Mikenna McManus

Mikenna McManus
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-07-26) July 26, 1999
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s) Center back, left back
Youth career
West Coast FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Northeastern Huskies 91 (8)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 Chicago Red Stars 1 (0)
2023 Þróttur Reykjavík 23 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 31, 2025

Mikenna McManus (born July 26, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who most recently played as a defender for Þróttur Reykjavík of the Besta deild kvenna. She played college soccer for the Northeastern Huskies.

Early life

A native of Lake Forest, California, McManus attended El Toro High School and earned three varsity letters with its soccer team.[1] In 2016, she helped El Toro win the Sea View League championship and was subsequently named to the All-League First Team. She also played club soccer for West Coast FC.[2]

College career

McManus played five seasons with the Northeastern Huskies. She made an immediate impact in her freshman year, starting in all but one of the 22 games she played in.[1] The following season, she was named to the All-CAA second team after helping the Huskies' backline to 7 shutouts on the year.[3][4] She had started all 22 of Northeastern's matches, leading the team in minutes played. On August 30, 2018, she tallied three assists in a single match as the Huskies beat Boston College in conference play.[1] As a junior, McManus was named third-team All-CAA.[5] In late September 2019, she was recognized as the CAA's Defensive Player of the Week after scoring her first collegiate goal versus Towson and notching two assists as well.[6] She went on to score three more goals over the course of the season, setting a career high for herself.[1] Two of her four goals combined for a brace in a 4–0 victory over Elon.[7] The next NCAA season was postponed and shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she still managed to find success, including her first All-CAA first team award.[1] In her fifth year, McManus continued to be effective on both sides of the field, leading her team with 4 goals and 3 assists. Northeastern advanced to the finals of the 2021 CAA tournament, but they were beaten by Hofstra in the championship match.[8] McManus was named to the All-Tournament team for her performances.[9]

Club career

Chicago Red Stars

McManus registered for the 2022 NWSL Draft, but went undrafted. However, she received an invite to the Chicago Red Stars' preseason training camp after sending the club her college highlight reel.[10] After training with the Stars for several months, McManus made the team's final roster.[11] She made her professional debut on March 30, 2022, in an NWSL Challenge Cup draw with Racing Louisville FC.[12] On July 2, she played in her first regular season game, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–0 win over NJ/NY Gotham FC.[13] It would be her only NWSL appearance[14] as she was waived at the end of the season by the Red Stars.[15]

Þróttur Reykjavík

On March 11, 2023, McManus relocated to Iceland and signed with Þróttur Reykjavík of the Besta deild kvenna.[14] She played 23 league games in her single season with the club and also had 2 appearances in the Icelandic Women's Football Cup.[16] In Reykjavík's final game of the year, McManus scored her first professional goal to help seize third place from opponents Stjarnan.[17]

International career

McManus has been invited to train with the United States under-18 team.[1][2]

Style of play

A versatile defender, McManus is capable of playing at center back,[18] left back,[1] and in positions higher up the field.[5] She is comfortable in possession and can operate as a playmaker from the backline.[2] While naturally right-footed, she is equally capable in using her left foot and uses her ambidexterity to serve up corner kicks in multiple different ways.[5]

Career statistics

Club

As of May 31, 2025[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Playoffs[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chicago Red Stars 2022 NWSL 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
Þróttur Reykjavík 2023 Besta deild kvenna 23 1 2 0 — 25 1
Career total 24 1 3 0 0 0 27 1
  1. ^ Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup and Icelandic Women's Football Cup
  2. ^ Includes NWSL Playoffs

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Mikenna McManus - Women's Soccer". Northeastern University Athletics. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Northeastern adds six in '17 incoming class". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  3. ^ Potter, Bill. "Hofstra Tabbed to Defend CAA Women's Soccer Title in Preseason Poll". CAA Sports. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  4. ^ Zhang, Irvin (August 20, 2019). "On the brink of a new season, the Northeastern University women's soccer team eyes Hofstra, James Madison, top CAA teams". Northeastern Global News. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Levin, Matt (January 3, 2020). "Two-Footed". The Red & Black. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  6. ^ "McManus named CAA Defensive Player of the Week". Northeastern University Athletics. March 13, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  7. ^ "McManus leads Huskies to win over Elon". Northeastern University Athletics. October 27, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  8. ^ "WSOC: Hofstra Captures 2021 CAA Championship". Hofstra University Athletics. November 7, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  9. ^ McQuiggan, Miles. "Hofstra Bounces Back From Early Deficit To Capture Fourth CAA Women's Soccer Title In Last Five Seasons". caasports.com. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  10. ^ Zahn, Matt (June 1, 2022). "Red Stars rookie Mikenna McManus got her shot - CBS Chicago". CBS News. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  11. ^ "McManus Named to 2022 Chicago Red Stars Roster". Northeastern University Athletics. March 13, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  12. ^ "Salmon stands out as Racing draws Chicago Red Stars". Racing Louisville FC. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  13. ^ "Red Stars Defeat Gotham to Go Top in the NWSL". Prost Amerika. May 6, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  14. ^ a b Þórhallsson, Runólfur Trausti (November 3, 2023). "Þróttur fær bandarískan miðvörð - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  15. ^ "Chicago Red Stars 2023 Roster Update | Chicago Stars FC". Chicago Stars. November 16, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Mikenna McManus at Soccerway
  17. ^ Mímisson, Kári (June 10, 2023). "Umfjöllun og viðtöl: Stjarnan - Þróttur 0-1| Þróttur stal þriðja sætinu af Stjörnunni - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  18. ^ Jónsson, Óskar Ófeigur (March 21, 2023). "Þróttarakonur bæta McManus í vörnina hjá sér - Vísir". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved May 31, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.