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Cheyna Matthews

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Cheyna Matthews
Matthews with Jamaica in 2019
Personal information
Full name Cheyna Lee Matthews[1]
Birth name Cheyna Lee Williams[2]
Date of birth (1993-11-10) 10 November 1993 (age 31)[2]
Place of birth Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S.[2]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s) Forward[4]
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Vanderbilt Commodores 35 (22)
2014–2015 Florida State Seminoles 51 (24)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Washington Spirit 55 (11)
2021–2022 Racing Louisville 17 (1)
2023 Chicago Red Stars 14 (1)
International career‡
2015 United States U23 2 (0)
2019–2023 Jamaica 18 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 October 2023

Cheyna Lee Matthews (née Williams; born 10 November 1993) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in the United States, she represented Jamaica internationally.

College career

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Vanderbilt

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In 2012, Williams attended Vanderbilt University, where she made 17 appearances, scored six goals and registered six assists her freshman year. Building on a successful season, she started all 18 games her sophomore year, scoring 16 goals and registering five assists.[2] Her performance in 2013 named her First-Team All-SEC.[3]

Florida State

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In 2014, Williams transferred to Florida State University, where she would continue her form. She made 24 starts (26 appearances) and helped the Seminoles win their first NCAA National Championship in program history. Williams would finish her season year with an additional 25 games played and scoring 10 goals.[3]

Club career

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Washington Spirit (2016–2020)

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Matthews was drafted by Washington Spirit in the 1st round of the 2016 NWSL College Draft. She signed with the Spirit in April 2016.[5] In her rookie season, Matthews played in 17 regular season games, 8 starts, totaling 779 minutes and scored three goals. The Georgia native scored her first professional goal on 31 July 2016 against Sky Blue FC. The team went on to make its first-ever NWSL Championship appearance, ultimately losing on penalties to Western New York Flash. Matthews dressed but served as an unused substitute.[6]

The Spirit would struggle in the 2017 season but Matthews became a regular contributor making 21 appearances and scoring 5 goals (tied for second on the team).

Matthews sat out the 2018 season due to pregnancy.[7]

Ahead of the 2020 season, the Spirit announced that Matthews would be taking a paid leave of absence to focus on her family situation, notably the potential for her husband, Jordan Matthews, to relocate within the NFL.[8] The paid leave was anticipated to last until May of the year and stipulated that Matthews could continue her career elsewhere, if necessary.

In October 2020, Matthews was placed on the NWSL Re-Entry Wire by the Spirit.[9]

Racing Louisville FC (2021–2022)

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In November 2020, Matthews was selected off the NWSL Re-Entry Wire by Racing Louisville FC.[10]

Chicago Red Stars

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She signed with Chicago Red Stars in March 2023.[11] On October 13, 2023, Matthews announced her retirement from professional football.[12]

International career

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Matthews represented the United States at under–23 level in 2015. She was also eligible to play for Jamaica through her mother, who was born in Portland Parish.[13] In January 2019, she was called up by the Reggae Girlz for the first time, joining the team in a training camp to prepare the first FIFA Women's World Cup appearance in Jamaica history.[14] She made her debut in a 1–0 friendly win against Chile on 28 February 2019.

Matthews was selected for Jamaica's 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup squad. She made her World Cup debut during the team's first group stage match against Brazil in Grenoble.[15]

Personal life

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Matthews married San Francisco 49ers wide-receiver Jordan Matthews in February 2018 having met while both attended Vanderbilt University.[16][17] The couple have two sons together, Josiah and Lionel.[18] Matthews is a Christian.[19]

In March 2022, Matthews announced they were expecting a third son.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "GIRLZ AT WORK". Jamaica Observer. 19 January 2019. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Cheyna Williams – Soccer". Vanderbilt University Athletics. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "cheyna williams". Seminoles.com. 24 July 2017. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Cheyna Matthews". Washington Spirit. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Washington Spirit Signs Forwards Cheyna Williams and Cali Farquharson". Washington Spirit. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  6. ^ Steven Goff (9 October 2016). "Washington Spirit loses NWSL championship on penalty kicks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  7. ^ Rachel Gaylor (24 February 2018). "Washington Spirit re-sign 2; Cheyna Matthews out for 2018". Vavel. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  8. ^ Steven Goff (9 March 2020). "Washington Spirit player takes paid leave of absence to spend more time with family". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Eight NWSL Players Available on the Re-Entry Wire". 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Racing Louisville FC Acquires Cheyna Matthews Off Re-Entry Wire". 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  11. ^ Salazar, Emmanuel (25 March 2023). "Chicago Red Stars Sign Cheyna Matthews and Sami Feller".
  12. ^ "Red Stars Forward, Cheyna Matthews, To Retire Following October 15 Match". chicagoredstars.com. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Cheyna Matthews, Jamaica's super mom". FIFA. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  14. ^ De Souza, Ana (10 January 2019). "January Activities for ConcacafW". Fútbol Ace. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  15. ^ Miller, Nick (9 June 2019). "Brazil 3–0 Jamaica: Women's World Cup 2019 – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  16. ^ Qina Liu (20 February 2018). "Bills WR Jordan Matthews marries soccer star Cheyna Williams". buffalonews.com. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  17. ^ Pease, Joshua (August 2019). "Pro athletes Jordan, Cheyna Matthews building Godly marriage amid 'organized chaos'". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Racing Louisville FC's Cheyna Matthews balances motherhood with pro soccer career". 15 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Going To The Source – Cheyna Matthews". The Increase. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Cheyna (Williams) Matthews on Instagram".
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