Rashida Beal

Rashida Beal

Personal information
Full name	Rashida Marie Beal[1]
Date of birth	(1994-11-18) November 18, 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Germantown, Wisconsin, U.S.
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	FC Gintra
Number	3
Youth career
	Germantown High School
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2016	Minnesota Golden Gophers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017	FC Kansas City
2020	BV Cloppenburg
2021	FCU Olimpia Cluj
2022–	Kdz. Ereğli Belediye Spor	39	(1)
2024–	FC Gintra	9	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 December 2024

Rashida Marie Beal (born November 18, 1994) is an American professional soccer player, who plays as a defender for Kdz. Ereğli Belediye Spor in the Turkish Women's Football Super League.[2][3][4]

Early years

Rashida Marie Beal was born in Germantown, Wisconsin, United States on November 18, 1994.[2][5] She performed track athletics in the middle school. She finished Germantown High School in 2013.[5] She studied Psychology with minor in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota graduating in December 2016.[6][7][5]

Club career

High school and college teams

Beal played two years for Germantown High School team, and four years for North Shore United AFC.[5] She played college soccer for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.[6][5] She was named Academic All-District in 2014 and 2015 and was selected to the NSCAA Scholar All-Region (Central) in 2015.[8] In November 2016, she was named a First Team Academic All-American.[8] She enjoyed the champion title of the Big Ten women's soccer tournament in 2016.[6][5] She was named the 2016 Big Ten Defender of the Year.[8]

FC Kansas City

After finishing the college, she was drafted by FC Kansas City in January 2017.[6] Beal played soccer as a professional in her country 's National Women's Soccer League.[2][5]

BV Cloppenburg (Germany)

Between February and June 2020, she was with the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga club BV Cloppenburg in Germany.[3] By February 2021, she was called up to Kansas City NWSL for the 2021 Preseason.[9]

FCU Olimpia Cluj (Romania)

In August 2021, she transferred to the Romanian league champion club FCU Olimpia Cluj to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying rounds.[10][11] She appeared in two Champions League qualifying matches.[2][12] She also appeared in several league games in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 season, including the 2020/21 Romanian Cup Championship.

Kdz. Ereğli Belediye Spor (Turkey)

In the beginning of 2022, she moved to Turkey and joined Kdz. Ereğli Belediye Spor to play in the second half of the 2021–22 Women's Super League.[4] She played there for 2 more full seasons, appearing in nearly every match as a starting central defender.

Gintra (Lithuania)

In July 2024 she moved to lithuanian FC Gintra.[13] where she competed in 2 Champions League Qualifying matches and several league games. She helped FC Gintra win the 2023/24 A Lyga Championship, marking their 20th championship in a row.

Honors

Minnesota Golden Gophers

• Big Ten women's soccer tournament: 2016[14]

Individual

• Academic All-District (2014, 2015)
• NSCAA Scholar All-Region (Central) (2015)
• First Team Academic All-American (2016)
• 2016 Big Ten Defender of the Year
• First Team All-Great Lakes Region
• First Team All-Big Ten
• Second Team All-American

References

1. "Rashida Marie Beal | UEFA Women's Champions League". UEFA. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
2. "'I was starstruck by USWNT ace Sauerbrunn' – Rashida Beal's arduous path from NWSL to UWCL". VCB2 Project. February 17, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
3. "Rashida Beal" (in German). Sport. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
4. "Turkcell Kadınlar Süper Ligi – Kdz. Ereğli Belediye Spor 2–0 1207 Antalya Spor Kadın Futbol Kulübü" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
5. Tietz, Steven L. (January 30, 2017). "Germantown's Rashida Beal to try her hand at pro soccer". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
6. "10 Qıuestions with Rashida Beal". FC Kansas Cşty. February 18, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
7. Privratsky, Matt (January 23, 2017). "Gopher All-American Rashida Beal Drafted by FC Kansas City". Gigty Five.One. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
8. "Beal Named Academic All-American". University of Minnesota Athletics. November 22, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
9. "Kansas City NWSL Announces Preseason Roster". Our Sports Central. February 1, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
10. "Rashida Beal". Playmaker. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
11. "Olimpia Cluj (ROU) 0–2 Glentoran (NIR)". UEFA Women's Champions League. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
12. "Olimpia Cluj (ROU) 0–4 Åland (FIN)". UEFA Women's Champions League. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
13. [1]
14. "Minnesota Soccer: Gophers Tie For Big Ten Regular Season Championship". The Daily Gopher. October 27, 2016.