Pauline MacDonald (born 17 April 1975) is a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach for

Dallas Trinity FC Dallas Trinity FC is an American professional Women's association football, women's soccer club based in Dallas, Texas, that competes in the USL Super League (USLS). History Establishment A team representing the Dallas–Fort Worth metropl ...

of the

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 ...

. Previously, she was the manager of the Scotland under-17 women's team. As a player MacDonald made her senior

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

debut in 1992, served the national team as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and amassed a total of 65

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. A versatile defender or midfielder, MacDonald played at club level in the American

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 ...

and the English

FA Women's Premier League The FA Women's National League is a group of six Association football, football divisions which sit at the third and fourth tiers of women's football in England. Founded in 1991 as the WFA National League, the league was run by the Women's Footba ...

, as well as in her native Scotland.

Playing career

Club career

MacDonald began playing organised football as an 11-year-old, with Central Fife L.F.C.. She moved to Cumbernauld United L.F.C., then to the dominant team of the era Cove Rangers L.F.C. who were based in Aberdeen. In 1998 MacDonald played for Miami Gliders of the

and was named to the second division all-star team. English

club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

signed MacDonald during the 1999–00 season. After a period of retirement from playing, MacDonald signed for Edinburgh Ladies in September 2006.

International career

In May 1991 MacDonald captained the Scotland under-21 team to a 4–2 win over rivals

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in Motherwell. She made her senior international debut in April 1992, at the

Albena Cup The Albena Cup was an invitational competition for women's football (soccer) teams held in Albena, Bulgaria. Contested by both clubs and national teams, it was originally named Grand Hotel Varna Tournament and the first two editions were held indo ...

Coaching career

In September 2004 MacDonald was appointed as a women's football development officer for Edinburgh, a position jointly funded by the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...

(SFA) and the local authority. Structured female youth football was completely lacking in the area and MacDonald made it her priority to remedy the situation. MacDonald guided Dalkeith L.F.C. to

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into the top-flight

Scottish Women's Premier League The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL (previously styled as ''SWPL 1'') and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of th ...

in 2007–2008, her first season as a club coach. They took their Premier League place as Boroughmuir Thistle, having undergone a name change. After approximately a decade of working for the SFA as coach and assistant coach with the national women's youth teams, MacDonald was appointed coach of the Scotland under-17 women's team in October 2017. She joined her former Scotland teammates

Shelley Kerr Michelle Kerr (born 15 October 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player who is currently the English Football Association's technical lead for women's national teams. As a player Kerr was a powerful centre back, who captained and ...

and

Pauline Hamill Pauline may refer to: Religion *An adjective referring to St Paul the Apostle or a follower of his doctrines *An adjective referring to St Paul of Thebes, also called St Paul the First Hermit *An adjective referring to the Paulines, various relig ...

as a full-time female coach on the SFA payroll. On June 19, 2024, MacDonald was announced as the inaugural head coach for

ahead of the club's campaign, an inaugural team in the new

, which began in late August 2024. MacDonald missed the first three games of the season due to delays in obtaining her work visa. General Manager,

Chris Petrucelli Christopher Joseph Petrucelli (born May 9, 1962) is an American soccer executive who is the general manager for the Dallas Trinity FC of the USL Super League (USLS), a position he has held since 2024. Playing career Raised in Edison, New Jersey ...

stepped in as interim head coach. MacDonald was present during the team's first win against

Lexington SC Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021 as an expansion side in USL League One (the third division of the United States soccer league system), the clu ...

, but was not named the coach. Following the

2024–25 USL Super League season The 2024–25 USL Super League (referred to as USLS) is the first season of the USL Super League, a top division of women's soccer in the United States. Eight teams are competing in the inaugural season which began on August 17, 2024. The league p ...

that saw Trinity's season end in the semifinals of the playoffs, MacDonald was relived of her duties on 25 June 2025.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacDonald, Pauline 1975 births Living people Scottish women's footballers Scotland women's international footballers Arsenal W.F.C. players FA Women's National League players USL W-League (1995–2015) players Female association football managers Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Scottish expatriate women's footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Women's association football defenders Women's association football midfielders Spartans W.F.C. players Women's association football managers Scottish football managers Dallas Trinity FC head coaches Scottish expatriate football managers USL Super League head coaches