Melissa Henderson

Melissa Henderson
Position: Forward
Height – 5′ 8″

2013 Season with FC Kansas City: Played in 17 games, starting 13. Amassed 1,030 minutes over the season and scored her first goal in the semifinals of the playoffs.

College: Twice nominated for ESPY Award, once in high school and again as college junior (2010) … was selected in first round (second overall) of 2024 Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) Draft by Sky Blue FC … AS A SENIOR: Team tri-captain … NSCAA third-team All-America and first-team all-Northeast Region selection … first-team all-BIG EAST choice … appeared in all 21 matches, starting 20 times (lone exception was at Seton Hall, when she was returning from West Coast after participating in U.S. Women’s National Team camp and arrived at halftime) … led team in goals (career high-tying 18), assists (8), points (44), shots (75), shots on goal (47) and match-winning goals (4) … ranked among top 11 in the nation in goals (8th), goals per match (8th – 0.86), points per match (10th – 2.10) and points (11th) … led BIG EAST in goals, goals per match, points and points per match, while ranking among top five in shots (3rd), shots per match (4th – 3.57), assists and assists per match (5th – 0.38) … during conference play, led BIG EAST in points (24) and points per match (2.18), while also appearing in top five for goals (2nd – 10), goals per match (2nd – 0.91) and shots (3rd – 37) … had school record-tying three hat tricks, two during BIG EAST play … posted 12 multi-point matches AS A JUNIOR: Honda Sports Award recipient (second in school history, first since Cindy Daws in 1996) … first runner-up for Hermann Trophy … ESPY Award nominee for “Best College Female Athlete”, the only women’s soccer player (college, pro, domestic or international) nominated among the award’s 18 individual athlete categories … consensus first-team All-American and all-region choice … BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year … earned Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors at the NCAA College Cup after leading Notre Dame to its third national championship … started all 25 matches for the Irish, chalking up 17 goals (six match-winners) and a career-high 11 assists for career-best 45 points … one of 10 players in country to log double-digit goals and assists … ranked among top 20 in the nation in five categories — points (4th), goals (6th), points per match (6th – 1.80), goals per match (12th – 0.68) and assists (20th) … led BIG EAST (overall) in goals, goals per match, match-winning goals and points, and was second in assists and total shots (career-high 81)

PREP & PERSONAL: First junior women’s soccer player ever named Gatorade National High School Player of the Year (2006-07 season); only six other juniors (from any sport) had ever received the Gatorade national honor at the time … 2024 NSCAA/adidas Youth Player of the Year … two-time NSCAA youth All- American (2006 and 2024) … named a Parade All-American following her sophomore and junior seasons at Berkner High School (in Richardson, Texas) … her dominant three seasons at Berkner HS included 66 goals and 45 assists (177 points) in 47 career matches (DNP her senior season due to national-team commitments) … set school record for career goals (66) and ranks second in assists (45) in only three seasons … a two-time all-district performer at BHS (also district MVP and all-area) … daughter of Kelly and Kathy Henderson