Haley Jean McCutcheon (; born February 22, 1996) 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

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for the

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 ...

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). She has previously played for

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 ...

of the NWSL and

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

in the Australian W-League. She made her senior international debut for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 2018.

Club career

Houston Dash, 2018–2022

McCutcheon was chosen by the

with the 7th overall pick in the

2018 NWSL College Draft The 2018 NWSL College Draft was the sixth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 18, 2018, at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylva ...

out of the University of Nebraska. She signed with the Dash and made her debut on March 25, 2018, in a 1–1 draw against

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 ...

Orlando Pride, 2022–present

On August 18, 2022, McCutcheon was acquired via trade by the

in exchange for $75,000 in allocation money and a second-round pick in the

2023 NWSL Draft The 2023 NWSL Draft presented by Ally was the eleventh annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select amateur players above the age of 18 playing in the United States who exhausted, lost, or renounced any remaining ...

. McCutcheon 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 ...

with the Pride as they finished the 2024 regular season in first place. On November 8, 2024, she made her first NWSL playoff appearance; only

Kealia Watt Kealia Ohai Watt ( ; born Kealia Mae Ohai; January 31, 1992) is an American former professional soccer player who played for the Chicago Red Stars and the Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Watt played for the North Carol ...

(138) had played more regular-season games before her playoff debut than McCutcheon (130). McCutcheon headed in the opening goal in that game, a 4–1 win over the

. On October 17, during the semifinal game vs the KC Current, with the Current up 1-0, McCutcheon scored the tying goal off an assist from Ally Watt (the Pride went on to win 3-2).

International career

McCutcheon received her first call-up to the United States Women's National Team in April 2018 as she was added to the roster as a replacement for

Kelley O'Hara Kelley Maureen O'Hara (born August 4, 1988) is an American former professional association football, soccer player. She represented the United States women's national soccer team, United States national team on 160 occasions, winning two FIFA ...

who pulled out due to injury. She earned her first cap on April 8 in a friendly against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. On August 23, 2018, she was named to the United States U-23 team for the 2018 Nordic tournament.

Personal life

She married her husband Payne McCutcheon in December 2022.

Career statistics

College

Club

International

Honors

Houston Dash *

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 ...

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 ...

Orlando Pride *

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 ...

NWSL Championship The NWSL Championship is the annual championship game of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top-flight women's soccer league in the United States. It is the culmination of the NWSL playoffs, which is contested by the teams with the ...

References

External links

* 1996 births Living people National Women's Soccer League players Houston Dash players Melbourne Victory FC (women) players Orlando Pride players Soccer players from Overland Park, Kansas American women's soccer players Nebraska Cornhuskers women's soccer players Houston Dash draft picks United States women's international soccer players Women's association football defenders Women's association football midfielders American expatriate sportspeople in Australia American expatriate women's soccer players United States women's youth international soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen {{US-women-footy-midfielder-stub