Geri Donnelly

Geraldine "Geri" Donnelly (born 30 November 1965) is a Canadian former soccer player. A midfielder, she represented Canada at the 1995 and 1999 editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup and was named Canadian Player of the Year in 1996 and 1999. Donnelly was part of the Canadian squad who won the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship. She was selected as a member of the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014.

Club career Born in London, Donnelly played street soccer with local boys before her family moved to Port Moody, British Columbia when she was eight.

Donnelly played with Vancouver Angels in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL), remaining with the club when they moved to the W-League and were amalgamated into Vancouver Whitecaps, after playing the transitional 2001 W-League season as Vancouver Breakers.

Aged 43, she retired from soccer in 2009 after guiding Surrey United to six consecutive provincial titles.

International career In Canada's second-ever match, two days after their first, Donnelly made her debut. She scored both goals in a 2–1 win over the United States on 9 July 1986 at the National Sports Center, Blaine, Minnesota. The goals were Canada's first ever, as they had been beaten 2–0 by the United States in the first game.

Donnelly played at a time when women's soccer in Canada was in its infancy. Port Moody Soccer Club, the town's Rotary Club and a local Safeway supermarket raised $1,500 to enable Donnelly to join the first national team tour, to Taiwan in 1987. Donnelly played in a 1–1 draw with Japan, a 7–1 defeat to Norway and a 4–1 defeat by Russia as the Canadians suffered another first round elimination. She retired from national team play after the tournament, as Canada's record appearance holder with 71 caps.

International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 9 July 1986 Blaine, United States 1–0 2–1 Friendly 2. 2–0 3. 21 April 1990 Varna, Bulgaria ?–0 5–0 4. ?–0 5. ?–0 6. 13 August 1994 Montreal, Canada 4–0 7–0 1994 CONCACAF Women's Championship 7. 6 June 1995 Helsingborg, Sweden 2–3 2–3 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup 8. 8 June 1995 2–0 3–3 9. 10 January 1999 Canberra, Australia 1–0 3–4 1999 Australia Cup

Honours Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Service Award: 2002