year award ...
: 2019 * NWSL Players' Rookie of the Year: 2019 *
NWSL Second 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%), ...
: 2019 *
NWSL Player of the Week The National Women's Soccer League Player of the Week was a weekly soccer award given to individual players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) from 2013 to 2023. The honor was awarded by popular social media vote to the player deemed to ...
: 2021: Weeks 12, 16


References


External links

*
Bethany Balcer
at
Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

Bethany Balcer
at
Spring Arbor Cougars Spring Arbor University (SAU) is a private Free Methodist university in Spring Arbor, Michigan. Developing from an earlier academy and junior college, in 1963 it began offering bachelor's degrees. Attaining university status in 1994, it is the ...
(archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balcer, Bethany Seattle Reign FC players 1997 births Living people Spring Arbor Cougars women's soccer players People from Hudsonville, Michigan Sportspeople from Ottawa County, Michigan Soccer players from Michigan Seattle Sounders Women players National Women's Soccer League players Women's association football forwards American women's soccer players United States women's international soccer players United States women's youth international soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen United Women's Soccer players Racing Louisville FC players