Quinn (soccer)

Quinn (formerly Rebecca Quinn; born 11 August 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player and Olympic gold medallist who plays as a midfielder for National Women's Soccer League club Seattle Reign FC and the Canada national team.

Quinn previously played professionally for Paris FC in France's top league Division 1 Féminine (D1F), Vittsjö GIK in the Swedish Damallsvenskan, as well as Washington Spirit in the NWSL.

They were the first Canadian to play women’s collegiate soccer at Duke University.

Quinn previously represented Canada on the under-17, under-20, under-23 national teams.

In 2021, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Quinn became the first out, transgender, non-binary athlete to compete at the Olympics, the first to medal, and the first to earn a gold medal.

Quinn's father, Bill, was a collegiate rugby player and their mother, Linda, played college basketball.

Raised with their three sisters in a sporting family in Toronto, Quinn began playing soccer with a club team at the age of six.

An Active Child, they also swam, played hockey, and skied competitively.

In 2010, they were selected for the under-14 provincial team and began playing for the national-level youth program.

Quinn attended Havergal College, an independent school where they played varsity volleyball and basketball and earned academic honours all four years.

They were named Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the basketball team in 2010–11 and helped lead the team to the CISAA Championship in 2009 and 2012.

During high school, Quinn was also Senior Class Prefect and Co-Head of the Sports Council.

During their senior year, Quinn earned the school's Suzanne Curtis Memorial Trophy and was named Athlete of the Year.

Quinn played soccer for the Erin Mills Eagles Soccer Club U-15 and U-16 teams and helped the team win the Ontario Provincial championship in 2010 and 2011 and the Canadian National U-16 Club Championship in 2011.

Quinn won the Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario Athletic Association (CISAA) Championship in 2011 for volleyball.

The team won silver in 2012.

Quinn attended Duke University, where they played collegiate soccer for the Duke Blue Devils from 2013 to 2018 and majored in biology.

They were the first Canadian to play for Duke’s women’s soccer team.

During their freshman season, Quinn started in four of the seven matches they played.

They missed eight games after being injured early in the season.

They recorded an assist against the Boston College Eagles.

The following season, Quinn was a starting midfielder in 12 of the 14 games they played.

They scored two goals during the season, including one game-winner.

Despite missing four games due to injury, Quinn recorded 1,060 minutes of play their sophomore season.

As a junior, Quinn was a starting defender in 20 of the 22 games they played and logged 1,974 minutes despite missing three games due to an ankle injury.

The defensive line's 14 shutouts ranked first in the ACC and seventh in the nation.

During a match against Florida in the NCAA Sweet 16, Quinn scored an equalizing header goal to tie the match 1–1.

After winning the match 2–1, Duke advanced to the NCAA Cup quarterfinals.

Quinn played in four matches in 2016 due to competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics with the national team and injuries.

As a redshirt senior in 2017, Quinn earned Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Midfielder of the Year honors (the first Duke player to do so) and was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist.

The same year, they were named All-ACC First Team and United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American.

Quinn became the highest drafted Canadian in NWSL history when they were selected third overall by the Washington Spirit in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.

During the 2018 season, Quinn started in 16 of the 17 matches they played and recorded 1,385 minutes their rookie season.

The Spirit finished in eighth place with a record.

Quinn played in two matches for Paris during the 2018–19 D1F season while also competing for Canada at the Algarve Cup and multiple training camps ahead of the World Cup.

The club finished in fifth place with a record.

Wanting to play in Europe ahead of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, Quinn signed with Division 1 Féminine (D1F) club Paris FC.

They made their debut for Paris FC during a 1–0 against Guingamp on 16 February.

In July 2019 (following the FIFA Women's World Cup in France), Quinn returned to the NWSL in the United States and signed with Reign FC based in Tacoma, Washington.

Quinn made their debut for the Reign on 11 August in a 3–1 loss to Utah Royals FC.