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Hal Hershfelt

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Hal Hershfelt
Hershfelt with the Washington Spirit in 2024
Personal information
Full name Katherine Hailey Hershfelt[1]
Date of birth (2001-10-03) October 3, 2001 (age 23)[2]
Place of birth San Diego, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Washington Spirit
Number 17
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2023 Clemson Tigers 99 (16)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 Greenville Liberty 7 (1)
2023 Indy Eleven 8 (1)
2024– Washington Spirit 25 (2)
International career‡
2024– United States 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 2, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 3, 2024

Katherine Hailey Hershfelt (born October 3, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She played college soccer for the Clemson Tigers and was selected fifth overall by the Spirit in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She was included as an alternate for the United States squad that won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Early life and college career

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Hershfelt was born in San Diego, California, in a military family, and has a younger brother.[3] Her family moved often, living in many states across the South, but she calls Hattiesburg, Mississippi, her hometown.[3][4] During high school, she moved from Florida to Georgia to play ECNL club soccer for Concorde Fire, which she helped reach the national semifinals in 2017.[3][5] Shortly after her move, she tore her ACL and meniscus, which limited her college search before she committed to Clemson University as a sophomore.[3][6] She graduated from Lassiter High School in Marietta.[7]

Clemson Tigers

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Hershfelt was a five-year starter for the Clemson Tigers from 2019 to 2023, making 99 appearances with 16 goals and 12 assists. She earned third-team All-ACC honors as a sophomore, second-team All-ACC as a junior and senior, and first-team All-ACC as a graduate student.[3][5] In her last year at Clemson in 2024, she helped lead the Tigers to the semifinals of the national championship and was named to the all-tournament team.[8]

Club career

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USL W League

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During the summer of 2022, Hershfelt joined the amateur club Greenville Liberty in the inaugural USL W League season.[9][10] The Liberty placed first in the South Atlantic Division and qualified for the 2022 USL W League national semifinals.

The following summer, Hershfelt joined Indy Eleven's USL W League team for the 2023 USL W League season.[11] Indy went on to win the league championship.[12]

Washington Spirit

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The Washington Spirit selected Hershfelt with the 5th overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft; the Spirit traded Ashley Sanchez to the North Carolina Courage for the pick and US$250,000 in allocation money on draft night.[13] She was signed to a three-year contract.[14] She debuted in the starting lineup of the opening matchday against the Seattle Reign on March 17.[15] The next week, she scored her first professional goal in a 2–1 home win over Bay FC on March 23.[16] Hershfelt played the most minutes of her rookie class (23 starts in 25 appearances) and was named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team after helping the Spirit finish the regular season in second place.[17][18] On November 16, she scored the tying goal against NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL semifinals, heading in Makenna Morris's free kick in the 90+3rd minute. The game ended 1–1 before the Spirit advanced on penalties to the final, where they lost 1–0 to the Orlando Pride.[19][20]

International career

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Hershfelt was called into training camp with the United States national team in June 2024, her first national team call-up at any level.[21] Later that month she was named as an alternate to the national team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.[22] The United States won the gold medal, defeating Brazil 1–0 in the final on a goal from Mallory Swanson;[23] however, Hershfelt did not receive a medal as an alternate.[24]

Hershfelt made her debut for the United States in a 3–1 friendly victory over Iceland on October 24, 2024, replacing midfielder Sam Coffey in the 72nd minute.[25][26]

Style of play

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A defensive midfielder, Hershfelt is known for her ability to disrupt play with good anticipation, smart positioning to make interceptions, and hard tackling.[3][27]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of November 16, 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Playoffs[b] Total Ref.
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Greenville Liberty 2022 USL W League 7 1 — — 7 1 [28]
Indy Eleven 2023 8 1 — — 8 1 [12]
Washington Spirit 2024 NWSL 25 2 — 2 1 27 3
Career total 40 4 0 0 2 1 42 5
  1. ^ Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup
  2. ^ Includes NWSL Playoffs

International

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As of match played December 3, 2024
National Team Year Apps Goals
United States 2024 3 0
Total 3 0

Honors

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Candidates for the Bachelor's Degree: College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences – Bachelor of Science: Psychology". Commencement: Friday, August 12, 2022. Clemson, South Carolina: Clemson University. August 12, 2022. p. 18. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "Hal Hershfelt". United States Soccer Federation. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Floyd, Thomas (April 26, 2024). "Hal Hershfelt, used to a life in motion, finds a foothold with the Spirit". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024.
  4. ^ "Getting to Know Midfielder Hal Hershfelt". Washington Spirit. April 24, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Hal Hershfelt". Clemson Tigers. July 18, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Clark, Travis (January 30, 2017). "Recruiting Roundup: January 30–February 5". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  7. ^ "Lassiter Alum Hal Hershfelt Taken Fifth Overall in NWSL Draft". Marietta Daily Journal. January 15, 2024. Archived from the original on April 13, 2024.
  8. ^ "Four Tigers Selected in 2024 NWSL Draft". Clemson Tigers. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  9. ^ "W League Team Pens Second Clemson Player". Greenville Triumph SC. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "15 players to watch during the inaugural USL W League season". USL W League. May 5, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  11. ^ "Indy Eleven Announces Initial Roster for 2023 USL W League Season". Indy Eleven. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Hal Hershfelt". Indy Eleven. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  13. ^ Brockway, Ella (January 12, 2024). "Spirit gets busy, deals Ashley Sanchez, Sam Staab and loads up in draft". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  14. ^ "Washington Spirit Officially Signs 2024 Rookie Class to Professional Contracts". Washington Spirit. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  15. ^ "Recap: Spirit falls in 2024 season opener – all 2024 Draft signees see the field". Washington Spirit. March 17, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  16. ^ Spala, Natalie (March 23, 2024). "Rookies lead Washington Spirit to action-packed home opener win, 2–1 over Bay FC". WJLA-TV. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  17. ^ "2024 NWSL Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "NWSL Announces Winners of 2024 NWSL Best XI Awards, presented by Amazon Prime". National Women's Soccer League. November 18, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "Washington Spirit 1–1 NJ/NY Gotham FC". ESPN. November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  20. ^ Dure, Beau (November 23, 2024). "Orlando Pride 1-0 Washington Spirit: NWSL championship final – live". The Guardian. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  21. ^ Anderson, Jason (May 22, 2024). "Bethune, Hershfelt talk USWNT call-ups amid standout NWSL rookie seasons". Pro Soccer Wire. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  22. ^ Carter, Derrian (June 26, 2024). "Hal Hershfelt, former Clemson women's soccer player, named an alternate to U.S. Olympic team". The Greenville News. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  23. ^ Mathews, Max (August 10, 2024). "USWNT vs Brazil live updates: Mallory Swanson breaks deadlock in Paris Olympics 2024 women's soccer final". The Athletic. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  24. ^ Hill, Courtney (October 18, 2024). "Who are the six uncapped players named on Emma Hayes' latest USWNT roster?". Olympic Games. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  25. ^ "USWNT vs. Iceland score: Emma Hayes' USA soccer come to life late on to win international friendly". CBSSports.com. October 25, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  26. ^ "USA 3-1 Iceland (Oct 24, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  27. ^ Abdullah, Abdullah (November 20, 2024). "Hal Hershfelt has made herself essential to the Washington Spirit's midfield". The Equalizer. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  28. ^ "Greenville Liberty SC – 2022 Regular Season – Roster – #15 – Katherine Hershfelt". USL W League. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023.
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