.jpg) LeBlanc in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Karina Chenelle LeBlanc[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-03-30)March 30, 1980 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Atlanta,Georgia, U.S. | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2000 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 80 | (0) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2003 | Boston Breakers | 2 | (0) |
| 2004 | Montreal Xtreme | 1 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | New Jersey Wildcats | 18 | (0) |
| 2009 | Los Angeles Sol | 19 | (0) |
| 2010 | Philadelphia Independence | 14 | (0) |
| 2011 | magicJack | 1 | (0) |
| 2012 | Sky Blue FC | 0 | (0) |
| 2013 | Portland Thorns FC | 21 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Chicago Red Stars | 29 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 1998–2015 | Canada | 110 | (0) |
Medal record | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 6, 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of May 31, 2015 | |||
Karina Chenelle LeBlancCM[2] (born March 30, 1980) is an American-born Canadian former professionalsoccergoalkeeper and former general manager of thePortland Thorns FC.[3] She played for theCanadian national team[4] and multiple professional women's teams in the United States over her fourteen-year career.
LeBlanc was born inAtlanta, Georgia, to a Dominica father (fromPortsmouth)[5] and a Jamaican mother,[6] Vans LeBlanc and Winsome LeBlanc, who had temporarily relocated to Atlanta to avoid the dangers ofHurricane David.[7] LeBlanc grew up in Dominica until age eight when her family moved toMaple Ridge, British Columbia. LeBlanc began playing soccer at age 12 and was named one of the top 20 Division I recruits byUSA Today in 1997, even though Maple Ridge Secondary School did not have a girls soccer team. She was also an all-provincial basketball player and was voted British Columbia's Most Defensive Player in basketball in 1997.[8]
LeBlanc attended theUniversity of Nebraska and earned a degree in business administration. She played goalkeeper for theNebraska Cornhuskers from 1997 to 2000 and became one of the school's most decorated goalkeepers in the history of the program. She was a finalist for theHermann Trophy in 2000 and named to the 2001 Umbro Select All-Star Classic Women's Elite College Team.[8] She was also a two-time All-Big 12 selection and was named an All-American.[9]
LeBlanc played forBoston Breakers in theWomen's United Soccer Association, the first women's professional soccer league in the United States.
In 2004, she played for theMontreal Xtreme of theW-League followed by theNew Jersey Wildcats from 2005 to 2006.
In 2009, she was acquired in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2009 WPS General Draft by theLos Angeles Sol. She started and played in 19 regular-season matches for the team, saving 78 of 93 shots. LeBlanc was named to the 2009 WPS All-Star Team Starting XI.
In 2010, she was selected in the first round (second overall) of the 2010 Los Angeles Sol Dispersal Draft by thePhiladelphia Independence.
In August 2011, it was reported that LeBlanc had signed withmagicJack[10] and stepped in as goalkeeper afterHope Solo was sidelined with an injury.[11]
In December 2011, she was signed to theSky Blue FC for the 2012 season; however, the WPS league folded before the season began.[12]
On January 11, 2013, it was announced that LeBlanc was one of two Canadian national team members selected to join thePortland Thorns FC by way of weighted allocation.[13] On January 13, 2014, Portland Thorns FC announced that LeBlanc had been traded to theChicago Red Stars in exchange for the 2nd round draft pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft.[14]
LeBlanc finished her2014 season with 76 saves and a goal against per game average of 1.0, in 21 matches; just behind league leadersAlyssa Naeher's 106 saves, andHope Solo's .90 goal against average.
Because of participation in2015 FIFA Women's World Cup LeBlanc played eight matches forRed Stars in 2015.At the end of 2015 season, LeBlanc called it a career and retired from professional soccer.[15]For her performance in her last professional match LeBlanc was namedNWSL Player of the week of week 21.[16]
LeBlanc representedCanada at fiveFIFA Women's World Cups, at the2008 Olympics and at twoPan American Games, winning the gold medal with the national team at the2011 Pan Am Games by stopping two penalty shots in the final.[17] She made her one hundredth appearance for Canada in March 2012[18] and later that year was part of the Canadian team that won the bronze medal at the2012 Summer Olympics. Prior to2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, LeBlanc announced her retirement from international soccer at the end of the tournament.[18]
LeBlanc served as an assistant coach atRutgers University from 2005 to 2009. She has also served as a goalkeeper coach with the Canadian under-15 national team, and developed goalkeeping clinics throughout the United States and Canada.[9]
CONCACAF hired LeBlanc to be the head of women's soccer in July 2018.[19] She left that position in 2021 to become general manager of the Portland Thorns FC.[3] Her predecessor,Gavin Wilkinson, was removed because of the2021 NWSL abuse scandal.[3]
Portland Thorns FC
Individual
LeBlanc was raisedRoman Catholic but later became aBaptist while studying in college.[21] LeBlanc married Jason Mathot in October 2016.[22] On March 24, 2020, she gave birth to their daughter, Paris.[23]
Canada squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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