It was almost a storybook ending to Maddy Evans’ professional soccer career last Saturday night. As Jasmyne Spencer was fouled in the box in the 64th minute, earning a penalty for the Pride the entire team rushed to Evans to have her take the penalty.
“Marta sprinted and got the ball and I was like, ‘Don’t do it, Marta. Don’t do it,’ but she came running at me with the ball and she said, ‘Don’t think about it, just take it!” But actually I wanted Marta or Alex [Morgan] to take it so they can get a hat-trick. That would’ve been pretty cool but I don’t think I’ve missed a PK in my life and I just missed it right then.”
Within that quote from Evans herself, lies what embodied the true spirit of Maddy Evans as a soccer player. She was a true team player. Despite it being her last ever game as a professional athlete, Evans would have rather Alex Morgan or Marta score their third goals to complete a hat trick, rather than score her first goal of the season and possibly, the last of her career.
“Just how great of a teammate she really was, she was just so good for the locker room,” forward Alex Morgan said of her teammate, “She was so positive. She’s a player that’s worked hard always. She just never gave up. She’s a player that always and still has confidence in her teammates, so selfless. So, she’s just a great teammate. I’ve been so grateful to be able to play with her these last two years. So happy that I’ve gotten to know her, and I wish her all the best, but we’re definitely gonna miss her on this team. She always brought a smile into work and it was amazing.”
After graduating from Penn State with a degree in English in 2012, Evans was drafted in the inaugural 2013 NWSL Draft by the Boston Breakers, spent two years with the team, scoring two goals and recording three assists in 46 appearances. Picked ninth in the 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft, Evans appeared in 28 matches for the Pride, starting in 16. She also spent her 2016 winter in Australia, playing with the Brisbane Roar of the W-League, appearing in 12 matches.
Between Orlando, Boston, and Brisbane, her game never changed. She was a “backbone” kind of player. Someone that could play a role the coach needed her to play and would play it with 110% effort, giving her all both in training and in matches and she did it all with an infectious smile. She was the kind of player that would work hard for her team, never expecting anything in return. She would always see fans after games, sign autographs, take pictures and simply talk with them. Whether win or lose, Evans would always have that infectious smile on as she greeted the awaiting supporters.
“Maddy is a true professional and team player, everything it stands for. She cares for this team like you wouldn’t believe and she’s selfless, “Goalkeeper and captain Ashlyn Harris remarked, “It’s not easy to watch from the sidelines and everyday she pulls her boots up and her socks and she gets down and she makes us better and she doesn’t complain. I have so much respect for her. ”
At the end of the day, Evans is calling a halt on her career on her terms. She played over 80 professional games in her career, played with some of the best women’s soccer players in the world, traveled across the world in pursuit of her professional soccer playing goals and had an entire stadium chanting her name as she took the pitch one last time.
“I think my mom said it best and, she is right over there by the way, said, ‘you’re just changing gear, really.’ I've learned so much with this and I'm going to apply what I have done here and my five years of playing pro to whatever I do next. Obviously Orlando and this club and this organization and these fans it's a dream to play here. It's incredible. Even when say you are not getting the minutes you want or whatever you’re having a bad day. You need to look at the what we have here and it's absolutely unbelievable and I'm so thankful for that. So it would be hard to go anywhere else after here. Yeah I'm retired but I still love playing so if there is a chance, maybe someday.”
Evans retires with both a bachelor's degree in English and a masters in Organizational Leadership and the drive to move on to a new and exciting chapter in her life. “My whole thing is, while I’ve been playing pro, I always wanted to do something that's gonna propel me toward something else after I do this, retire.”
With that, after the 18th game of the season, number 18 for the Pride is hanging up her boots. Cheers to you, Maddy Evans, and thanks for all the smiles.
