 Teaching soccer to an Afghan girl in June 2004 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Meredith Grace Beard | ||
| Birth name | Meredith Grace Florance[1] | ||
| Date of birth | May 10, 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Dallas, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1996 | Dallas Sting | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2000 | North Carolina Tar Heels | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001 | Carolina Courage | 20 | (2) |
| 2002–2003 | Washington Freedom | 19 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 1999–2001 | United States | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Meredith Grace Beard (née Florance; born May 10, 1979) is an American former professional soccer player. A forward, she represented the Carolina Courage and the Washington Freedom of Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). She won three caps for the United States national team.
As a senior at North Carolina, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top soccer player.[2][3]
Beard was the Carolina Courage's second draft pick ahead of the inaugural 2001 season of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).[4] Ahead of the 2002 season she joined the Washington Freedom as a free agent. She was mainly a substitute at the Freedom, as coach Jim Gabarra preferred to field celebrated forwards Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach.
In 2003, Beard's Freedom team won the Founders Cup, but she did not play in the post-season fixtures. When WUSA subsequently folded, she began working for a kitchen and bathroom showroom.[5]
In February 1999, Beard won her first cap for the United States national team. She played the second half of a 3–1 behind closed doors win over Finland in Orlando.[6] She played two more matches for the national team in January 2001, both against China.[7]
In February 2002 she married Ryan Beard.[8]
