Kailen Mary Iacovoni Sheridan (born July 16, 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer goalkeeper for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Canada national team. She previously played for Sky Blue FC / NJ/NY Gotham FC and played college soccer for the Clemson Tigers. She was named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year with the Wave in 2022.

Kailen Sheridan
Sheridan with the San Diego Wave in 2024
Personal information
Full name Kailen Mary Iacovoni Sheridan[1]
Date of birth (1995-07-16) July 16, 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Pickering, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
San Diego Wave
Number 1
Youth career
Pickering SC
Ajax United SC
Whitby SC
ANB Futbol
Toronto Lady Lynx
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Clemson Tigers 76 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 Toronto Lady Lynx
2017–2021 NJ/NY Gotham FC[a] 80 (0)
2022– San Diego Wave 62 (0)
International career
2012 Canada U17 9 (0)
2014 Canada U20 4 (0)
2015 Canada U23 1 (0)
2016– Canada 52 (0)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Canada
CONCACAF W Championship
Runner-up 2018
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 3, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 28, 2024

College career

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Sheridan played her college soccer for the Clemson Tigers. Sheridan played for the Tigers from 2013 to 2016 under coach Eddie Radwanski. Sheridan made 76 appearances for the Tigers recording 229 saves and 28 shutouts.[2] In both 2014 and 2015, Sheridan was named to the All-ACC first team. Her nomination to the team in 2014 was the first for a Tiger since 2007.[3]

Club career

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Toronto Lady Lynx

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In 2013, she played with the Toronto Lady Lynx.[4]

NJ/NY Gotham

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In January 2017, Sheridan was selected as the 23rd overall pick by Sky Blue FC at the 2017 NWSL College Draft.[5] She was later named an allocated player by Canada Soccer.[6]

Sheridan was named to the Team of the Month for May 2017, she recorded 19 saves during the month, helping Sky Blue to a 3–1–0 record.[7] Sheridan's 2018 season saw her start and play all but one of Sky Blue's games where she led the league with 7.38 goals prevented per game.[8] She started her 2019 season by winning back-to-back NWSL Saves of the Week in weeks 2 and 3.[9] Sheridan was a finalist for NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice at Sky Blue / Gotham FC in 2019 and 2021.[10]

San Diego Wave

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After five seasons in New Jersey, Sheridan was traded to NWSL expansion club San Diego Wave in December 2021 in exchange for $130,000 in allocation money and expansion draft protection.[11] She led the Wave to qualify for the playoffs in their first year of play and was voted Goalkeeper of the Year.[12]

Sheridan kept a league-best nine clean sheets in the 2023 regular season as the Wave won the NWSL Shield and was again nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year.[13][14]

International career

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Sheridan in 2016

Sheridan has represented Canada on the senior national team as well as numerous youth national teams including the U-17, U-20 and U-23 teams.[6] She made her debut for the senior national team in March 2016 at the 2016 Algarve Cup.[15] Sheridan was an alternate at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[16] She was later called up for the 2017 Algarve Cup.[17]

With Stephanie Labbé Canada's starting goalkeeper, Sheridan was used sparingly in her early years with the team, starting three games in 2017, two in 2018, one in 2019, and two in 2020.[18] She was added to the roster for the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship after an injury to backup goalkeeper Erin McLeod.[19] The following year, she was part of the Canadian roster for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[20]

Given the start against the United States at the 2021 SheBelieves Cup, Sheridan exited the game after tearing a quad muscle in the seventh minute. She underwent surgery, and was able to return to the roster in time to be named to the Canadian Olympic team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[18] She first appeared in relief of Labbé after the latter was injured midway through the team's opening match, a 1–1 draw with hosts Japan.[21] She then played the full group stage match against Chile, a 2–1 victory.[22] Labbé returned for the final group match against Great Britain,[23] and would remain in goal for the remainder of the tournament that saw Canada win Olympic gold.[24]

Sheridan's usage began to increase following the Olympics, starting a total of seven games in 2021. With the retirement of Labbé in 2022, Sheridan became Canada's starting goalkeeper.[18] She won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper at the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, allowing only one goal in five appearances that saw Canada qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[25] She was also named to the tournament's Best XI.[26]

Going into the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia as Canada's starting goalkeeper, there were expectations that Sheridan could significantly boost her profile in light of her success both in CONCACAF and in the NWSL.[27][28] However, in the midst of what was overall a difficult tournament for the Canadians, Sheridan struggled. After keeping a clean sheet in the team's opening match against Nigeria,[29] she allowed an Olympico goal off a corner kick from Katie McCabe in the opening minutes against Ireland and had difficulty distributing the ball. Despite this Canada won the match 2–1.[30][31] In the final match against Australia, Canada was defeated 4–0, and thus were knocked out of the World Cup. Sheridan's performance was considered shaky, with particular fault given to the second Australian goal.[32] Sportsnet dubbed it "a tournament she'd just as soon forget."[33]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played November 3, 2024[34]
Club Season League Cup[b] Playoffs[c] Continental[d] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
NJ/NY Gotham FC[a] 2017 NWSL 22 0 22 0
2018 23 0 23 0
2019 19 0 19 0
2020 6 0 4[e] 0 10 0
2021 16 0 0 0 1 0 17 0
Total 80 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 91 0
San Diego Wave FC 2022 NWSL 18 0 4 0 2 0 24 0
2023 19 0 1 0 1 0 21 0
2024 25 0 1 0 3 0 29 0
Total 62 0 6 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 74 0
Career total 142 0 12 0 4 0 3 0 4 0 165 0
  1. ^ a b Sky Blue FC changed its name to NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2021
  2. ^ Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup
  3. ^ Includes NWSL Playoffs
  4. ^ Includes CONCACAF W Champions Cup
  5. ^ NWSL Fall Series

International

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As of match played July 28, 2024[35]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Canada 2016 1 0
2017 3 0
2018 2 0
2019 1 0
2020 2 0
2021 7 0
2022 15 0
2023 12 0
2024 9 0
Total 52 0

Honours

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San Diego Wave

Canada

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020 – List of Players: Canada" (PDF). FIFA. August 5, 2021. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "Kailen Sheridan Player Profile". NJ/NY Gotham FC. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  3. ^ "Clemson Tigers Player Profile". Clemson University Athletics. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  4. ^ "Toronto's Sheridan Named W-League POTW | College Soccer".
  5. ^ Davidson, Neil (January 12, 2017). "3 Canadians taken in NWSL draft". CBC. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Sky Blue FC Allocated Kalen Sheridan as Canadian Subsidized Player". Sky Blue FC. January 25, 2017. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  7. ^ "NWSL MAY TEAM OF THE MONTH". June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  8. ^ "Samantha Kerr Highlights NWSL Team of the Month". GoalNation. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "Kailen Sheridan claims another #NWSL Save of the Week". April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  10. ^ "Canadians Sheridan, Pickett up for NWSL annual awards". TSN. November 5, 2021.
  11. ^ "Gotham FC sends GK Sheridan's rights to San Diego". TSN. December 4, 2021.
  12. ^ Kassouf, Jeff (October 26, 2022). "Kailen Sheridan named 2022 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year". The Equalizer. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  13. ^ "San Diego Wave FC Claims NWSL Shield with Win Over Racing Louisville FC at Snapdragon Stadium". San Diego Wave FC. October 27, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  14. ^ "Houston Dash's Jane Campbell Wins NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year". Just Women's Sports. November 8, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  15. ^ Johal, Harjeet (January 9, 2017). "Kailen Sheridan, next in Canada's keeper pipeline". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  16. ^ "On the Road to Rio: Canada Soccer names roster for Algarve Cup 2016 – Canada Soccer". Canadian Soccer Association. February 27, 2016. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  17. ^ "Defending Champion Canada announce 2017 Algarve Cup roster". Canada Soccer. February 21, 2017. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  18. ^ a b c "Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan is Canada's undisputed No. 1 at the Women's World Cup". Sportsnet. July 14, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  19. ^ "Canada begins FIFA Women's World Cup qualification campaign at Concacaf Championship". October 3, 2018. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  20. ^ "Together We Rise: Canada Soccer announces squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019". Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  21. ^ Cuthbert, Justin (July 21, 2021). "Canada wastes hot start, drawing Japan in Olympic opener". Yahoo!Sports. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  22. ^ "Janine Beckie's 2 goals carry Canada past Chile for 1st Olympic soccer win". CBC Sports. July 24, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  23. ^ Estefanell, Ignacio (July 27, 2021). "Canadian soccer team advances to knockout round with draw vs. Great Britain". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  24. ^ Heroux, Devin (August 6, 2021). "Canadian women's soccer team delivers thrilling Olympic gold-medal victory over Sweden". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  25. ^ "Canadian women's soccer team falls to U.S. on late penalty in CONCACAF W Championship final". CBC Sports. July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Dumornay, Lavelle and Shaw headline CMU20 Best XI". CONCACAF. July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  27. ^ Brady, Rachel (July 14, 2023). "Who is Kailen Sheridan, Canada's No. 1 goalkeeper at the Women's World Cup?". The Globe & Mail. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  28. ^ Davidson, Neil (July 14, 2023). "Kailen Sheridan the latest in long line of Canadian goalkeeping excellence". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  29. ^ Rhodes, Benedict (July 21, 2023). "MATCH ANALYSIS: Missed chances the story as Canada draw 0-0 with Nigeria in Women's World Cup opener". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  30. ^ Rhodes, Benedict (July 26, 2023). "MATCH ANALYSIS: Tale of two halves as Canada come back to beat Republic of Ireland, go top of Group B". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  31. ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (July 26, 2023). "Player Ratings: How CanWNT performed in much-needed win vs. Ireland". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  32. ^ Tierney, Mitchell (July 31, 2023). "Player Ratings: How CanWNT performed as they were unceremoniously eliminated from the World Cup by hosts Australia". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  33. ^ Molinaro, John F. (July 31, 2023). "Long-standing issues with scoring, creativity at root of Canada's World Cup exit". Sportsnet. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  34. ^ Kailen Sheridan at Soccerway
  35. ^ Kailen Sheridan at the Canadian Soccer Association
  36. ^ "San Diego Wave claim 2023 NWSL Shield". CONCACAF. October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  37. ^ "San Diego Wave FC Defeat 1-0 NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2024 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup". March 16, 2024.
  38. ^ "Morgan, Grosso collect top honors at CWC". CONCACAF. July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  39. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. October 26, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  40. ^ "NWSL Announces Winners of Mastercard Best XI Awards". NWSL Soccer. November 3, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  41. ^ Shimkin, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Kailen Sheridan Earns 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup Golden Glove Award". SkyBlueFC.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
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