Shea Ellese Groom (born March 4, 1993) 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

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 ...

for

Chicago Stars FC 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 Chica ...

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). Groom played collegiate soccer for

Texas A&M Aggies The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...

before starting her professional career with

FC Kansas City FC Kansas City was an American professional women's soccer club based in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was one of the eight founding clubs of the National Women's Soccer League in 2012, and began play in 2013. They were two-time NWSL champio ...

in 2015. She was traded to

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

ceased operations in 2018, before joining

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 ...

in 2019, then joining

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 2020. In 2024, she signed with Chicago as a free agent. Groom is a former United States youth international. She received her first call-up to the full national team in October 2016 but has yet to win a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

Early life

Born in

Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to Willia ...

, to Kelly and Lesa Groom, Groom attended Liberty High School where she led the girls' soccer team to a state championship and was named Missouri's Player of the Year in 2010. She was named Gatorade Missouri Player of the year twice in 2010 and 2011. Groom was a NSCAA High School Girls' All-America Soccer Team selection and named NSCAA State Player of the Year in 2010. In 2011, she was named All-American by ESPN Rise.

Collegiate career

Groom played collegiate soccer with

. She capped a decorated college career with 16 goals and seven assists in 26 matches in 2014. She ranked third in the Southeastern Conference and 19th in the nation for goals, which helped her win the

SEC Offensive Player of the Year Coaches and media of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) bestow the following individual awards at the end of each college football season. Player of the Year A single award was issued for the 1933–2001 seasons, except for 1943 when no award was ...

award. She recorded 41 goals and 25 assists in 84 career matches for the Aggies.

Club career

FC Kansas City, 2015–2017

Groom was selected by

as the 12th overall pick of the

2015 NWSL College Draft The 2015 NWSL College Draft was the third annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 16, 2015, at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Format *Dr ...

. She made her debut for Kansas City against

on April 12, 2015. Shea scored her first goal for Kansas City in a 0–2 win over

on May 2, 2015. Groom was named Player of the Week for week 13 of the

2015 National Women's Soccer League season The 2015 National Women's Soccer League season was the third season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2 ...

after recording one goal and two assists against the

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 ...

. She was also named the team's rookie of the year for 2015. Groom appeared in the 2015 NWSL Championship game as a second-half substitute,

won the Championship with a 1–0 win over the

Seattle Reign 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 ...

Sky Blue FC, 2018

On December 29, 2017, it was announced that

Utah Royals FC The Utah Royals (formerly Utah Royals FC) are an American professional soccer team based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion team, ...

had traded Groom along with teammate

Christina Gibbons Christina Marie Gibbons (born December 30, 1994) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender. She is married to social worker Dempsey Schott Gibbons. Club career FC Kansas City, 2017 After spending four years playing at Duke University ...

and the no. 4 overall selection in the 2018 NWSL College Draft. The New Jersey club has acquired the players in exchange for the defender

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 ...

, midfielder Taylor Lytle and the no. 25 overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.

Reign FC, 2019

On January 15, 2019,

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 ...

acquired Groom from

Houston Dash, 2020–2023

On February 3, 2020,

acquired Groom, Megan Oyster, and a conditional draft pick from Reign FC in exchange for Sofia Huerta and

Amber Brooks Amber Jean Brooks (born January 23, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for USL Super League club Dallas Trinity. She has previously played for Adelaide United, the Houston Dash, OL Reign, the Washington Spi ...

Chicago Stars, 2024–present

Groom signed with the

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 ...

(later named Chicago Stars FC) in January 2024.

International career

Groom has represented the United States at various youth levels. She played for the under-23 national team at the 2015 La Manga Tournament. She started in all three matches and scored the first goal of the 2–0 victory over Norway. In October 2016, Groom received her first call-up to the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...

for a pair of friendlies against Switzerland. She did not play in either game.

Personal life

Groom's older sister, Kami, is a competitive

ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums *Ultimate (Bryan Adams album), ''Ultimate'' (Bryan Adams album) *Ultimate (Jolin Tsai album), ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) *Ultimate (Pet Shop Boys album), ''Ult ...

player and has represented the United States on various national teams.

Club statistics

Honors

FC Kansas City * NWSL Championship:

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 ...

Houston Dash * NWSL Challenge Trophy:

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 ...

Individual * NWSL Second XI:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

* *
FC Kansas City player profile

Texas A&M player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Groom, Shea 1993 births Living people American women's soccer players Texas A&M Aggies women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players FC Kansas City players Soccer players from Missouri Sportspeople from the Kansas City metropolitan area People from Liberty, Missouri Sportspeople from Clay County, Missouri Women's association football forwards FC Kansas City draft picks Chicago Stars FC players Chicago Red Stars players Gotham FC players Seattle Reign FC players Houston Dash players 21st-century American sportswomen