Megan "Meggie" Dougherty Howard (born July 27, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who most recently played as a midfielder for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for San Diego Wave FC, Orlando Pride, and Washington Spirit.
_046_(cropped).jpg) Dougherty Howard with Angel City in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Megan Dougherty Howard[1][2] | ||
| Date of birth | July 27, 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Largo, Florida, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tampa Bay United | |||
| Strictly Soccer FC | |||
| 2015 | Washington Spirit Reserves | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Florida Gators | 94 | (14) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2020 | Washington Spirit | 68 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | Orlando Pride | 35 | (3) |
| 2023 | San Diego Wave FC | 12 | (0) |
| 2024 | Angel City FC | 18 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2011 | United States U15 | ||
| 2016–2017 | United States U23 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 1, 2024 | |||
Early life
editRaised in Largo, Florida, 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.[3]
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.[3] She played club soccer with Tampa Bay United Premier Girls 94 team, which won the 2011 and 2012 Disney Qualifier.[3] In 2011, she attended the U.S. under-15 national team camp.[3]
Florida Gators, 2013-16
editDougherty Howard was a four-year starter for the Florida Gators at the University of Florida 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.[3][4]
Club career
editIn 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. Her team won the W-League title in 2015 and the Women's Premier Soccer League East Conference in 2016. In 2015, she was named to the W-League All-League Team.[5]
Washington Spirit (2017–2020)
editIn 2017, Dougherty Howard was selected in the third round (29th overall) of the 2017 NWSL College Draft by Washington Spirit.[6] She was signed to the team on March 12[7] and made her professional debut on April 22 as a 67th minute substitute for Kristie Mewis in a 1–1 draw with Orlando Pride.[8] She scored her first goal as a rookie on August 4, 2017, in a 4–1 victory over Sky Blue FC.[9] Following the 2017 season, she was one of three finalists for NWSL Rookie of the Year.[10]
Orlando Pride (2021–2022)
editOn December 24, 2020, Dougherty Howard was traded along with two first-round picks and $140,000 in allocation money to Orlando Pride in exchange for Emily Sonnett.[11] She made her debut for the club on April 10, 2021, starting and assisting both goals in a 2–2 draw with Racing Louisville in the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup opening round.[12]
San Diego Wave FC (2023)
editOn January 12, 2023, Dougherty Howard signed a two-year contract as a free agent with San Diego Wave FC.[13] During the 2023 season, she made 12 appearances for the club, including 8 starts.[14] San Diego finished first in the regular season winning the NWSL Shield.[15] They were defeated by OL Reign in the semi-finals of the NWSL Playoffs.[16]
Angel City FC (2024)
editIn January 2024, Dougherty Howard was acquired by Angel City FC in exchange for $40,000 in allocation money ahead of the 2024 season.[17] She made her debut for Angel City on March 17, 2024 in a match against Bay FC.[14] 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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20]
International career
editIn November 2011, Dougherty Howard was called up to the United States under-15 team.[3] In April 2016 she was called up to the under-23 training camp in Charlottesville, Virginia that featured only collegiate players.[21] The following month she was part of the 20-player roster that won the U23 Nordic Tournament.[22][23] 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 to evaluate players for potential senior call-ups.[24][25]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played November 1, 2024.[26]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Playoffs | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Washington Spirit | 2017 | NWSL | 23 | 1 | — | — | — | 23 | 1 | |||
| 2018 | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 0 | |||||
| 2020 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 68 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 75 | 1 | ||
| Orlando Pride | 2021 | NWSL | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 3 | ||
| San Diego Wave FC | 2023 | NWSL | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |
| Angel City FC | 2024 | NWSL | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 134 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 158 | 5 | ||
- ^ Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup
- ^ Includes the NWSL Fall Series
Honors
editFlorida Gators
- Southeastern Conference regular season: 2013, 2015
- SEC Women's Soccer Tournament: 2015,[27] 2016[4]
San Diego Wave
Individual
- USL W-League All-League team: 2015[29]
References
edit- ^ Wolfe, David (March 22, 2017). "Washington Spirit Roster Looks to the Fountain of Youth". The Sentinel. Retrieved August 4, 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Megan Dougherty Howard". U.S. Soccer. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Meggie Dougherty Howard – Florida Gators". Florida Gators. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ a b "SEC Soccer Tournament Champs! Gators Win 2–1 OT Over Arkansas". Florida Gators. November 6, 2016. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ Scavuzzo, Diane. "W-LEAGUE 2015 All-League team". Goal Nation. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Meggie Dougherty Howard". Washington Spirit. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Washington Spirit sign draft picks Meggie Dougherty Howard and Lindsay Agnew". VAVEL. September 24, 2018. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit April 22, 2017". www.nwslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Washington Spirit scores four unanswered goals in road win at Sky Blue FC". Washington Spirit. August 5, 2017. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Ashley Hatch named 2017 NWSL Rookie of the Year". The Equalizer. October 17, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
- ^ "Orlando Pride Acquires Pair of First Round Draft Picks, Allocation Money and Meggie Dougherty Howard". www.orlandocitysc.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ Carnevale, Scott (April 10, 2021). "Orlando Pride Draw Racing Louisville 2–2 in Challenge Cup". The Mane Land. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- ^ "San Diego Wave FC Signs Midfielder Megan Dougherty Howard". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. January 12, 2023. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
- ^ a b "M. Dougherty Howard". Soccerway. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "Wave FC celebrates NWSL Shield win, gears up for playoff run". KPBS. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "OL Reign upset San Diego Wave, NJ/NY Gotham FC stun Portland Thorns to advance to final". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "Angel City Acquires Meggie Dougherty Howard via Trade with San Diego". Angel City. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ "Alyssa Thompson scores twice as Angel City defeats San Diego to end losing streak". Los Angeles Times. August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ^ "Match Recap: Angel City 1, Racing Louisville FC 2 | 9.14.24". angelcity.com. September 15, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ "ACFC Announces Roster Status". angelcity.com. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
- ^ "U-23 WNT heads to Charlottesville training camp with 26-player roster". US Soccer. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "U-23 WNT will travel to England for women's Nordic Tournament". US Soccer. Archived from the original on July 3, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Three Gators help US U-23 Team win Nordic Tournament". Florida Gators. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "U-23 WNT opens 2017 with 30-player training camp at U.S. Soccer NTC". US Soccer. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "U.S. U-23 Women's National Team set for first 2017 training camp". SoccerWire. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Meggie Dougherty Howard – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Florida wins 2015 SEC Soccer Tournament". www.secsports.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "San Diego Wave claim 2023 NWSL Shield". CONCACAF. October 17, 2023. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ "Meggie Dougherty Howard". Washington Spirit. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.