Crystal Elaine Marie Thomas (born January 18, 1994) is an American soccer player who plays for Hibernian in the

Scottish Women's Premier League The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL 1 and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of the Scottish Women's Football Leag ...

Early life

Thomas grew up in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and graduated from

Wheaton Academy Wheaton Academy (WA) is a private, Christian, co-educational high school in West Chicago, Illinois, which was established as part of the Illinois Institute by a group of evangelical abolitionists in 1853. The Illinois Institute was reorganized in ...

West Chicago West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,086 at the 2010 census. It was formerly named Junction and later Turner, after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad ...

. She helped the school claim a state title in 2009 as well as three Class 2A super-sectional and sectional titles (2009–11), and four regional titles (2009–12). As a senior in 2012 she tied a school record, scoring 36 goals, and was an all-state first team selection. Thomas played club soccer with

Chicago Sockers The Chicago Sockers were an American soccer team that were founded in 1995 as the Chicago Stingers. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) and played at the professional level in the USISL Pro League, USISL Select League and ...

, helping the team win a pair of Illinois State Cup titles in 2010 and 2011. She also spent time with the Olympic Development Program Region II team, captaining at both the regional and state levels.

College

Thomas began playing

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in 2012. As a freshman, Thomas appeared in all of the

Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

's 24 matches including 19 starts. She scored a team-leading 10 goals as well as registering two assists as Notre Dame claimed the Big East Conference regular season title. At the end of the year she was named to the Big East All-Rookie team and was a Big East second-team selection. After two seasons with Notre Dame, Thomas transferred to

Georgetown Georgetown or George Town may refer to: Places Africa *George, South Africa, formerly known as Georgetown * Janjanbureh, Gambia, formerly known as Georgetown *Georgetown, Ascension Island, main settlement of the British territory of Ascension Isl ...

in 2014. She scored the game-winning overtime goal to beat George Washington in her Hoyas debut but then suffered a torn hamstring and was redshirted for the season. After nine months out, Thomas returned to play a further 46 games in the next two seasons, scoring 18 goals and 8 assists, and earned Big East second-team honors both years. She most notably scored the only goal in Georgetown's 1–0 NCAA quarter-final win over Santa Clara to send the Hoyas to their first ever College Cup in 2016.

Club career

Washington Spirit

Thomas registered for the

2017 NWSL College Draft The 2017 NWSL College Draft was the fifth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 12, 2017 at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention in ...

but was not selected. She signed a professional contract with

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and con ...

in April 2017 having spent preseason on trial with the team. She made her pro debut and only appearance of the 2017 season on April 29 as a 65th-minute substitute during a 1–0 defeat to

Houston Dash The Houston Dash is a professional Women's association football, women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 National Women's Soccer League season, 2014 season, and is affiliated w ...

. On May 19, 2017, Thomas was waived by Washington.

Medkila

In June 2017, Thomas signed with the Norwegian

Toppserien The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984. History Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in ...

team

Medkila IL Medkila IL is a football team from Harstad in North Norway, most notable for its women's football team which is playing in the 1. divisjon, the second tier of Norwegian women's football. Medkila first came to prominence after winning the 2003 ...

. She made 10 appearances during the

2017 Toppserien The 2017 Toppserien is the 31st season of the highest women's football league in Norway. LSK Kvinner LSK Kvinner Fotballklubb is a Norwegian women's football club from Lillestrøm. They currently play in Toppserien, the top division of Norweg ...

season, scoring one goal in a defeat to

Kolbotn Kolbotn is an urban area in Norway's Nordre Follo county. Kolbotn is in the centre of the traditional district, Oppegård. The population is about 6,000. Kolbotn has several elementary schools, four middle schools and a high school. Town is loca ...

on October 28 as Medkila finished in last place and were relegated.

Valur

Thomas moved to Iceland to sign for Valur ahead of the

2018 Úrvalsdeild The 2018 Úrvalsdeild karla, also known as ''Pepsi-deild karla'' for sponsorship reasons, was the 107th season of top-flight Icelandic football. Twelve teams contested the league, including the defending champions Valur, who won their 21st lea ...

season. She played in all 18 league games, scoring five goals, and scored another two goals in three Icelandic Cup appearances.

Return to Washington

After two years in Scandinavia, Thomas returned to the NWSL and re-signed with

on May 23, 2019. During the 2019 season she scored three goals and was named

NWSL Player of the Week The National Women's Soccer League Player of the Week is a weekly soccer award given to individual players in the National Women's Soccer League. The honor is awarded to the player deemed to have put in the best performances over the past week by ...

for week 20 after scoring a goal and an assist in a 3–0 win away at

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the US, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to the ...

on October 5. During the 2019–20 NWSL offseason, Thomas joined

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

for the

2019–20 W-League The 2019–20 W-League season was the twelfth season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. Nine teams competed in the league, with most of the players from Australia but 33 of them from 11 other co ...

season. With the

2020 NWSL season The 2020 National Women's Soccer League season was the eighth 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 ...

disrupted by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the Spirit's schedule was limited to nine games. Thomas featured in one game during the

2020 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was a tournament during the 2020 National Women's Soccer League season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first professional team sports e ...

and a further three games during the

Fall Series The PGA Tour Fall Series was name of the events on the PGA Tour that covered the end of the calendar year from 2007 to 2012 after the Tour Championship. Beginning in 2013, these events became part of the PGA Tour season, which from that point began ...

, scoring once, an 88th-minute equalizer in a 1–1 tie with

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) ...

on September 26. She was waived and placed on the offseason re-entry wire as part of the team's end of season roster moves in December 2020.

Orlando Pride

On February 23, 2021, after a short trial period during preseason, Thomas signed a one-year contract with

. She made her debut on May 1, 2021, as an 82nd-minute substitute for

Sydney Leroux Sydney Rae Leroux (; born May 7, 1990) is a professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist who currently plays as a forward for Angel City FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in Canada to a Canadian mother and an Ameri ...

in a 0–0 draw with

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage is a professional women's soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acquired National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise rights from the Western New Yor ...

in the team's last

2021 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup was a league cup tournament that took place during the 2021 National Women's Soccer League season. It began on April 9 and ended May 8, one week before the start of the regular season. It was the second iteration of th ...

group game. Thomas' contract expired at the end of the season and she released to the waiver wire.

Hibernian

On May 4, 2022, Thomas signed with

team Hibernian ahead of the 2022–23 season. On June 13, 2023, Thomas left Hibernian after only one season. She hit 8 goals in 13 matches and quickly became a fan favorite. She recently experienced a career ending concussion.

International career

Thomas has been called up to training camps for both the United States under-20 and under-23 teams.

Career statistics

Club summary

Honors

College

Notre Dame Fighting Irish *

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

regular season: 2012 Georgetown Hoyas * Big East Tournament: 2016

References

External links

Georgetown profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Crystal 1994 births American women's soccer players Living people Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's soccer players Georgetown Hoyas women's soccer players Washington Spirit players Medkila IL (women) players Crystal Thomas Perth Glory FC (A-League Women) players Orlando Pride players Hibernian W.F.C. players United States women's under-20 international soccer players American expatriate women's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate women's footballers in Norway American expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate women's footballers in Iceland American expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia American expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Soccer players from Illinois Sportspeople from Elgin, Illinois Women's association football forwards National Women's Soccer League players Toppserien players Besta deild kvenna players A-League Women players Scottish Women's Premier League players United States women's youth international soccer players