Cheyna Matthews

Cheyna Lee Matthews (born November 10, 1993), née Williams, is an American-born Jamaican footballer who plays as a forward for Washington Spirit and the Jamaica women's national team.

Cheyna Matthews
Personal information
Full name Cheyna Lee Matthews[1]
Birth name Cheyna Lee Williams[2]
Date of birth (1993-11-10) November 10, 1993[2]
Place of birth Lynn, Massachusetts, United States[2]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Playing position(s) Forward[4]
Club information
Current team
 Washington Spirit
Number 20
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Vanderbilt Commodores 35 (22)
2014–2015 Florida State Seminoles 51 (24)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Washington Spirit 55 (11)
National team‡
2015 United States U23 2 (0)
2019– Jamaica 9 (8)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 28, 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of June 12, 2019

Playing career

College

Vanderbilt

In 2012, Williams attended Vanderbilt University, where she would make 17 appearances, score six goals and register six assists her freshman year. Building on a successful season, she started all 18 games her sophomore year, scoring 16 goals and registering five assists.[2] Her performance in 2013 named her First-Team All-SEC.[3]

Florida State

In 2014, Williams transferred to Florida State University, where she would continue her form. She made 24 starts (26 appearances) and helped the Seminoles win their first NCAA National Championship in program history. Williams would finish her season year with an additional 25 games played and scoring 10 goals.[3]

Club

Washington Spirit

Matthews was drafted by Washington Spirit in the 1st round of the 2016 NWSL College Draft. She signed with the Spirit in April 2016.[5] In her rookie season, Matthews played in 17 regular season games, 8 starts, totaling 779 minutes and scored three goals. The Georgia native scored her first professional goal on July 31, 2016 against Sky Blue FC.[4] The team went on to make its first ever NWSL Championship appearance, ultimately losing on penalties to Western New York Flash. Matthews dressed but served as an unused substitute.[6]

The Spirit would struggle in the 2017 season but Matthews became a regular contributor making 21 appearances and scoring 5 goals (tied for second on the team).

Matthews sat out the 2018 season due to pregnancy.[7]

Ahead of the 2020 season, the Spirit announced that Matthews would be taking a paid leave of absence to focus on her family situation, notably the potential for her husband, Jordan Matthews, to relocate within the NFL.[8] The paid leave was anticipated to last until May of the year and stipulated that Matthews could continue her career elsewhere, if necessary.

International

Following the historic FIFA Women's World Cup qualification by the Jamaica women's national football team, Matthews was named to its training camp roster in January 2019.[9] She made her debut in a 1–0 friendly win against Chile on February 28, 2019.

Matthews was selected for Jamaica's 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup squad. She made her World Cup debut during the team's first group stage match against Brazil in Grenoble.[10]

Personal life

Matthews married San Francisco 49ers wide-receiver Jordan Matthews in February 2018 having met while both attended Vanderbilt University.[11] The couple have one son together.[12] Matthews is a Christian.[13]

References
  1. "GIRLZ AT WORK". Jamaica Observer. January 19, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  2. "Cheyna Williams - Soccer". Vanderbilt University Athletics. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  3. "cheyna williams". Seminoles.com. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  4. "Cheyna Matthews". Washington Spirit. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  5. "Washington Spirit Signs Forwards Cheyna Williams and Cali Farquharson". Washington Spirit. April 16, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  6. Steven Goff (October 9, 2016). "Washington Spirit loses NWSL championship on penalty kicks". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  7. Rachel Gaylor (February 24, 2018). "Washington Spirit re-sign 2; Cheyna Matthews out for 2018". Vavel. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  8. Steven Goff (March 9, 2020). "Washington Spirit player takes paid leave of absence to spend more time with family". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  9. De Souza, Ana (January 10, 2019). "January Activities for ConcacafW". Fútbol Ace. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  10. Miller, Nick (June 9, 2019). "Brazil 3–0 Jamaica: Women's World Cup 2019 – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  11. Qina Liu (February 20, 2018). "Bills WR Jordan Matthews marries soccer star Cheyna Williams". buffalonews.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  12. Pease, Joshua. "Pro athletes Jordan, Cheyna Matthews building Godly marriage amid 'organized chaos'". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  13. "Going To The Source - Cheyna Matthews". The Increase. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
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