Seattle Sounders Women News -- www.sounderswomen.com
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
TUKWILA, Wa. – It has been seven years since Megan Manthey has played in front of family and friends. This year, she will. After academy soccer in Florida, college soccer in Colorado and Charleston, and three years playing professional soccer in Denmark (where she won three Danish Championships), Manthey returns to Washington to play for the Seattle Sounders Women.
“It had been on my mind to come back,” Megan said. “I was initially going to try out with WPS, but when it folded I had to come up with other plans. Being home, friends and family are going to be excited to come out and watch [me] for the first time.”
Manthey left home when she was just 16 years old to attend the prestigious IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Once finished with the Academy, she started college at Colorado University, before transferring to the College of Charleston. Manthey led the College of Charleston Cougars to a 12-5-4 overall mark in 2008 and was an All-Southern Conference selection after leading the conference in goals scored (14) and points (34). Manthey also tallied six game-winning goals throughout the course of the season, which was the best mark in the conference.
In 2009, she became the first American to join Fortuna Hjørring, a professional soccer club in Denmark. While there, Manthey helped Fortuna win the Danish championship in 2009, 2010 and 2011. She also made it to the Round of 16 in the UEFA Women’s Champions League in each of her seasons in Denmark.
“As Megan’s playing career has progressed, she has consistently worked to put herself in the best environment where she can continue to grow and stretch herself as a player,” Sounders coach, Michelle French said. “We are very fortunate that she feels the Sounder Women’s team will provide that environment for her this coming season.”
Megan, on her best moments in Europe; “I had a lot of awesome experiences there. The coolest experience was going to Olympic Lyon. We got to play in their full stadium. It was amazing.” The 40,000 seat Stade de Gerland was built in 1950. It was a host stadium for World Cup 1998.
Despite playing all over the world, Megan recounts how small the soccer world can be, “It’s going to be great to be able to continue to play on a team with high caliber players. It’s kind of cool because the Danish national team goalkeeper was a teammate of mine in Denmark. So last week [in the Algarve Cup], I saw my past teammates playing against my new teammates. I even saw a photo of Alex Morgan shooting on my old teammate.”
The 2012 Sounders Women will have players from all backgrounds. Manthey’s name might not be as well known as some of her new teammates’, but Coach French is excited about Megan’s addition, “Her passion for the game translates directly into her play where she displays a sense of confidence and savvy with every touch of the ball. She will make a tremendous impact on the success of our upcoming season.”