Clare Gagne

Clare Wilson Gagne ( ; born February 22, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Brown Bears and the North Carolina Tar Heels, helping lead the Tar Heels to the 2024 national championship. She was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

Early life

Gagne grew up in Orono, Minnesota, one of four children born to Stacey Wilson and Steve Gagne. She attended Orono High School, where she captained the soccer team, earned all-state honors two times, and helped reach three state championship games. She played ECNL club soccer for the Minnesota Thunder Academy. She was ranked as the fifth-best goalkeeper of the 2020 class.

College career

After her freshman season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Gagne shared goalkeeping duties for the Brown Bears for the next two seasons. She played in 2 games in 2021, then made 10 appearances with 7 starts in 2022. She then became the undisputed starter in her senior year in 2023, posting 7 clean sheets in 15 starts. Gagne won the Ivy League regular-season championship all three seasons she played for the Bears.

After four years in Providence, Gagne transferred to the North Carolina Tar Heels as a graduate student for her final season in 2024. New teammate Maddie Dahlien, also from Minnesota, helped recruit her when she was in the transfer portal. She started all 27 games for the Tar Heels and kept 13 clean sheets (third in the nation). She made 74 saves on the season with a career-high 13 in a 4–2 loss to Florida State. In the NCAA tournament, she saved a penalty kick against Santa Clara in a tight 1–0 win in the second round. She ended up allowing only one goal in six NCAA tournament games, shutting out Duke 3–0 in the semifinals and Wake Forest 1–0 in the final, as North Carolina won its 23rd national title and first since 2012. She was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Defensive Player. TopDrawerSoccer named her to their second-team Best XI and ranked her as 23rd-best player and second-best goalkeeper in the nation.

Club career

The Kansas City Current announced on January 8, 2025, that they had signed Gagne to her first professional contract on a one-year deal. She joined Brazilian starter Lorena and backup Laurel Ivory as the third-stringer in the club's new-look goalkeeping pool. After suffering a head injury in training, she was placed on the season-ending injury list in September. Kansas City won the NWSL Shield with the best record in the league.

Honors and awards

Brown Bears Ivy League: 2021, 2022, 2023

North Carolina Tar Heels NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament: 2024

Kansas City Current NWSL Shield: 2025

Individual NCAA Division I Tournament Most Outstanding Defensive Player: 2024