Megan Brigman

{{short description|American former soccer defender|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Megan Brigman

| image = Brigman, McCarty 2013.jpg

| caption = Brigman on the left

| image_size =

| fullname = Megan Lynn Brigman{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/commencement2013univ_1/page/n109/ |title=Candidates for Baccalaureate Degrees, December 2013 – The College of Arts and Sciences: Bachelor of Arts, Communication Studies |magazine=Commencement 2013 |publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |page=22 |date=December 15, 2013 |access-date=November 15, 2021}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|11|7}}

| birth_place = Laurinburg, North Carolina United States

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=8}}

| position = Defender

| collegeyears1 = 2009–2013

| college1 = North Carolina Tar Heels

| collegecaps1 = 73

| collegegoals1 = 6

| clubs1 = Seattle Reign FC

| years1 = 2014

| caps1 = 2

| goals1 = 0

}}

Megan Lynn Brigman (born November 7, 1990) is an American former soccer defender who played for Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League.{{cite web|url=https://www.sounderatheart.com/seattle-reign/2015/1/26/7916939/reign-waive-defender-megan-brigman|title=Reign Waive Defender Megan Brigman|publisher=|date=January 26, 2015}}

Early life

Born and raised in Laurinburg, North Carolina. Brigman attended Scotland High School where she was named female athlete of the year in her junior and senior years.{{cite web|title=Megan Brigman|url=http://www.goheels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3350&ATCLID=209111262|publisher=University of North Carolina|accessdate=April 6, 2014}}

=University of North Carolina=

Brigman attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2009 to 2013, where she played soccer for the Tar Heels.{{cite web|last1=Hays|first1=Graham|title=Summer Breeze Lifts North Carolina|url=https://www.espn.com/espnw/news-commentary/story/_/id/10031024/espnw-summer-green-two-goals-lift-north-carolina-third-round-soccer-win-texas-am|publisher=ESPN|access-date=June 29, 2014|date=November 25, 2013}}

Brigman worked her way into the starting lineup after Rachel Given was injured in the 2010 season.{{Cite web|title=Megan Brigman - Women's Soccer|url=https://goheels.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/megan-brigman/8803|access-date=2021-04-01|website=University of North Carolina Athletics|language=en}} Brigman stepped up to replace the valuable senior and remained in the backline for the remainder of the 2010 season, starting in 23 games. Brigman followed up by starting in 20 games in the 2011 season. The UNC coaches consider her one of the team's most improved players throughout her career.

Playing career

=Club=

==Seattle Reign FC==

On January 17, 2014, Brigman was selected in the second round (17th overall pick) of the 2014 NWSL College Draft by Seattle Reign FC.{{cite news|last=Mayers|first=Joshua|title=Reign FC selects Portland star Amanda Frisbie in NWSL draft|url=http://seattletimes.com/html/reign/2022696897_reign18xml.html|accessdate=March 6, 2014|newspaper=Seattle Times|date=January 17, 2014}}{{cite web|last=Hays|first=Graham|title=Who Scored in NWSL Draft?|url=https://www.espn.com/espnw/news-commentary/story/_/id/10309099/espnw-scored-national-women-soccer-league-draft|publisher=ESPN|access-date=March 14, 2014|date=January 17, 2014}} In March, the Reign signed her to the team.{{cite web|title=Reign FC signs draft pick Megan Brigman|url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/soundersfc/2014/03/31/reign-fc-signs-draft-pick-megan-brigman/|work=The Seattle Times|accessdate=April 6, 2014|date=March 31, 2014}} Head coach Laura Harvey said of her signing Laura Harvey said, "Megan was someone that we watched carefully last season and hoped would be available with our second pick. She has done very well in preseason training, and we believe she has the potential to develop into a successful professional player."{{cite web|title=Seattle Signs Defender Megan Brigman|url=http://www.nwslsoccer.com/home/798554.html|publisher=National Women's Soccer League|accessdate=April 6, 2014|date=March 31, 2014}}

She first appeared for the club during the team's 2–0 win against Boston Breakers on June 19, 2014.{{cite web|title=Reign FC Defeat Breakers 2–0|url=http://www.nwslsoccer.com/home/818557.html|publisher=National Women's Soccer League|accessdate=June 29, 2014|date=June 19, 2014}} The Reign finished first in the regular season, clinching the NWSL Shield for the first time.{{cite web|title=Reign Dominate Dash to Clinch Shield|url=http://www.sounderatheart.com/2014/7/30/5954319/reign-dominate-dash-to-clinch-shield|publisher=Sounder at Heart|accessdate=January 21, 2015|date=July 30, 2014|archive-date=January 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123192354/http://www.sounderatheart.com/2014/7/30/5954319/reign-dominate-dash-to-clinch-shield|url-status=dead}} After defeating the Washington Spirit 2–1 in the playoff semi-finals, the Reign were defeated 2–1 by FC Kansas City during the championship final.{{cite web|last1=Bird|first1=Liviu|title=FC Kansas City beats Seattle Reign to win NWSL championship|url=https://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2014/08/31/amy-rodriguez-fc-kansas-city-nwsl-champions-over-seattle-reign|publisher=Sports Illustrated|accessdate=January 21, 2015|date=August 31, 2014}} Brigman finished the 2014 season with two caps for the Reign.{{cite web|title=2014 Player Statistics |url=http://www.nwslsoccer.com/Stats/index_E.html |publisher=National Women's Soccer League |accessdate=January 23, 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107064658/http://www.nwslsoccer.com/Stats/index_E.html |archivedate=January 7, 2015 }}

The Seattle Reign FC waived Megan Brigman after one season. General manager and head coach Laura Harvey said, "Despite the limited minutes she played last season, Megan was an important part of our squad. Given the increased depth of our squad this season, we felt her chances would be further limited, which led to the decision to waive Megan." Brigman only played 17 minutes in 2 games during the 2014 NWSL season.{{Cite web|date=2015-01-26|title=Seattle Reign FC announced today that the NWSL club has waived defender Megan Brigman|url=https://www.womenssoccerunited.com/seattle-reign-megan-brigman/|access-date=2021-04-01|website=Womens Soccer United|language=en-US}}

Post-soccer life

After one season with the Seattle Reign in 2014, Brigman retired from her soccer career. She began working in sports marketing. In October 2015, Megan began working as an intern for French West Vaughan.{{Cite web|last=Brigman|first=Megan|title=LinkedIn|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-brigman-4a438bbb/}}