Katelyn Rowland

Katelyn Morgan Rowland (born March 16, 1994) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who is the goalkeeper coach for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played as a goalkeeper in the NWSL for ten seasons.

Rowland played college soccer for the UCLA Bruins, winning the 2013 national championship, and was drafted by FC Kansas City in the second round of the 2015 NWSL College Draft. She also played for the Western New York Flash, Newcastle Jets, North Carolina Courage, Kansas City Current, and Bay FC. She achieved her greatest success during two stints with the Courage, collecting three NWSL Shields, two NWSL Championships, and two NWSL Challenge Cups, and being named to the NWSL Second XI in 2017. She also won league titles with FC Kansas City and the Western New York Flash. She represented the United States at the under-20 and under-23 levels, appearing at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Early life Born in Walnut Creek, California, Rowland attended Vacaville Christian High School where she played on the varsity basketball and volleyball teams and earned all-league honors in both sports. She played club soccer for San Juan and helped the team win a national championship in 2008. At the tournament, she was awarded the Golden Gloves Award. The same year, Top Drawer Soccer named her a "Player to Watch".

UCLA Bruins, 2011–2014 Rowland attended the University of California, Los Angeles where she played for the UCLA Bruins women's soccer team from 2011 to 2014. As a freshman, she was the starting goalkeeper in 20 of 21 matches and finished the year with a record. Rowland was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and ranked second in the Pac-12 in shutouts (10), shutouts per game (0.50) and goals against average (0.61). As a backup keeper to Nicole Barnhart, Rowland played three matches for the Blues and recorded a 1.33 goals against average (GAA). FC Kansas City won the 2015 NWSL Championship. Kansas City general manager, Huw Williams noted that the trade would provide Rowland with "an opportunity to compete for immediate playing time. It also provides us with more options in the strong 2017 college draft." The Flash defeated the Washington Spirit in penalty kicks during the NWSL championship final to win their first NWSL title.

Newcastle Jets, 2016–2017 Rowland played on loan for the Newcastle Jets in the Australian W-League during the 2016–17 W-League season. She arrived at the Jets as an injury replacement for Kelsey Wys.

North Carolina Courage, 2017–2021 In January 2017, it was announced that the Western New York Flash has been sold to the ownership group of the Carolina Railhawks. The team re-located to Cary, North Carolina and was renamed North Carolina Courage. Rowland was named to the 2017 NWSL Second XI and nominated for NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year.

In the 2018 NWSL season, Rowland started 18 games for North Carolina. She recorded 8 clean sheets, helping the Courage win their second straight NWSL Shield. In the play-offs, Rowland didn't play in the semi-final as she was recovering from a concussion, but returned to play in the NWSL Championship game. She recorded 3 saves, as the Courage defeated the Portland Thorns 3–0 to win the 2018 NWSL Championship.

Kansas City Current, 2021-2022 On July 22, 2021, the Kansas City Current (then KC NWSL) acquired Rowland in a trade with the North Carolina Courage. Kansas City acquired Rowland and teammates Hailie Mace and Kristen Hamilton in exchange for Amy Rodriguez and $60,000 in allocation money.

Return to North Carolina Courage, 2022–2023 After appearing in 4 games for the Current, Rowland was traded back to the North Carolina Courage along with $200,000 in allocation money and a first round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft in exchange for Lynn Williams.

Bay FC, 2024

Rowland was selected by NWSL expansion team Bay FC in the 2024 NWSL expansion draft.

Rowland was poised to return as Bay FC's starter in the 2025 season. On February 12, 2025, during preseason training, Bay FC announced Rowland's retirement from professional soccer.

International career Rowland has represented the United States on the under-15, under-17, under-20, and under-23 national teams. In 2014, she was the starting goalkeeper at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and 2014 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship tournaments and was awarded the Golden Glove award at the CONCACAF Championship after tallying four shutouts. In 2026, following Sean Nahas and Nathan Thackeray's departures, she was named the head goalkeeping coach under new head coach Mak Lind.

Honors and awards

UCLA Bruins NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament: 2013 Pac-12 Conference: 2013, 2014

FC Kansas City NWSL Championship: 2015

Western New York Flash NWSL Championship: 2016

North Carolina Courage NWSL Championship: 2018, 2019; runner-up: 2017 NWSL Shield: 2017, 2018, 2019 NWSL Challenge Cup: 2022, 2023

Individual NWSL Second XI: 2017 Second-team All-American: 2013, 2014 Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2014 First-team All-Pac-12: 2013, 2014 Second-team All-Pac-12: 2012