Elisabeth Charlotte Jean (born January 31, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Ellie Jean
Jean with Racing Louisville in 2024
Personal information
Full name Elisabeth Charlotte Jean[1]
Date of birth (1997-01-31) January 31, 1997 (age 27)[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
Racing Louisville FC
Number 5
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
2022–2023 NJ/NY Gotham FC 33 (0)
2024– Racing Louisville FC 0 (0)
International career
2013 United States U17
2016 United States U20
2017–2018 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

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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.[3] At age 13, she moved teams to youth soccer club Oakwood SC in Glastonbury, Connecticut, where she played for five years.[3] She attended Coventry High School but did not play soccer for the school, instead competing in cross country running.[1][3] The Hartford Courant named her its cross country runner of the year in her senior year.[3]

College career

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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.[4][3] 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

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Jean played for the New England Mutiny of United Women's Soccer in 2018 and 2019.[5]

FC Nordsjælland, 2020

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Jean opted not to register for the 2020 NWSL College Draft.[6]

On January 14, 2020, Jean signed a contract with semi-professional Danish club FC Nordsjælland of the Danish Women's League.[7] 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.[8] Jean returned to the United States in March.[9]

PSV Eindhoven, 2020–2022

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On May 1, 2020, Jean was transferred to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and signed a two-year contract with the club.[10] 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.[6][4]

NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2022–2023

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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.[11] Gotham signed her to a one-year contract with an option for an additional year.[12]

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.[13] Gotham FC would go on to win the NWSL Championship.

Racing Louisville FC, 2024–

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On December 12, 2023 Gotham FC traded Jean to expansion team Bay FC in exchange for 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft protection.[14] On December 18, Jean was traded to Racing Louisville FC.[15]

International career

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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.[4]

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]

Personal life

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Jean is Dominican American.[24][25]

Jean's birth father, Domingo Jean, had been a pitcher for the New York Yankees in 1993.[3] He left the family when Jean was a child, and Jean's mother, Rebecca, raised her as a single parent.[24] Jean's mother remarried, and Jean's stepfather Kevin Bacher was an assistant coach for the UConn Huskies men's soccer team,[3][25][26] 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.[25]

Honors

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Penn State Nittany Lions

PSV Eindhoven

NJ/NY Gotham FC

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Ellie Jean". Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "#21 Ellie Jean". NJ/NY Gotham FC. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Riley, Lori (October 27, 2016). "Coventry's Ellie Jean Ready For U-20 World Cup Soccer Run". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d 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.
  5. ^ "Five More UWS Alumnae Sign Pro Deals" (Press release). United Women's Soccer. August 17, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "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.
  7. ^ Sigal, Jonathan (January 14, 2020). "Ellie Jean signs with FC Nordsjælland: "I wanted to branch out"". New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "Sporten lukker ned i Danmark: Få overblikket her" (in Danish). TV2. 6 March 2020.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Sigal, Jonathan (May 4, 2020). "Ellie Jean signs with PSV Eindhoven: How the transfer came together". New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Jean maakt transfer naar Gotham FC" [Jean transfers to Gotham FC] (Press release). PSV Eindhoven. January 31, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  12. ^ Derksen, Linda (February 1, 2022). "Gotham FC koopt contract Ellie Jean bij PSV af". ED (in Dutch). Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  13. ^ Albert, Cameron (May 24, 2023). "The secrets of their success: Why Gotham FC now top NWSL table". Hudson River Blue. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  14. ^ "Bay FC Acquires defender Ellie Jean from NJ/NY Gotham FC, Allocation Money from Racing Louisville FC in three-team trade". Bay FC. 2023-12-12. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  15. ^ "Racing acquires defender Ellie Jean in trade".
  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. ^ a b 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.
  25. ^ a b c Tonelli, Jenna (February 22, 2022). "Gotham Has a New Defender: Ellie Jean". Nets Republic. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  26. ^ Sigal, Jonathan (October 8, 2018). "Oakwood midfielder Owen Guglielmino verbally commits to UConn". New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  27. ^ "NWSL Championship highlights: Gotham FC crowned champions as Rapinoe, Krieger end careers". USA Today. 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
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