Ellie Jean

Elisabeth Charlotte Jean (born January 31, 1997) is a Dominican American[3][4] professional soccer player who plays as a defender for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Ellie Jean
Jean with Gotham in 2023
Personal information
Full name Elisabeth Charlotte Jean[1]
Date of birth (1997-01-31) January 31, 1997[2]
Place of birth Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States[1]
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 NJ/NY Gotham FC
Number 21
Youth career
Oakwood SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Penn State 100 (8)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 New England Mutiny
2020 FC Nordsjælland
2020–2022 PSV Eindhoven 22
2022– NJ/NY Gotham FC 23 (0)
International career‡
United States U17
United States U20
United States U23
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 10, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 10, 2023

Early life

Jean was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee,[1] and grew up in Coventry, Connecticut. As a child, she practiced gymnastics before taking up soccer, initially at Northeast United.[5] At age 13, she moved teams to youth soccer club Oakwood SC in Glastonbury, Connecticut, where she played for five years.[5] She attended Coventry High School but did not play soccer for the school, instead competing in cross country running.[1][5] The Hartford Courant named her its cross country runner of the year in her senior year.[5]

College career

In the 2015 season, Jean was credited with six assists in 26 matches played for the Nittany Lions, and the team won the national championship.[6][5] She redshirted in her sophomore season to play for the United States women's national under-20 soccer team at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[1] Jean finished her Penn State career in 2018 with 100 appearances, one goal, and eight assists.[2]

Club career

Jean played for the New England Mutiny of United Women's Soccer in 2018 and 2019.[7]

FC Nordsjælland, 2020

Jean opted not to register for the 2020 NWSL College Draft.[8]

On January 14, 2020, Jean signed a contract with semi-professional Danish club FC Nordsjælland of the Danish Women's League.[9] However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, all sport in Denmark was locked down and banned on March 6, 2020, suspending the 2019–20 season.[10] Jean returned to the United States in March.[11]

PSV Eindhoven, 2020–2022

On May 1, 2020, Jean was transferred to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and signed a two-year contract with the club.[12] She appeared in 22 league matches for PSV, and four matches of the team's 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League campaign, debuting in the European competition in December 2020 in a 1–4 loss to FC Barcelona.[8][6]

NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2022–

On January 31, 2022, NWSL club NJ/NY Gotham FC paid an undisclosed transfer fee to acquire Jean from PSV with six months remaining on her contract with the Dutch club.[13] Gotham signed her to a one-year contract with an option for an additional year.[14]

In 2023, newly appointed Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós shifted Jean from her traditional role as a fullback to center back, pairing her with Ali Krieger.[15]

International career

Jean was called into camp for the United States under-15 team in October 2012.[16]

On September 25, 2013, Jean was named to the United States under-17 roster for the 2013 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship.[17] Jean captained the team at the tournament.[2][18]

In 2016, Jean started in all six matches for the United States under-20 team at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[6]

In March 2017, Jean was called into camp for the United States under-23 team for the first time.[19] In June 2017, she was named to the under-23 roster for the 2017 Nordic Cup, where the United States finished in second place.[20] Jean was called into under-23 camp again in July 2017[21] and January 2018,[22] and in March was named to the roster that would compete in the 2018 Portland Thorns FC Spring Invitational pre-season tournament.[23]

Honors

Penn State Nittany Lions

PSV Eindhoven

Personal life

Jean's birth father, Domingo Jean, had been a pitcher for the New York Yankees in 1993.[5] He left the family when Jean was a child, and Jean's mother, Rebecca, raised her as a single parent.[3] Jean's mother remarried, and Jean's stepfather Kevin Bacher was an assistant coach for the UConn Huskies men's soccer team,[5][4][24] which inspired Jean to play soccer. Jean would later reconnect with her father and half-brother as an adult after returning to the United States from the Netherlands in 2022.[4]

References
  1. "Ellie Jean". Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  2. "#21 Ellie Jean". NJ/NY Gotham FC. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  3. Jean, Ellie (June 5, 2020). "Interview: Best of 2020 Part 3, Black Women Athletes Speak Out". Burn It All Down (Interview). Interviewed by Amira Rose Davis. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  4. Tonelli, Jenna (February 22, 2022). "Gotham Has a New Defender: Ellie Jean". Nets Republic. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  5. Riley, Lori (October 27, 2016). "Coventry's Ellie Jean Ready For U-20 World Cup Soccer Run". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  6. Sigal, Jonathan (December 10, 2020). "Ellie Jean plays in Champions League for PSV Eindhoven vs. FC Barcelona". New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  7. "Five More UWS Alumnae Sign Pro Deals" (Press release). United Women's Soccer. August 17, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  8. "NJ/NY Gotham FC Adds Champions League Experience, Signing Defender Ellie Jean" (Press release). NJ/NY Gotham FC. January 31, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  9. Sigal, Jonathan (January 14, 2020). "Ellie Jean signs with FC Nordsjælland: "I wanted to branch out"". New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  10. "Sporten lukker ned i Danmark: Få overblikket her" (in Danish). TV2. 6 March 2020.
  11. Lapreziosa, Madeline (December 9, 2020). "Former Penn State women's soccer player Ellie Jean strives to make a difference on and off the field". Daily Collegian. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  12. Sigal, Jonathan (May 4, 2020). "Ellie Jean signs with PSV Eindhoven: How the transfer came together". New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  13. "Jean maakt transfer naar Gotham FC" [Jean transfers to Gotham FC] (Press release). PSV Eindhoven. January 31, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  14. Derksen, Linda (February 1, 2022). "Gotham FC koopt contract Ellie Jean bij PSV af". ED (in Dutch). Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  15. Albert, Cameron (May 24, 2023). "The secrets of their success: Why Gotham FC now top NWSL table". Hudson River Blue. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  16. "U.S. under-15 and under-14 national team rosters". Soccer America. October 18, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  17. "U.S. under-17 women's national team roster". Soccer America. September 25, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  18. "J17 WNT beats Canada 2–0 to win Group B". TopDrawerSoccer.com (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. November 4, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  19. "Ellie Jean, Kaleigh Riehl selected for U.S. U-23 camp". Centre Daily Times. March 22, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  20. "U.S. U-23 WNT Finishes Second at Four-Nations Nordic Tournament" (Press release). Penn State Nittany Lions. June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  21. "U.S. Womens' [sic] U-23 Camp Coming To UW Campus" (Press release). Washington Huskies. July 21, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  22. "Roster announced for first U.S. U-23 WNT training camp of 2018". SoccerWire (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. January 2, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  23. Scavuzzo, Diane (March 8, 2018). "U223 Women's Roster for Thorns Spring Invitational". SoccerToday. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  24. Sigal, Jonathan (October 8, 2018). "Oakwood midfielder Owen Guglielmino verbally commits to UConn". New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
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