sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Annabella “Bella” Madeleine Bixby (née Geist; born November 20, 1995) is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Portland Thorns FC.[2]

Bella Bixby

Bixby in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Annabella Madeleine Bixby
Birth name	Annabella Madeleine Geist[1]
Date of birth	(1995-11-20) November 20, 1995 (age 26)
Place of birth	Milwaukie, Oregon, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Portland Thorns
Number	1
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2017	Oregon State Beavers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018	Portland Thorns	0	(0)
2018–2019	1. FFC Frankfurt	0	(0)
2019–	Portland Thorns	28	(0)
National team
2017–2018	United States U23
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 27, 2022

Early life

Bixby attended Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie, Oregon.[3][4]

Oregon State University

Bixby attended Oregon State University and played 72 games for its women's soccer team. She posted 18 clean sheets while setting a university record for most career saves.[5][6]

Club career

Portland Thorns FC selected Bixby in the third round of the 2018 NWSL College Draft. She was injured for most of her first year with Portland and was forced to miss most of the year after suffering another injury while on loan in Germany.[7] She then spent part of 2019 off on loan in Israel.[8][9]

Bixby made her professional debut for the Thorns on June 27, 2020 in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, a 2-1 loss to the North Carolina Courage.[2][10] After posting two clean sheets in her first four games for the club, she suffered an ACL injury that forced her to miss the rest of the Challenge Cup.[11]

In July 2021, Bixby set the NWSL record for most shutout minutes to start an NWSL regular-season career, starting the 2021 NWSL season with 269 consecutive shutout minutes across her first three games, becoming the third goalkeeper in the league's history to post back-to-back clean sheets in their regular season debuts.[12] She won the Save of the Week Award for the first week of August 2021.[13]

Activism

Bixby has been outspoken on issues within soccer, calling out inconsistent media coverage of the NWSL[14] and the quality of the NWSL's broadcast product.[15] In early July 2021, she called for the league to drop the "W" from its name, stating that it was both non-inclusive and that it promoted the misconception that the women's side of the game was abnormal.[16] In late-July 2021, she called on Racing Louisville FC to end the light show at Lynn Family Stadium played after Louisville scored, stating that "players reported feeling physically ill. I am someone who has sensory integration issues & had to put a towel over my eyes and pray to god I didn't have a meltdown seconds before the 2nd half."[17]

Bixby took part in the NWSL Players Association's #NoMoreSideHustles campaign for better compensation for women's football players, revealing that she had to have a second job for Uber for a year while playing in the NWSL.[18] The NWSL Players Association also named Bixby one of the Thorns' player representatives for 2022.[19]

Personal life

In December 2018, Bixby married her husband Elliot and began using her married name.[4]

Bixby is on the autism spectrum.[20]

Honors

Portland Thorns FC

• NWSL Community Shield: 2020
• NWSL Challenge Cup: 2021
• International Champions Cup: 2021[21]
• NWSL Shield: 2021
• NWSL Save of the Week: 2021 weeks 11,[13] 17;[22] 2022 week 8[23]
• NWSL Championship: 2022[24]

References

External links

• Bella Bixby at National Women's Soccer League
• Player profile at Portland Thorns FC
• Player profile at US Soccer Federation
• Oregon State profile
• Bella Bixby at WorldFootball.net
• Bella Bixby at Soccerway
• Bella Bixby at FBref.com

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