Midge Purce
Margaret Melinda "Midge" Williams-Purce (born September 18, 1995) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States women's national soccer team. She previously played for Portland Thorns FC and the Boston Breakers. A 2023 NWSL Champion and Championship MVP, she is known for her strength on the ball and her willingness to defend from the attack.
Personal information
Margaret Melinda Williams-Purce[1]
September 18, 1995[2]
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
23
Team
Team
She was first selected to play for the United States at the under-17 level, appearing at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She made her first appearance for the senior national team in 2019, following a strong season with the Thorns.
She played college soccer at Harvard University. In 2020, she was elected to a seat on the Board of Overseers of Harvard University with the support of Harvard Forward, an alumni climate activism group. She is an outspoken advocate for equal pay and is a co-founder and board member of the Black Women's Players Collective.
Early life[edit]
Purce is the daughter of James Purce, and has an older brother, JP Purce. She began playing soccer as a child, following in the footsteps of her brother.[3] She attended Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic High School in Olney, Maryland, near her hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland[4] where she was named Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year in 2012 and an NSCAA All-American in 2010 and 2011.[5]
College career[edit]
Purce scored 42 goals in 69 appearances with the Harvard Crimson women's soccer team. She was named Ivy League Player of the Year in both 2015 and 2016 and a first-team NSCAA All-American in 2016. She majored in psychology at Harvard[5] in pursuit of a career in law.[3]
International career[edit]
Youth USWNT (2011–2018)[edit]
Purce was called up to the United States women's national under-17, under-20, and under-23 teams. She played in the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, made 4 appearances and 3 starts in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup,[19][20] and scored goals for the US U20s against France in a friendly[21] and against Mexico in the 2014 CONCACAF U20 Championship.[22]
Senior USWNT (2017–)[edit]
Purce received her first call-up to the United States women's national team for the 2017 Tournament of Nations but she did not appear in any of the three games.[23] She received another call-up in June 2018 for a pair of friendlies against China PR, but she sustained an ankle injury in training camp and was ruled out for the two friendlies.[24]
In November 2019, Purce received a call-up to Vlatko Andonovski's first training camp as the new USWNT head coach. After playing as a right-back and a forward during her professional career, she was called in as a defender. Purce played in her first match for the United States women's national team in their friendly against Costa Rica on November 10, 2019. She played the full 90 minutes of the game as right back, and had a cross deflected in for a Costa Rica own goal in the U.S. team's 6–0 victory.[17] Purce scored her first senior national team goal against Colombia on January 21, 2021.[25]
In November 2021, Purce was called up to her first senior national team camp as a forward.[26] She has appeared in 25 games for the national team, winning the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions of the SheBelieves Cup as well as the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship with the United States. Following an injury in April 2023, Purce was not selected for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad.[27]
NJ/NY Gotham FC
United States
Individual