Margaret Melinda "Midge" 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) and the United States women's national soccer team. She previously played for Portland Thorns FC and the Boston Breakers. A 2023 NWSL Champion and Championship MVP, she is known for her strength on the ball and her willingness to defend from the attack.
_031_(cropped).jpg) Purce with Gotham in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Margaret Melinda Williams-Purce[1] | ||
| Date of birth | September 18, 1995[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team 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[a] | 46 | (16) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011–2012 | United States U17 | ||
| 2013–2014 | United States U20 | ||
| 2015–2018 | United States U23 | ||
| 2019– | United States | 30 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of March 24, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 10, 2024 | |||
She was first selected to play for the United States at the under-17 level, appearing at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She made her first appearance for the senior national team in 2019, following a strong season with the Thorns.
She played college soccer at Harvard University. 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. She is an outspoken advocate for equal pay and is a co-founder and board member of the Black Women's Players Collective.
Early life
Purce 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
Purce scored 42 goals in 69 appearances with the Harvard Crimson women's soccer team. She was named Ivy League Player of the Year in both 2015 and 2016 and a first-team NSCAA All-American in 2016. She majored in psychology at Harvard[5] in pursuit of a career in law.[3]
Club career
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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] Though sidelined through much of the 2023 NWSL season after tearing her quad, Purce was instrumental in Gotham FC's NWSL playoff run. She assisted both goals in Gotham FC's 1-2 Championship win over OL Reign and was named the Championship MVP.[15] While at Gotham FC, Purce has established a reputation as a strong dribbler and a dynamic, attacking player who's willing and able to take on defensive responsibilities.[16][17] She is in contract with Gotham FC through the 2024 season with an option to re-sign in 2025.[18]
International career
Youth USWNT (2011–2018)
Purce was called up to the United States women's national under-17, under-20, and under-23 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,[19][20] and scored goals for the US U20s against France in a friendly[21] and against Mexico in the 2014 CONCACAF U20 Championship.[22]
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.[23] 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.[24]
In November 2019, Purce received a call-up to Vlatko Andonovski's first training camp as the new USWNT head coach. After playing as a right-back and a forward during her professional career, she was called in 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.[17] Purce scored her first senior national team goal against Colombia on January 21, 2021.[25]
In November 2021, Purce was called up to her first senior national team camp as a forward.[26] She has appeared in 25 games for the national team, winning the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions of the SheBelieves Cup as well as the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship with the United States. Following an injury in April 2023, Purce was not selected for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad.[27]
Advocacy
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Purce is currently serving a six-year term as a member of the Board of Overseers at Harvard University.[28] She was elected in 2020 with the support of Harvard Forward, an alumni climate activism group.[29] Purce co-founded and currently serves as a board member for the Black Women's Players Collective (BWPC), a nonprofit with the goal of advancing opportunities for black girls in sport and beyond.[30][31] She was named to the 2023 Forbes 30 under 30 list in the Sports category for her work with the BWPC.[32]
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, 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."[33]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 24 March 2024
| Club | Season | League | Cup[b] | Playoffs[c] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Boston Breakers | 2017 | NWSL | 22 | 1 | — | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| Portland Thorns FC | 2018 | 19 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 22 | 8 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 8 | ||||
| NJ/NY Gotham FC[a] | 2020 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 1 | 9 | 1 | |||
| 2021 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 22 | 11 | |||
| 2022 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 21 | 4 | ||||
| 2023 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 20 | 5 | |||
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 109 | 25 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 140 | 30 | ||
International
- As of match played March 10, 2024
| National Team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 4 | |
- Scores and results list United States's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Purce goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 22, 2021 | Orlando, Florida |  Colombia | 6–0 | 6–0 | Friendly | [m 1] |
| 2 | June 13, 2021 | Orlando, Florida |  Jamaica | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | [m 2] |
| 3 | April 12, 2022 | Chester, Pennsylvania |  Uzbekistan | 8–0 | 9–0 | Friendly | [m 3] |
| 4 | July 4, 2022 | San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico |  Haiti | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2022 CONCACAF W Championship | [m 4] |
Honors and awards
NJ/NY Gotham FC
United States
- CONCACAF Women's Championship: 2022[35]
- CONCACAF W Gold Cup: 2024[36]
- SheBelieves Cup: 2021;[37] 2022;[38] 2023[39]
Individual
- NWSL Team of the Month: June 2019,[40] August 2019[41]
- NWSL Player of the Week: 2019 week 19,[42] 2021 week 1,[43] 2021 week 21[44]
- NWSL Goal of the Week: 2019 week 8[45]
- Thorns Supporters' Player Of The Year: 2019[46]
- NWSL Best XI First Team: 2021[47]
- NWSL Championship Game MVP: 2023[48]