Hal Hershfelt

Katherine Hailey Hershfelt (born October 3, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She played college soccer for the Clemson Tigers and was selected fifth overall by the Spirit in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She earned second-team NWSL Best XI honors as a rookie and helped the Spirit to NWSL Championship appearances in both of her first two seasons. She was included as an alternate for the United States squad that won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Early life

Hershfelt was born in San Diego, California, in a military family, and has a younger brother. Her family moved often, living in many states across the South, but she calls Hattiesburg, Mississippi, her hometown. During high school, she moved to Georgia to play for the Concorde Fire, reaching the ECNL semifinals in 2017. She graduated from Lassiter High School in Marietta, Georgia.

College career

Hershfelt played five seasons for the Clemson Tigers from 2019 to 2023, making 99 appearances and scoring 16 goals with 12 assists. She was named third-team All-ACC in 2020, second-team All-ACC in 2021 and 2022, and first-team All-ACC in 2023. In 2023, as a graduate student, she helped lead the Tigers to the ACC tournament final and the program's first NCAA tournament semifinals. During college, she also played in the USL W League for Greenville Liberty and the 2023 champions Indy Eleven.

Club career

The Washington Spirit selected Hershfelt with the 5th overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She was signed to a three-year contract. She made her professional debut with a start in the season-opening 1–0 loss to the Seattle Reign on March 17. The following week, she scored her first professional goal in a 2–1 home win over Bay FC. She played in 25 league games as a rookie, starting 23, and scored 2 goals. She led all rookies with over 2,000 minutes played, helping the Spirit finish second in the standings. She started all three playoff games. She played the entire match in the NWSL Championship, losing 1–0 to the Orlando Pride. She was named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team at the end of the season.

Hershfelt began her second season by winning the NWSL Challenge Cup against the Orlando Pride on penalties after a 1–1 draw on March 7, 2025. She played in 18 league games, starting 15, as she again helped the Spirit place second in the table. She started all three playoff games. In the quarterfinals, she made a penalty in a 3–1 shootout win after a 1–1 draw with Racing Louisville. Washington advanced to a second consecutive NWSL Championship, losing 1–0 this time to Gotham FC. She injured her leg in the final colliding with Rose Lavelle but returned several minutes later, though with limited capacity, and was unable to stop Lavelle scoring the game-winner.

International career

Hershfelt was called into training camp with the United States national team in June 2024, her first national team call-up at any level. Later that month she was named as an alternate to the national team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. The United States won the gold medal, defeating Brazil 1–0 in the final on a goal from Mallory Swanson; however, Hershfelt did not receive a medal as an alternate.

Hershfelt made her debut for the United States in a 3–1 friendly victory over Iceland on October 24, 2024, replacing midfielder Sam Coffey in the 72nd minute.

Style of play

A defensive midfielder, Hershfelt is known for her ability to disrupt play with good anticipation, smart positioning to make interceptions, and hard tackling.

Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals Greenville Liberty 2022

Indy Eleven 2023

Individual

NWSL Best XI Second Team: 2024 First-team All-ACC: 2023 Second-team All-ACC: 2021, 2022 Third-team All-ACC: 2020 ACC all-freshman team: 2019 NCAA tournament all-tournament team: 2023