Madeline Nicole Washington (born August 1, 1988) is an American retired 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 ...

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

right 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. ...

who last played for

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...

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) and is currently an assistant coach for the women's soccer team at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. She previously played for

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 ...

, and magicJack in

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 ...

as well as the

Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...

and

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 ...

in the NWSL. She captained 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 ...

team that won the

2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 4th edition of the tournament. It was held in Chile between 19 November and 7 December 2008. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in the final competition, i ...

and played for the under-23 team.

Early life

Born in

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Kaufman County, Texas, Kaufman County. The population was 150,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and maki ...

to parents, Freida and Lecolion Washington, Washington was named after her grandmother. She has two brothers and one sister. Washington spent her first freshman and sophomore years in high school at Greenhill School in

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, United States. The 2020 census population was 16,661. Addison is immediately north of Dallas. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipalities labeled "towns" with a popul ...

before transferring to

Spring Creek Academy Spring Creek Academy is a Dallas-area private school. Located in Plano, Texas, Spring Creek Academy opened in 1996, and currently serves approximately 200 students in grades K-12. It offers all core and academic elective courses required to meet ...

. She was named the 2003 Dallas Area Freshman of the Year and made the All-Conference team in both 2003 and 2004. Following her high school graduation a year early in 2005, she was also named a ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' All-American. As a youth, Washington played for the Dallas Texans, captaining the '88 Texans team to the 2006 USYSA National Championship and was named an

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

Youth

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Washington subsequently joined the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 2006. In her first season with the

Tar Heels Tar Heel (or Tarheel) is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina and its people. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace ba ...

she equaled an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

record for a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

by starting all 28 matches of the season, a feat which also saw her named to the Freshman All-American team. She finished her collegiate career having scored 17 goals and with 28 assists. In preparation for her senior year at North Carolina, Washington played for

Pali Blues Pali Blues was an American women's soccer team, which played from 2008 to 2014. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Western ...

, scoring six goals and providing two assists. Blues head coach Charlie Naimo said of her, "Nikki brings a lot of experience at a young age. She has competed in club national championships with the Dallas Texans, won two NCAA titles at UNC and most recently captained the U.S. U20 Women's National Team to a gold medal at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile this past fall."

Club career

WPS, 2010–2011

On January 15, 2010, Washington was drafted 5th overall to the

Los Angeles Sol The Los Angeles Sol was an American professional association football, soccer club that was based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The team was co-owned and operated by Anschutz E ...

in the 2010 WPS Draft despite playing only eight games during the prior collegiate season due to an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

injury. However, less than two weeks later on January 27, it was announced that the team, runner's up in the league the previous season but which had been under the administration of the

league, were unable to find a new owner and would close. In a disposal draft of Sol players held on February 4, 2010, Washington was drafted sixth overall by

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 ...

. After a contractual agreement could not be made between Washington and Sky Blue, she was traded to the

Saint Louis Athletica Saint Louis Athletica was an American professional soccer club that was based in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. Athletica started the 2009 season playing its home games at Ralph Korte ...

in May 2010. Just a month later, she was traded to the

after the dissolution of

. Prior to the start of the 2011 season, Washington was traded to the

. She made five appearances for the club. In June 2011, she was traded to magicJack.

Pali Blues and Canberra United, 2012

Following the folding of the WPS, Washington re-signed for

in the W-League for the summer of 2012. She made 11 appearances for the club and helped the team finish undefeated and in first place during the regular season. The club won the Western Conference championship after defeating the Sounders Women 1–0 on July 22 in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

. After advancing to the W-League Final Four in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, the Blues were defeated in the final by the Ottawa Fury. Washington scored the game-opening goal in the second minute of them match. Washington joined Australian W-League team

Canberra United FC Canberra United Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Founded in 2008 by Capital Football, the club was an inaugural member of the W-League and the only club not affiliated wit ...

later the same year. In her five appearances for the club, she scored three goals in five games. During a match against

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 ...

on December 5, she helped Canberra win with the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute.

NWSL, 2013–2015

In February 2013, it was announced that Washington had signed with the

Portland Thorns Portland Thorns FC is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL, which received supp ...

for the inaugural season of the

. She made 11 appearances for the Thorns during the 2013 season, scoring one goal and serving two assists. After finishing third during the regular season and advancing to the playoffs, Portland captured the inaugural National Women's Soccer League championship title on August 21 after defeating regular season champions

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American women's soccer club based in Elma, New York, that most recently competed in the United Women's Soccer league in 2018. They won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-Leag ...

2–0 in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. In January 2014, Washington was traded to expansion team

during the 2014 NWSL College Draft. Dash head coach Randy Waldrum said, "With the trade, we were able to acquire Nikki Washington, a Texas native, who has played in both the WPS and NWSL. She too has blazing speed, and can play in multiple positions. She's an attacking force that can wreak havoc with defenses." She made three appearances for the Dash before being traded to the

. Washington played 15 matches and scored one goal during the 2014 season. Washington announced her retirement from professional soccer in February 2015 ahead of the start of the 2015 season. Breakers general manager Lee Billiard said of her retirement, "We would like to thank Nikki for her contributions to the Boston Breakers and for her work within women's soccer. Nikki is a fantastic professional and someone who we will miss in Boston."

International career

Washington captained the

team that won the

and played 65 minutes during the final against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. She was a member of the U23 National Team in 2009.

Coaching and administration career

Washington co-founded a girls' soccer camp with Casey Nogueira called Camp Foot Ballas. In the summer of 2015, she joined Texas Christian University women's soccer team as the Director of Operations. She is also coach of the Dallas Texans Soccer Club. She briefly coached an 05 girls Texans team before moving to Washington. Washington joined the

's women's soccer team as an assistant coach in 2017. In October 2020 it was announced that she had joined the NWSL's Utah Royals as an assistant coach, the second Black female coach in the NWSL.

References

External links

Boston Breakers player profile

Portland Thorns player profile

Houston Dash player profile (archived)

North Carolina player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Nikki 1988 births Living people American women's soccer players Los Angeles Sol players Chicago Red Stars players Saint Louis Athletica players Boston Breakers players MagicJack (WPS) players North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer players Sportspeople from Mesquite, Texas Pali Blues players Portland Thorns FC players Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games Soccer players from Dallas County, Texas Houston Dash players Women's association football midfielders Women's association football forwards National Women's Soccer League players United States women's under-20 international soccer players African-American soccer players Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in football 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American women Women's Professional Soccer players United States women's youth international soccer players