Ryan Williams (women's soccer)

Williams was born on February 23, 1996 in Centennial, Colorado,[1] to parents Charles and Lisa. She has five siblings: Bailey, Megan, Charlie, Peter, and Patrick.[2] Williams began playing soccer at four years old,[3] and she played club soccer with an Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) team, the Colorado Rush, as a midfielder.[4] The Rush won the ECNL national championship in the 2011–12 season.[5] In her sophomore year at Cherry Creek High School, Williams was part of the soccer team that won the 2012 5A state championship.[2][6] As a four-year letterwinner coming out of high school, she was ranked 16th regionally by TopDrawerSoccer.com.[2]

By February 3, 2014, Williams committed to Texas Christian University (TCU),[7] citing her sister, Megan, who was attending the university at the time, and a positive experience at a camp hosted by Eric Bell, the head coach of the women's soccer team.[4] Williams majored in physical education,[8] and she was listed on the Academic Big 12 All-Rookie team in 2014 and 1st-team Academic All-Big 12 from 2015 to 2017.[2]

In 2014, Williams' freshman year, she was converted to a defender,[3] played in 19 matches and started in 18.[2] She made her collegiate debut against Washington State, the Horned Frogs' first opponent of the season, on August 22.[9] Williams got her first assist in a 3–0 win against Abilene Christian on September 7,[10] with Michelle Prokof scoring the goal.[11] The sole game she did not start was against Texas State on September 12, in which she was substituted on in the 63rd minute.[12] Williams recorded another assist against North Texas nine days later.[13] Her contributions helped the team achieve six shutouts and a goals against average of 0.96,[2] and the Horned Frogs finished 8–8–3,[14] with a loss to West Virginia in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Big 12 Conference Women's Soccer Tournament.[15] Williams, who played 1,702 minutes in her first season, was listed as part of the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team on November 3.[16]

Williams started every game in her sophomore year, and improved her form by leading the team with five assists.[2] Two of those assists were against Oral Roberts,[17] leading to a 4–0 win on September 6.[18] Her fifth assist was against Baylor on October 27,[2][19] leading to the game-tying goal by Mackenzie Koch.[20] She also had a shot that hit the crossbar in overtime.[21] In the 2015 Big 12 Conference Women's Soccer Tournament, TCU was knocked out by Baylor in penalties,[22] ending the season with a record of 8–7–4. The penalty shootout lasted eight rounds,[23] and Williams made her kick during the sixth round.[24]

In 2016, Williams' junior year, she started all 20 games for the Horned Frogs.[2] She assisted the game-winning goal in the season-opener against Maryland Terrapins during overtime on August 19.[25][26] Her other assist of the season was to Kayla Hill against Austin Peay, en route to a 4–1 win.[27] In the 2016 Big 12 Conference Women's Soccer Tournament, the Horned Frogs beat Kansas 1–0 in the quarterfinals,[28] and Baylor 3–2 in overtime in the semifinals.[29] In the Big 12 Championship, the Horned Frogs lost to West Virginia 3–2 in overtime, after leading 2–0 before halftime.[30] After the conference tournament, TCU qualified for the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament for the first time in school history.[31] On November 12, the Horned Frogs were knocked out in the first round by Texas A&M, after falling behind 1–0 early in the match and could not recover.[32]

Williams started in all 22 games in her senior year.[2] In the season opener against Louisiana–Monroe, Williams collected her 10th career assist, leading to a 5–0 win.[33] On August 20, she broke a personal record with three assists against UTSA in a 5–0 victory.[34] Williams returned to her home state of Colorado on August 27,[35] assisting the game-winning goal against Northern Colorado.[36] Her 15th and final collegiate assist was in a 2–1 loss to Northeastern on September 8.[37] In the 2017 Big 12 Conference Women's Soccer Tournament, she made her penalty kicks in back-to-back penalty shootout victories against Kansas and West Virginia.[38][39] Williams was placed as the fifth penalty kicker by Bell "because we know she's got ice water in her veins."[39] In the Big 12 Championship, Williams scored her first collegiate goal in the 87th minute against Baylor, when a handball was called inside the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick. The Horned Frogs lost the match 2–1, with Williams scoring the lone goal.[40] With a record of 12–6–3, TCU qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament for the second consecutive season.[41] The Horned Frogs scored their first ever NCAA tournament goal, then allowed two goals to Arizona and lost in the first round.[42] At the end of the season, Williams was listed as part of the 2017 All-Big 12 First Team[43] and the United Soccer Coaches All-South First Team.[44]

After her college career, Williams acknowledged TCU assistant coach Ryan Higgenbotham for helping her improve. She said, "Whenever I would ask, he was there. He was always really honest with me in what I needed to do and really always believed in me and wanted me to do well, and do so successfully. He’s also just a good person. He cared as me first as a person, and then as a player."[45]

Williams was drafted by the North Carolina Courage with the 40th pick of the 2018 NWSL College Draft, becoming the first player from TCU to be drafted into the NWSL.[46] She was added as a defender to the 2018 pre-season roster on March 5, 2018.[47] The Courage did not sign her immediately, as the club retained Williams' NWSL rights.[48] On May 31, Williams was signed as a national team replacement, as some active roster players were on international duty.[49] Williams made her professional debut on June 3 against the Houston Dash,[50] playing 11 minutes in the 1–1 draw.[51] Players on international duty returned to the team on June 15, thus Williams was released as a result, and she was allowed to continue training with the Courage.[52] Williams was signed as a replacement again on July 18, as some players were on international duty for the 2018 Tournament of Nations.[53] Two days later, she was on the matchday squad for the match against Utah Royals FC as an unused substitute.[54] On July 26, Williams participated in the 2018 Women's International Champions Cup, substituting on in the 61st minute against Paris Saint-Germain.[55] The Courage advanced into the finals, and they faced Olympique Lyonnais three days later. She made her first start in the finals and protected the 1–0 lead for 80 minutes.[56] Williams did not make another appearance during the 2018 season,[51] and the Courage continued on to win the NWSL Shield and Championship.[57]

On March 8, 2019, Williams and the Courage reached an agreement on a new contract, with coach Paul Riley saying Williams made progress over the year.[58] The Courage announced their 2019 pre-season roster on March 18, with Williams listed as a midfielder.[59] In the pre-season match against the Orlando Pride on March 23, Williams was list as an unused substitute.[60] She was moved to a supplemental spot on the 2019 roster, which was released on April 8.[61] On May 4, Williams was an unused substitute for the regular season match against Sky Blue FC.[62] Eight days later, she played 16 minutes against the Chicago Red Stars as a substitute,[63] replacing midfielder Kristen Hamilton. The Courage lost the game 3–1, their first lost in 330 days.[64] Williams remained an unused substitute for the next two matches against Utah Royals FC and Seattle Reign FC.[63] On June 1, Williams made her first NWSL start against Orlando, playing 81 minutes as a defender. She and the rest of the defense helped the team to a 3–0 win.[65] Two weeks later, Williams played for the first half against Portland Thorns FC, before being substituted out for Julia Spetsmark, who scored the game-tying goal.[66] She played her first full match at the Washington Spirit, winning 2–1.[67] Williams was an unused substitute for the match against Houston on July 5, and she did not make an appearance for the rest of the regular season.[63] She was out with an injury in late July,[68] before being upgraded to questionable in mid-August.[69] During the 2019 Women's International Champions Cup, she was an unused substitute for both matches.[70][71] The Courage lost to Olympique Lyonnais 1–0 in the finals, finishing as runner-ups.[71] Williams was out with an ankle injury in mid-October,[72] which lasted to the championship game.[73] After winning the NWSL Shield,[74] the Courage defeated Chicago 4–0 in the championship game, winning their second consecutive NWSL Championship.[75] A contract option was exercised for Williams at the end of the season.[76]

In the 2020 pre-season, Williams was listed as a defender on the roster.[77] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pre-season was suspended by the NWSL on March 12.[78] Williams was disappointed with the timing of the postponement, and she said, "We came here, and we had a really good, hard week of preseason, and we were all super excited to be here...It was so fun to be back, and then obviously it got cut off pretty fast."[79] The NWSL allowed individual training on May 6,[80] and Williams and her roommate Cari Roccaro prepared training videos for other teammates to follow from a far distance.[81] Small group training was allowed by May 25,[82] and a new month-long tournament was announced in place of the beginning of the regular season.[83] Williams remained on the roster ahead of the Challenge Cup,[84] and she recorded her first start of the season on July 5, in a 1–0 win against the Chicago Red Stars.[85] The Courage were knocked out in the quarterfinal round of the Challenge Cup by the Portland Thorns on July 17, losing the match 1–0.[86]

As of November 15, 2020[1]

As of July 14, 2020

• Ryan Williams at Soccerway
• Ryan Williams at North Carolina Courage