Makena Carr (born May 19, 2000) 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 most recently played as a full-back for

USL Super League The USL Super League (USLS), officially known as the Gainbridge Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional women's soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system, alongside the National Women's Socce ...

club

Spokane Zephyr FC Spokane Zephyr FC is an American professional women's soccer club based in Spokane, Washington, that competes in the USL Super League (USLS). Zephyr FC is owned by Aequus Sports, which also operates Spokane Velocity FC of USL League One (USL1). ...

. She played college soccer for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

and the Saint Mary’s Gaels.

Early life

Carr grew up alongside three siblings in

Newcastle, Washington Newcastle is an Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 13,017 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Although Newcastl ...

. She attended Liberty High School, where she scored 32 goals and notched 12 assists to help the team win a state championship in 2017. Carr also won a state championship with her youth club team, Eastside FC, in the same year. Carr's efforts in 2017 were awarded as she was named the Star Times girls soccer player of the year and the state MVP.

College career

Washington Huskies

In 2018, Carr kicked off her college career with the

. In her first year in Washington, Carr operated as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and recorded her first collegiate assist in a win against

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

on September 30. She tallied her first goal with the Huskies in the team's first victory of 2019, scoring the opening goal in a 2–0 win over

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. After playing in 37 games in her first two years of college, Carr found her career impeded by back-to-back knee injuries that sidelined her for nearly three years. During her time in convalescence, Carr was named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll. She made her return to the field in the fall of 2022, playing in 2 matches to close out her time with the Huskies.

Saint Mary's Gaels

For her final year of college, Carr transferred to

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic college in Moraga, California, United States. Established in 1863, it is administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs w ...

, where she played for the

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...

in 2023. She started in all 18 of the team's games, recording 1 goal and 2 assists over 1,543 minutes. Carr was named to the All-WCC First Team following her performances.

Club career

Carr was drafted by

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 ...

as the 43rd overall pick of the

2024 NWSL Draft The 2024 NWSL Draft presented by Ally was the twelfth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select from a list of amateur players above the age of 18 playing in the United States who exhausted, lost, or renounced ...

. She became the second-ever

Saint Mary's Gaels women's soccer The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most varsi ...

player to be drafted into a professional league and the first in twenty-one years. Carr trained with the Reign in preseason and starred as a substitute in a friendly against her former college team, the

. Ultimately, Carr did not sign with the Reign and was not included in the team's final roster for the season.

Spokane Zephyr FC

On May 16, 2024, Carr signed her first professional contract with

team

. She started in the club's inaugural match, a 1–1 draw with Fort Lauderdale United FC. In February 2025, Carr and Spokane mutually agreed to terminate her contract with the club. Carr later chose to step away from soccer to pursue a career as an

airline pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

*
Makena Carr
at

Makena Carr
at

Saint Mary's Gaels The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most vars ...

Makena Carr
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Makena 2000 births Living people People from Newcastle, Washington Soccer players from King County, Washington Soccer players from Washington (state) American women's soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen Saint Mary's Gaels women's soccer players Seattle Reign FC draft picks Spokane Zephyr FC players USL Super League players Washington Huskies women's soccer players Women's association football defenders