Heather Stainbrook

Heather Stainbrook
Stainbrook with the Washington Spirit in 2025
Personal information
Full name Heather Marie Stainbrook[1]
Date of birth (2001-03-14) March 14, 2001[2]
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Dallas Trinity
(on loan from the Washington Spirit)
Number 6
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2023 Utah Valley Wolverines 102 (40)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024– Washington Spirit 22 (1)
2026– → Dallas Trinity (loan) 3 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:03, February 22, 2026 (UTC)

Heather Marie Stainbrook (born March 14, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for USL Super League club Dallas Trinity, on loan from the Washington Spirit. She played college soccer for the Utah Valley Wolverines, setting the program scoring record at the time, and began her professional career with the Spirit in 2024.

Early life

Stainbrook grew up in South Jordan, Utah, and attended Alta High School in Sandy. She was named all-state the two years she played for her high school as she led the team to regional titles and state quarterfinals. She played club soccer for La Roca FC.[2]

College career

Stainbrook was a five-year starter for the Utah Valley Wolverines from 2019 to 2023. In her pandemic-shortened sophomore year, she helped win both the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular-season and tournament titles; Utah Valley qualified for the NCAA tournament for only the third time in program history and won its opening match for the first time. She won two further regular-season conference titles with the team and appeared in one further NCAA tournament.[2][3] Stainbrook received first-team All-WAC recognition three times and was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year when she scored a career-high 13 goals in 2022. After five seasons, Stainbrook left Utah Valley as its all-time top scorer with 40 goals in 102 games.[2][4] Her former teammate Faith Webber surpassed her record the following year.[5]

Club career

Washington Spirit

Stainbrook was not selected in the 2024 NWSL Draft but joined the Washington Spirit as a non-roster invitee in the preseason, signing a three-year contract on March 11, 2024.[6] She made her professional debut as a late substitute for Ouleymata Sarr in a 4–2 win over the Chicago Red Stars on May 3, becoming the first Utah Valley player to play in the NWSL.[7] In early October, following a season-ending injury to Andi Sullivan, Stainbrook became a starter for the rest of her rookie season.[8] On October 20, she scored her first professional from a cross by Tara McKeown to open the scoring in a 2–0 win over the Chicago Red Stars.[8] She played in 11 league games, starting 4, and scored 1 goal as the Spirit placed second in the league.[9] In the playoffs, she started the first two games to help the Spirit reach the 2024 NWSL Championship, but was unused in the loss to the Orlando Pride.[9] The following season, she again made 11 league appearances, starting 6, as the Spirit repeated their second-place finish.[10] She was unused in the playoffs as the Spirit made the 2025 NWSL Championship, losing to Gotham FC.[10]

Loan to Dallas Trinity

On January 20, 2026, Stainbrook joined USL Super League club Dallas Trinity on loan for the entire year,[11] becoming the fifth Spirit player loaned to Dallas in the last year and a half.[12] She made her debut for the club on January 31, assisting the opening goal by Camryn Lancaster in a draw with Brooklyn FC.[13] The following match, Stainbrook scored her first USL Super League goal as Dallas beat Fort Lauderdale United FC, 4–0.[14]

Career statistics

As of match played February 21, 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Continental Playoffs[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Washington Spirit 2024 NWSL 11 1 3[b] 0 2 0 16 1
2025 11 0 4[c] 1 0 0 15 1
Total 22 1 7 1 2 0 31 2
Dallas Trinity FC 2025–26 USLS 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
Career total 25 2 7 1 2 0 34 3

Honors and awards

Washington Spirit

Utah Valley Wolverines

Individual

  • WAC Offensive Player of the Year: 2022
  • First-team All-WAC: 2021, 2022, 2023
  • WAC all-freshman team: 2019
  • WAC tournament all-tournament team: 2020, 2022

References

  1. ^ "Utah Valley University Commencement 2024" (PDF). Utah Valley University. p. 59. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Heather Stainbrook". Utah Valley Wolverines. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  3. ^ "2023 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament". Western Athletic Conference. November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  4. ^ "WAC Announces Women's Soccer Postseason Honors". Western Athletic Conference. October 27, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  5. ^ "Wolverines Hold Off Utah Tech for Fifth Straight Win, Webber Becomes UVU's All-Time Leading Scorer". Utah Valley Wolverines. October 3, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  6. ^ "Washington Spirit Officially Signs 2024 Rookie Class to Professional Contracts". Washington Spirit. March 11, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  7. ^ "Getting to Know Midfielder Heather Stainbrook". Washington Spirit. May 8, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Wolcott, Nicky (October 20, 2024). "Spirit's rookies rise to the occasion in a 2–0 win over the Red Stars". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Heather Stainbrook 2024 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  10. ^ a b "Heather Stainbrook 2025 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  11. ^ "Washington Spirit Announces Updates to Roster Loans". Washington Spirit. January 20, 2026. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  12. ^ McGowan, Dennis (January 31, 2026). "Three Roads to Fair Park: Heather Stainbrook". 3rd Degree. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  13. ^ Hadnot, Vernon (January 31, 2026). "Trinity, Brooklyn Settle for 1-1 Draw". D210SPORTS. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  14. ^ "Dallas Trinity FC Handles Fort Lauderdale United FC, 4-0". OurSports Central. February 8, 2026. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  15. ^ "Recap: Short-Handed Spirit Wins 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup". Washington Spirit. March 8, 2025. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heather Stainbrook.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.