Desiree Rose Marie Scott (born July 31, 1987) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays for

Ottawa Rapid FC Ottawa Rapid FC () is a professional women's soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. It competes in the Northern Super League, the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The club plays its home matches at the 24,000-capacity TD Plac ...

in the

Northern Super League The Northern Super League (NSL; ) is a Canada soccer league system#Women, top-division professional women's association football, women's soccer league in Canada. The league is owned and operated by Project 8 Sports, Inc., and includes six team ...

and the Canada national team. Nicknamed "the destroyer", she won gold at the

2020 Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo, which was her third Olympic medal following bronze medals in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

in London and in

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 ...

in Rio.

Early life

Scott was born and raised in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. Her father was born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, while her mother was also born in Winnipeg. She grew up participating in soccer, volleyball, track and field, and basketball. She began playing soccer at the age of eight.

University career

From 2005 to 2009, Scott played

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

(CIS) soccer for the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

. During her tenure with the Bisons, she was named a first team CIS All-Canadian in 2009. She earned Canada West All-Star honours twice and won the Canada West Rookie of the Year award in 2005.

Club career

Early career

Scott played for the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

from 2006 to 2012. In 2006, Scott appeared in five matches for the Caps (450 minutes), contributing to the team winning their second W-League title that season. In 2010, she appeared in seven games and two playoff games for the team contributing one goal and one assist. Scott helped carry the Whitecaps to the W-League Championship where they eventually fell to Buffalo in the final.

FC Kansas City

In 2013, as part of the

NWSL Player Allocation The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) federation players were players whose salaries for playing in the National Women's Soccer League were paid for by their respective national federations from 2013 to 2021. American federation players were co ...

, Scott joined

FC Kansas City FC Kansas City was an American professional women's soccer club based in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was one of the eight founding clubs of the National Women's Soccer League in 2012, and began play in 2013. They were two-time NWSL champio ...

in the new

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 ...

Notts County Ladies Notts County Ladies Football Club was a women's football club based in Nottingham, England. They played their home games at Meadow Lane. Notts County Ladies were created in 2014 when Lincoln Ladies were relocated from Lincoln to Nottingham ...

of the English

FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

announced that they had signed Scott in January 2014, but she was subsequently included on the list of Canadian players allocated to the NWSL for 2014.

Notts County

In February 2014, after more than a month of speculation and legal delays, Scott was officially signed by

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

of the

. She missed the first half of the 2015 season while preparing for the World Cup with Canada, but returned in time for the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, which County lost 1–0 to Chelsea. She left the club in February 2016 after making 20 league appearances.

Return to FC Kansas City

In February 2016, it was announced that Scott would play for

for the 2016 season of the

via the

Utah Royals FC

In February 2018, the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...

announced that Scott would play for the

Utah Royals FC The Utah Royals (formerly Utah Royals FC) are an American professional soccer team based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion team, ...

during the 2018 season of the

via the

. She opted out of play during the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup and the NWSL Fall Series.

Kansas City Current

Utah Royals FC folded in December 2020 and her playing rights were transferred to the

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 ...

. In October 2024, Scott announced that she would retire from the NWSL at the end of the 2024 season.

Ottawa Rapid FC

In January 2025, she signed with

club

. Scott scored her first professional goal, in the club's first ever match on April 27, 2025 against AFC Toronto.

International career

Scott has previously represented Canada on the U-16 and U-19 youth teams. After being called up to the senior squad by

Carolina Morace Carolina Morace (; born 5 February 1964) is an Italian politician and former footballer, who played as a striker. She was most recently the head coach of Lazio Women. She played for the Italian national team and for various clubs in women's ...

, she debuted at the 2010 Cyprus Cup and participated in her first

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

at the 2011 event, making two substitute appearances. Under coach John Herdman, Scott became a regular pick and won a gold medal at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

. At the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Scott won praise for her performances in the defensive midfield role, drawing comparison to the male player

Edgar Davids Edgar Steven Davids (; born 13 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer. Davids was nicknamed "The Pitbull" because of his marking ability, aggression, and hard tackling style of play. After beginning his care ...

. She had a major contribution for the team in the bronze medal game, clearing a ball off the line in defence of the goal to keep the score even at zero. Upon return to her native Winnipeg, Scott was serenaded with chants of her name and outbursts of song consisting of the Canadian national anthem at the Winnipeg airport. Scott took note of the welcome with pride saying that "I'm a very emotional person. To come home and hear my name being screamed... I'm holding back tears right now." On February 11, 2016 Scott became the 15th women's player to make 100 appearances for Canada. In May 2019 Scott was named to the roster for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...

. Scott was called up to the Canada squad for the delayed

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. Scott was called up to the Canada squad for the

2022 CONCACAF W Championship The 2022 CONCACAF W Championship was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF W Championship, the quadrennial international Women's association football, women's football championship contested by the senior List of women's national association football t ...

, where Canada finished as runners-up. Scott was an alternate at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. In April 2025, Scott announced she would retire from international play, and that a friendly against

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

on May 31, 2025, hosted in Winnipeg, would serve as a celebration of her career and her final international appearance.

Coaching career

Scott is an assistant coach at her alma mater,

. She was an assistant coach for the West Kildonan Collegiate from 2003 until 2005. She also coached at the South End United Soccer Academy, and ran camps for kids while playing with the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

and the Canadian women's national team. Scott has also run soccer clinics and camps, and was presenter and instructor for a number of different high school clubs in Winnipeg. Scott has been an ambassador for the Homeless World Cup since 2014. She is also an athlete ambassador for KidSport Winnipeg, a charity that aims to remove the financial barriers to playing sport, and runs an annual soccer camp for girls on behalf of KidSport Winnipeg.

Honours

Kansas City Current * NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Canada *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

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 ...

; bronze medal:

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Individual *

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

Hall of Fame Inductee: 2019

References

External links

* * * * *
Vancouver Whitecaps bio
(archived)
FC Kansas City player profileHomeless World Cup Ambassador Profile
(archived)
KidSport Winnipeg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Desiree 1987 births Living people Black Canadian women's soccer players Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent Women's association football midfielders Canadian expatriate women's soccer players Canadian women's soccer players Canada women's international soccer players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2011 Pan American Games Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Manitoba Bisons women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players Olympic soccer players for Canada Olympic medalists in football Olympic bronze medalists for Canada FC Kansas City players Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Soccer players from Winnipeg Vancouver Whitecaps FC (women) players Notts County L.F.C. players Women's Super League players Expatriate women's footballers in England Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games soccer players for Canada FIFA Women's Century Club Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists in football Utah Royals players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Kansas City Current players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Canada University and college women's soccer players in Canada Sportswomen from Manitoba 21st-century Canadian sportswomen Northern Super League players Ottawa Rapid FC players