Megan "Meggie" Dougherty Howard (born July 27, 1995) 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Calgary Wild FC Calgary Wild FC is a professional Women's association football, women's soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta, that competes in the Northern Super League, a league at the top of the women's Canadian soccer pyramid. History In December 2022, ...

of 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 ...

(NSL). She previously played for

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 ...

San Diego Wave FC San Diego Wave Fútbol Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team plays its home games at Snapdragon Stadium. Founded on June 8, 2021, the Wav ...

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 ...

, and

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the USL W-League (1995� ...

in 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).

Early life

Raised in Largo,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Dougherty Howard attended St. Petersburg Catholic High School where she played soccer as a freshman and senior. As a senior, she captained the team to the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A regional final and was named to the All-Pinellas County first team by the ''Tampa Bay Times''. As a youth, Dougherty Howard initially played for a boys teams at Strictly Soccer won the Disney Showcase and President’s Day titles in 2010. She played club soccer with

Tampa Bay United Tampa Bay United Soccer Club is a soccer club from Tampa, Florida that plays in the Southeast Division in USL League Two. History The club was founded as a youth soccer club in Tampa, Florida, where they are the largest youth team in the city. ...

Premier Girls 94 team, which won the 2011 and 2012 Disney Qualifier. In 2011, she attended the U.S. under-15 national team camp.

Florida Gators, 2013-16

Dougherty Howard was a four-year starter for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

from 2013 to 2016 while also earning a degree in management. She totaled 89 career starts in 94 appearances and scored 14 goals, playing mostly as a holding midfielder. In 2016, Dougherty Howard saw a career high in minutes, goals and assists as a senior and was recognized with All-SEC first team and All-American third team selections, and was named SEC Tournament MVP after registering an assist in each tournament match including on the match-winning golden goal in the final.

Club career

In 2015 and 2016, while still in college, Dougherty Howard played for Washington Spirit Reserves in the W-League and 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 ...

. Her team won the W-League title in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and the Women's Premier Soccer League East Conference in 2016. In 2015, she was named to the W-League All-League Team.

Washington Spirit (2017–2020)

In 2017, Dougherty Howard was selected in the third round (29th overall) of 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 ...

. She was signed to the team on March 12 and made her professional debut on April 22 as a 67th minute substitute for Kristie Mewis in a 1–1 draw with

. She scored her first goal as a rookie on August 4, 2017, in a 4–1 victory over

Sky Blue FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 un ...

. Following the 2017 season, she was one of three finalists for

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 ...

Orlando Pride (2021–2022)

On December 24, 2020, Dougherty Howard was traded along with two first-round picks and $140,000 in allocation money to

in exchange for

Emily Sonnett Emily Ann Sonnett (born November 25, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States women's national soccer team, United States national team. She can p ...

. She made her debut for the club on April 10, 2021, starting and assisting both goals in a 2–2 draw with

Racing Louisville 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 the

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 ...

opening round.

San Diego Wave FC (2023)

On January 12, 2023, Dougherty Howard signed a two-year contract as a free agent with

. During the 2023 season, she made 12 appearances for the club, including 8 starts. San Diego finished first in the regular 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 ...

. They were defeated by

OL Reign Seattle Reign FC is an American professional Association football, 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 J ...

in the semi-finals of the

NWSL Playoffs The National Women's Soccer League playoffs (or NWSL playoffs) are a single-elimination tournament among eight teams in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) of the United States. The final round of the playoffs is the NWSL Championship. Si ...

Angel City FC (2024)

In January 2024, Dougherty Howard was acquired by

in exchange for $40,000 in allocation money ahead of the 2024 season. She made her debut for Angel City on March 17, 2024 in a match against

Bay FC Bay Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team began play in the NWSL as an expansion team in the 2024 Nat ...

. Dougherty Howard recorded her first assist for Angel City on August 24, 2024, in an away match against her former club San Diego Wave FC to help secure a 2–1 victory. Dougherty Howard scored her first goal for Angel City on September 14, 2024, Angel City's only goal in a 2–1 away loss 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 ...

. At the conclusion of the season, Dougherty Howard became a free agent, and on December 10, 2024, Angel City announced that they would not be signing a new contract with Dougherty Howard.

Calgary Wild FC (2025)

In February 2025, Dougherty Howard was signed to the

in the

for the inaugural season. On April 16, 2025, Dougherty Howard started in the club's first ever match and the league's inaugural game, a 1-0 loss to

Vancouver Rise FC Vancouver Rise FC is a professional women's soccer club based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that competes in the Northern Super League, in the top flight of the Canadian soccer league system#Women, Canadian soccer league system. Majority-own ...

. Dougherty Howard scored her first goal with the club in the sixth minute of a 4-1 victory over

Halifax Tides FC Halifax Tides FC is a professional Women's association football, women's soccer club based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It will compete in the Northern Super League, in the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system#Women, Canadian soccer l ...

on April 26, 2025. She made her first assist with the Wild in the following game on May 1, 2025, in a 2-1 loss to

AFC Toronto AFC Toronto is a professional women's soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes in the Northern Super League, a league at the top of the Canadian soccer league system. History In April 2023, AFC Toronto was established by a grou ...

International career

In November 2011, Dougherty Howard was called up to the United States under-15 team. In April 2016 she was called up to the under-23 training camp in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

that featured only collegiate players. The following month she was part of the 20-player roster that won the U23 Nordic Tournament. In January 2017 Dougherty Howard was again called up to the under-23 team, the first camp of the year that included a mixture of top players from the U.S. youth teams, elite college players and four NWSL players. It was overseen by senior team head coach

Jill Ellis Jillian Anne Ellis (born 6 September 1966) is an English-American football manager and executive who is the Chief Football Officer of FIFA and will serve as part of the world governing body's executive management team, driving the development an ...

to evaluate players for potential senior call-ups.

Career statistics

Honors

Florida Gators *

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

regular season: 2013, 2015 * SEC Women's Soccer Tournament: 2015, 2016 San Diego Wave *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual *

USL W-League USL W-League may refer to: * USL W League * USL W-League (1995–2015) The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...

All-League team:

References

External links

*
Meggie Dougherty Howard
at

Meggie Dougherty Howard
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dougherty Howard, Meggie Living people 1995 births Sportspeople from Largo, Florida Soccer players from Florida Washington Spirit players University of Florida alumni Florida Gators women's soccer players American women's soccer players Women's association football midfielders National Women's Soccer League players Washington Spirit draft picks Orlando Pride players San Diego Wave FC players 21st-century American sportswomen Angel City FC players Calgary Wild FC players Northern Super League players