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Margaret Melinda 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). She previously played for Portland Thorns FC and the Boston Breakers. She played college soccer at Harvard University.

Margaret Purce

Purce in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Margaret Melinda Williams-Purce[1]
Date of birth	(1995-09-18) September 18, 1995 (age 27)
Place of birth	Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current team	Gotham FC
Number	23
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2016	Harvard Crimson	69	(42)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017	Boston Breakers	22	(1)
2018–2019	Portland Thorns	41	(8)
2020–	Gotham FC	28	(12)
National team‡
2011–2012	United States U17
2013–2014	United States U20
2015–2018	United States U23
2019–	United States	20	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of March 3, 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of September 3, 2022

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.[2]

Early life

Margaret Purce, nicknamed Midge, 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

Harvard Crimson, 2013–2016

Purce scored 42 goals in 69 appearances with the Harvard University women's soccer team, and was named Ivy League Player of the Year twice, in 2015 and 2016, and a first-team NSCAA All-American in 2016. She majored in psychology at Harvard[5] in pursuit of a future law career.[3]

Club career

Boston Breakers, 2017

After playing for Harvard, Purce was drafted by the Boston Breakers with the 9th pick in the 2017 NWSL College Draft.[6] She appeared in 22 games for Boston and scored one goal.[7]

Portland Thorns FC, 2018–2019

After the Breakers folded in January 2018,[8] the league held a dispersal draft for the Breakers' players; Purce was selected with the 4th pick by the Portland Thorns.[9]

Purce made 21 appearances and 16 starts for the Thorns in 2018, playing primarily as a right fullback. During the 2019 NWSL season, Purce moved into wide and central forward positions, and at one point scored 5 goals in a span of 5 games.[3]

NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2020–present

Purce was traded to Sky Blue FC in 2020.[10] During the 2021 NWSL season Purce played as a forward and scored nine goals, leading the team.[11] She came in second in the NWSL Golden Boot race and was named to the NWSL Best XI in the 2021 NWSL Awards alongside teammates Caprice Dydasco and Kailen Sheridan.[12] Purce was also a finalist for 2021 NWSL MVP following a breakout season.[13]

In January 2022, Purce signed a two year contract extension with NJ/NY Gotham FC.[14] Gotham FC head coach Scott Parkinson describes Purce as an "intelligent footballer that can defend from the front for 90 minutes and is a constant threat when we have the ball."[11]

International career

Youth USWNT (2011–2018)

Purce was called up to the United States women's national U17, U20, and U23 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,[15][16] and scored goals for the US U20s against France in a friendly[17] and against Mexico in the 2014 CONCACAF U20 Championship.[18]

Senior USWNT (2017–)

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.[19] 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.[20]

In November 2019, in Vlatko Andonovski's first training camp as the new USWNT head coach, Purce received another call-up. Despite playing primarily as a forward throughout her career, Purce was brought in to camp to experiment 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.[21] Purce scored her first senior national team against Colombia on January 21, 2021.[22]

In November 2021, Purce was called up to her first senior national team camp as a forward.[23]

Career statistics

International

As of match played September 3, 2022

National Team	Year	Apps	Goals	Assists
United States	2019	1	0	0
	2020	1	0	0
	2021	7	2	2
	2022	11	2	1
Total		20	4	3

Player statistics

International goals

Key (expand for notes on “international goals” and sorting)
Location	Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred Sorted by country name first, then by city name
Lineup	Start – played entire match on minute (off player) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time off minute (on player) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time (c) – captain Sorted by minutes played
Goal in match	Goal of total goals by the player in the match Sorted by total goals followed by goal number
#	NumberOfGoals.goalNumber scored by the player in the match (alternate notation to Goal in match)
Min	The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal.
Assist/pass	The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information.
penalty or pk	Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.)
Score	The match score after the goal was scored. Sorted by goal difference, then by goal scored by the player's team
Result	The final score. Sorted by goal difference in the match, then by goal difference in penalty-shoot-out if it is taken, followed by goal scored by the player's team in the match, then by goal scored in the penalty-shoot-out. For matches with identical final scores, match ending in extra-time without penalty-shoot-out is a tougher match, therefore precede matches that ended in regulation
aet	The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation
pso	Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parenthesis; the match was tied at the end of extra-time
	Light-purple background color – exhibition or closed door international friendly match
	Light-yellow background color – match at an invitational tournament
	Light-orange background color – Olympic women's football qualification match
	Light-blue background color – FIFA women's world cup qualification match
	Pink background color – Continental Games or regional tournament
	Orange background color – Olympic women's football tournament
	Blue background color – FIFA women's world cup final tournament
NOTE on background colors: Continental Games or regional tournament are sometimes also qualifier for World Cup or Olympics; information depends on the source such as the player's federation. NOTE: some keys may not apply for a particular football player

Goals	Cap	Date	Location	Opponent	Lineup	Min	Assist/pass	Score	Result	Competition
1	3	2021-01-22[m 1]	Orlando, Florida	Colombia	{{{4}}}. on 68' (off Williams)	86'	Carli Lloyd	6–0	6–0	Friendly
2	7	2021-06-13[m 2]		Jamaica	Start	22'	Christen Press	3–0	4–0
3	14	2022-04-12[m 3]	Chester, Pennsylvania	Uzbekistan	{{{4}}}. on 68' (off Smith)	84'	unassisted	8-0	9-0
4	16	2022-07-04[m 4]	San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico	Haiti	{{{4}}}. on 46' (off Smith)	84'		3-0	3-0	World Cup Qualifier: Group A

Honors and awards

International

• SheBelieves Cup: 2021;[24] 2022[25]
• CONCACAF Women's Championship: 2022[26]

Individual

• NWSL Team of the Month: June 2019,[27] August 2019[28]
• NWSL Player of the Week: 2019 week 19,[29] 2021 week 1,[30] 2021 week 21[31]
• NWSL Goal of the Week: 2019 week 8[32]
• NWSL Best XI First Team: 2021[12]

Personal life

Purce is currently serving a six-year term as a member of the Board of Overseers at Harvard University.[33] Purce co-founded and currently serves as a board member for the Black Women's Players Collective, a nonprofit with the goal of advancing opportunities for black girls in sport and beyond.[34][35]

On March 24, 2021, Purce made an appearance at the White House with USWNT teammate Megan Rapinoe to raise awareness of the importance of equal pay. In her remarks to introduce First Lady Jill Biden, Purce said, "You would never expect a flower to bloom without water," Purce said. "But women in sport who have been denied water, sunlight and soil are somehow expected to blossom. Invest in women, then let's talk again when you see the return."[36]

References

Match reports

External links

• Harvard bio
• NWSL player profile
• Portland Thorns FC player profile
• Gotham FC player profile

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