FC Kansas City Signs Forward Shea Groom
FC Kansas City announced today the club has signed forward Shea Groom. Per team and league policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“I am overjoyed to officially be a part of this team,” Groom said. “It’s really special to be able to come home and be coached by three great coaches that I am really familiar with and play for a team that’s coming off a championship.”
The 22-year-old from Liberty, Missouri was selected by the Blues with the No. 12 overall pick at the 2015 National Women’s Soccer League College Draft.
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“We are very excited to have Shea [Groom] on board,” FC Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “She is a young soccer player with a lot of potential and I believe that her athleticism will fit perfectly with our style of play.”
Most recently, Groom competed with the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team in La Manga, Spain. She started in all three matches and scored the first goal of the 2-0 victory over Norway in a tournament that saw head coach Steven Swanson’s team go 3-0.
In four years at Texas A&M, she was an All-America performer and Academic All-America and Scholar All-America honoree. Groom played in 84 matches, including 79 starts recording 41 goals and 25 assists. Groom started all 26 matches in her senior year with the Texas A&M Aggies where she led the SEC and ranked third in the nation with seven game-winning goals and seven assists.
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“We are thrilled to have someone like Shea in our team,” Director of Soccer Operations Huw Williams shared. “She has the physical attributes to be successful in this league.”
Groom notched her first goal with FC Kansas City two weeks ago when the Blues visited the University of Nebraska for a preseason match, which ended in a 8-1 victory for the reigning NWSL champions.
Against Nebraska, Groom displayed trademark speed as she broke past the defense and got herself open to collect a cross from Liz Bogus, which she calmly placed in the back of the net to make it 2-0 in the 18th minute. “Scoring goals never gets old,” Groom said. “It was a great ball from Liz [Bogus], she got down the line and crossed the ball really hard and I was able to get on the end of it, it was really exciting.”
Adding another play maker in Groom helps alleviate the absences of fellow Forward Amy Rodriguez (13 goals) and Midefielder Lauren Holiday (8 goals) during the World Cup. In all, the defending champs will be without five key contributors for several weeks, but as Groom showed against Nebraska, she has the skills to be a force.