LOS ANGELES — After taking part in Angel City Football Club's preseason training camp, former Hartford women's soccer goalkeeper and recent graduate
Maia Perez has signed a contract to play professionally for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Angel City FC is a NWSL expansion team that kicks off its inaugural season this year. The team is based out of Los Angeles and will play in Banc of California Stadium, which holds 22,000 fans.
"Maia's dreams of playing professionally have come to fruition as her hard work, dedication and commitment to herself, and soccer, has paid off," said head coach
John Natale. "The coaching staff, her teammates and all the support staff couldn't be prouder of her. The future is bright for Maia, and we are looking forward to watching her begin her journey as a professional. Everyone at the University of Hartford wishes her all the best!"
Perez joins Angel City FC's goalkeeper core of Brittany Isenhour and Didi Haracic and will play alongside standout field players Christen Press and Allyson Swaby.
A
three-time America East All-Conference performer, Perez graduated as one of the most decorated goalkeepers in Hartford program history. Logging 6,550 minutes in four seasons between the posts, she inked her name throughout the record book as her 32 career wins and 19 career shutouts rank No. 6 all-time, while her 273 saves rank No. 5.
After signing with Angel City FC, Perez becomes the third Hawk to join the professional ranks. She joins
Hayley Nolan ('18), who plays for the London City Lionesses in the FA Women's Championship, the second tier of domestic women's soccer in England, and
Chanel Johnson ('15), who signed for the Boston Breakers of the NWSL in 2015.
Perez is coming off an impressive campaign for the Hawks in 2021. Completing the regular season with the league's best goals-against average (0.65), she finished tied for second in both shutouts (7) and save percentage (.859), while ranking third in shutouts per game (0.44).
In the classroom, Perez, who double-majored in a criminal justice and psychology, graduated in December with a cumulative 3.75 GPA. A four-time America East Commissioner's Honor Roll member, she was also named to the US Coaches Scholar All-East Third Team in 2019.
For more information on the Hartford women's soccer team, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media (
Twitter |
Instagram).
