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Meredith Flaherty

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Meredith Flaherty
Personal information
Place of birth Oceanside, California
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team Florida Gators (coach)
Youth career
1990–1993 Vista High School
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1997 Clemson Tigers 50
1998 Florida Gators 26

Meredith Flaherty (née McCullen) is an American soccer coach and former player.

Early life

Born Meredith McCullen, she played soccer at Vista High School in California.

College career

Wanting to attend college on the east coast, Flaherty committed to Clemson to play for the Tigers, receiving "hardly" any other scholarships from eastern universities. Flaherty started 16 of 18 matches for the Tigers in 1994, her freshman year. The following season, she was named the first-team All-ACC goalkeeper and was also named a second-team All-South region selection. In her junior season, she only played three games due to a hand injury, which caused her to redshirt the season. Her playing time diminished in her senior season at Clemson, when she played in 12 matches, starting eleven of them.

She graduated Clemson with a degree in psychology and married her college boyfriend, Colin Flaherty before deciding to attend the University of Florida for their graduate program in counseling. Though she attended Florida for academic reasons, she played one final season for the Gators as she had one year of NCAA eligibility remaining. She started in all 26 matches she played in, missing just the Gators' match against Hartford due to injuries sustained in a car accident. Flaherty had four saves in a 7–2 victory over Maryland. She set Florida school records in goals against average (GAA) in a career with 0.643, and season-long records in minutes played, games, starts, saves, wins, and shutouts; she recorded shutouts in all three of the Gators' SEC Tournament matches.

In a markedly defensive game in the 1998 NCAA women's semifinal against Santa Clara, Flaherty recorded seven saves. The Gators defeated Santa Clara 1–0, snapping the Broncos' streak of 16 consecutive shutouts to set up a national championship match against North Carolina. Flaherty and the Gators then won the 1998 NCAA championship game, defeating North Carolina, 1–0. In the game, Flaherty saved ten shots from going in. On the win, she stated, "We knew going in we wanted to play North Carolina. We were kind of hoping for it. If you're going to be national champions, you have to beat the national champions."

Professional career

Though she initially had "no interest in pursuing soccer" beyond the 1998 NCAA finals, Flaherty played soccer professionally.

Coaching career

References

  1. ^ Keech, Larry (January 24, 2015) . "FLORIDA KEEPER STEALS THE SHOW\ A SLEEPLESS NIGHT HELPED SPUR FLORIDA GOALIE MEREDITH FLAHERTY TO A PEAK PERFORMANCE AGAINST HER SANTA CLARA COUNTERPART". News & Record. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  2. ^ "Meredith Flaherty - Soccer (Player bio)". Florida Gators. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  3. "Women's Soccer Falls to #5 Gators, 7-2". University of Maryland Athletics. June 21, 1999 . Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  4. "SEC 40/40: 1998 Florida Soccer". Southeastern Conference. July 1, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  5. "GATORS REACH SOCCER TITLE GAME". Orlando Sentinel. July 30, 2021 . Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  6. ^ Harry, Chris (September 15, 2023). "Historic Soccer Run Highlights Championship Reunion Weekend". Florida Gators. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
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