Photo by: Cos Lymperopoulos
McClelland Called up to U-23 USWNT for 2022 Thorns Preseason Tournament
Feb 24 | Women's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Senior goalkeeper Meagan McClelland of Rutgers women's soccer was called up to the U.S. Under-23 Women's National Team for the 2022 Thorns Preseason Tournament. McClelland will join the U.S. for the tournament set for March 5-11 at Providence Park, where the U-23 squad will face three NWSL teams.
A member of the USWNT youth pool, McClelland most recently earned a call up for a U-20 training camp in January of 2021. Prior to that camp, she had closed out 2019 with the U-20 team at the 2019 Nike International Friendlies in December. During that December visit, McClelland joined former Scarlet Knight Casey Murphy during a senior national team training as well.
McClelland is coming off a historic season with Rutgers in Fall 2021. The goalkeeper guided Rutgers to its first Big Ten Conference title for the program and University, going undefeated 10-0 in league action. Following a run to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game, the Scarlet Knights earned their 10th straight bid to the NCAA Tournament and the first No. 1 seed in program history. RU went on to reach the NCAA Women's College Cup for the second time and first since 2015.
In the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight match, McClelland's heroics shined in the penalty kick shootout with TCU. After registering eight saves in the match, McClelland saved three straight penalty kicks, while successfully scoring one of her own in the shootout. In the quarterfinals against Arkansas, Rutgers pushed to PKs for the second straight match. McClelland saved a PK and scored another to punch the Scarlet Knights' ticket to the Final Four.
The goalkeeper recorded 13 shutouts and 83 saves on the year, including five clean sheets against league opponents in the run to the conference title. She maintained a 0.67 GAA in net, helping RU extend its streak to eight straight seasons registering a GAA of 0.77 or less. With 40 career clean sheets, the Kearny, New Jersey, native ranks third on the Rutgers charts.
The 2018 Big Ten Freshman of the Year is a four-time All-Big Ten and three-time All-Region selection. In the classroom, the Scholar All-Region and Academic All-Big Ten recipient is an inductee of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National Collegiate Athlete Honor Society. Following her December 2021 graduation from Rutgers with a degree in supply chain management, McClelland announced her return to the Scarlet Knights for her extra year of eligibility in Fall 2022. She is currently pursuing a masters in digital marketing.
The Scarlet Knight connections run strong throughout the NWSL and U.S. National Teams. McClelland will reunite with former Scarlet Knights Madison Pogarch and Gabby Provenzano when the U-23 team matches up with the Portland Thorns during the preseason tournament. Additionally, McClelland's call up comes at the same time as teammate Emily Mason, who was named to the U-20 roster for World Cup qualifying this month.
Follow Rutgers women's soccer on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for Apple or Android today.
A member of the USWNT youth pool, McClelland most recently earned a call up for a U-20 training camp in January of 2021. Prior to that camp, she had closed out 2019 with the U-20 team at the 2019 Nike International Friendlies in December. During that December visit, McClelland joined former Scarlet Knight Casey Murphy during a senior national team training as well.
🇺🇸 #RFutbol goalkeepers past and present! Love seeing @CaseyMurph and Meagan McClelland in red, white and blue with the #USWNT for camps and friendlies in Florida! #ForeverRutgers #ForeverFamily pic.twitter.com/cQhCDTT5yf
— RUWS | BIG TEN CHAMPIONS (@RUWSoccer) December 13, 2019
McClelland is coming off a historic season with Rutgers in Fall 2021. The goalkeeper guided Rutgers to its first Big Ten Conference title for the program and University, going undefeated 10-0 in league action. Following a run to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game, the Scarlet Knights earned their 10th straight bid to the NCAA Tournament and the first No. 1 seed in program history. RU went on to reach the NCAA Women's College Cup for the second time and first since 2015.
In the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight match, McClelland's heroics shined in the penalty kick shootout with TCU. After registering eight saves in the match, McClelland saved three straight penalty kicks, while successfully scoring one of her own in the shootout. In the quarterfinals against Arkansas, Rutgers pushed to PKs for the second straight match. McClelland saved a PK and scored another to punch the Scarlet Knights' ticket to the Final Four.
The goalkeeper recorded 13 shutouts and 83 saves on the year, including five clean sheets against league opponents in the run to the conference title. She maintained a 0.67 GAA in net, helping RU extend its streak to eight straight seasons registering a GAA of 0.77 or less. With 40 career clean sheets, the Kearny, New Jersey, native ranks third on the Rutgers charts.
The 2018 Big Ten Freshman of the Year is a four-time All-Big Ten and three-time All-Region selection. In the classroom, the Scholar All-Region and Academic All-Big Ten recipient is an inductee of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National Collegiate Athlete Honor Society. Following her December 2021 graduation from Rutgers with a degree in supply chain management, McClelland announced her return to the Scarlet Knights for her extra year of eligibility in Fall 2022. She is currently pursuing a masters in digital marketing.
The Scarlet Knight connections run strong throughout the NWSL and U.S. National Teams. McClelland will reunite with former Scarlet Knights Madison Pogarch and Gabby Provenzano when the U-23 team matches up with the Portland Thorns during the preseason tournament. Additionally, McClelland's call up comes at the same time as teammate Emily Mason, who was named to the U-20 roster for World Cup qualifying this month.
Follow Rutgers women's soccer on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Download the Scarlet Knights App for Apple or Android today.
Players Mentioned
Thursday, October 23
Monday, October 06
Monday, August 18
Friday, August 15
