Holly Ward (soccer)

Holly Ward
Ward in 2024
Personal information
Full name Holly Noushin Ward
Date of birth (2003-10-25) October 25, 2003
Place of birth Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Seattle Reign
Number 12
Youth career
Portland Foothills SC
Mountain United FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Girls Elite
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2024 Texas Longhorns 91 (17)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Nautsaʼmawt FC[a] 9+ (1+)
2024 Burnaby FC 6 (1)
2025 Vancouver Rise 25 (6)
2026– Seattle Reign 0 (0)
International career‡
2022 Canada U-20 9 (4)
2025– Canada 10 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 17, 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of March 7, 2026

Holly Noushin Ward (born October 25, 2003) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League and the Canada national team. She played college soccer for the Texas Longhorns. She began her professional career with hometown club Vancouver Rise in 2025, helping them win the inaugural Northern Super League title.

Early life

Ward was born in Vancouver to a father from Montreal, Quebec, and a mother from Boston, Massachusetts.[1] She moved to Portland, Oregon in the United States at age three and began playing youth soccer at age four with Portland Foothills SC.[2] At age 13, she moved back to Canada with her family, settling in North Vancouver.[2] In Canada, she played with Mountain United FC, before joining the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite.[3]

College career

Ward played four seasons for the Texas Longhorns at University of Texas, scoring 17 goals in 91 games.[3] In her junior season in 2023, she helped the Longhorns win the Big 12 tournament, dishing out four assists during the tournament and scoring the third goal in a 3–1 win against BYU in the final.[4][5] In her senior season in 2024, she scored a brace against LSU in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament, going on to help Texas win the tournament title in their new conference. In the NCAA tournament, she scored four goals in a 4–1 win against Boston University in the first round, a program record for an NCAA tournament game. She scored her final college goal in a 3–2 loss to Michigan State in the second round.[3][6]

Club career

League1 BC

In 2022, Ward played in League1 British Columbia with Varsity FC. She remained with the club in 2023, with the club changing their name to Nautsaʼmawt FC.[7]

In 2024, she joined Burnaby FC in League1 British Columbia.[8]

Vancouver Rise

Ward trained with Racing Louisville FC as a non-roster invitee in the NWSL preseason in January 2025.[9] The following month, she signed her first professional contract with hometown club Vancouver Rise before the inaugural season of the Northern Super League.[10] On April 16, she made her professional debut in the NSL's inaugural game between Vancouver and the Calgary Wild. She helped create the NSL's first-ever goal when she drew a penalty converted by Quinn in the 1–0 victory.[11][12] She scored her first professional goals on July 19, netting a brace in a 6–0 victory over the Halifax Tides.[13][14] On November 8, she scored a late goal against the Ottawa Rapid to even the aggregate score 3–3 in the playoff semifinals, helping the Rise advance to the inaugural NSL final after a penalty shootout.[15] On November 15, she scored the winning goal in the 68th minute of the inaugural NSL final, a 2–1 victory over AFC Toronto.[16]

Seattle Reign

On March 13, 2026, Ward transferred to the NWSL's Seattle Reign FC for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-year contract.[17]

International career

Ward played for Canada at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[18] She made her senior debut on April 9, 2025, as a 64th-minute substitute in a friendly against Argentina.[19] She scored her first senior goal on June 3, 2025, in a friendly against Haiti.[20][21] With her goal, she became the first player from the Canada's Northern Super League to ever score for the Canada national team.[22] She earned her first call-up to a competitive tournament in February 2026, ahead of the 2026 SheBelieves Cup.[23]

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ward goal.
List of international goals scored by Holly Ward
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 June 3, 2025 Saputo Stadium, Montréal, Canada  Haiti 2–0 3–1 Friendly
2 June 27, 2025 BMO Field, Toronto, Canada  Costa Rica 2–1 4–1

Honors and awards

Texas Longhorns

Vancouver Rise FC

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Profile - Canada Soccer". January 28, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  2. ^ a b Holly Ward at Canada Soccer
  3. ^ a b c "Holly Ward". Texas Longhorns. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  4. ^ Malinguez, Alistair (March 29, 2024). "How coaching became key for Holly Ward's development". The Daily Texan. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  5. ^ Gordon, Colby (November 4, 2023). "Missimo's brace paces Texas to 3-1 win over BYU and Big 12 soccer championship title". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  6. ^ Eckert, David (November 15, 2024). "NCAA soccer tournament: How Holly Ward made history in Texas vs Boston University". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  7. ^ "Holly Ward 2023 L1BC Stats". League1 British Columbia.
  8. ^ "Holly Ward 2024 L1BC Stats". League1 British Columbia.
  9. ^ "Racing sets 2025 preseason roster as training kicks off". Racing Louisville FC. January 21, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  10. ^ Vancouver Rise FC (February 14, 2025). "Holly Ward isn't just fast—she's fearless". Retrieved April 16, 2025 – via Bluesky.
  11. ^ Karstens-Smith, Gemma (April 17, 2025). "First Northern Super League game 'a surreal moment' for players, coaches". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  12. ^ "Holly Ward: Rise FC's Rising Star". Vancouver Rise FC. June 27, 2025.
  13. ^ "Record-breaking Vancouver Rise crush Halifax Tides 6-0 in NSL romp". Canadian Soccer Daily. July 20, 2025.
  14. ^ "Holly Ward scores brace as Vancouver Rise cruise past Halifax Tides". CBC Sports. July 19, 2025.
  15. ^ "Vancouver Rise advance to inaugural Northern Super League Final after shootout win over Rapid". CBC. November 8, 2025. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  16. ^ Davidson, Neil (November 15, 2025). "Northern Super League season closes in dramatic fashion with Vancouver comeback win". The Canadian Press. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  17. ^ "Seattle Reign FC Signs Canadian Forward Holly Ward". Seattle Reign FC. March 13, 2026. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  18. ^ "Holly Ward". Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  19. ^ "Argentina hands Canadian women's soccer team 1st loss of Stoney era". CBC Sports. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  20. ^ Rainbird, Daniel (June 4, 2025). "Viens, Ward lead Canada past Haiti before rowdy crowd in women's soccer friendly". CBC Sports.
  21. ^ Karstens-Smith, Gemma (June 6, 2025). "'I can't even believe it's real': Vancouver's Ward a rising star for Canada, NSL". Toronto Star.
  22. ^ Wong, Brian (June 5, 2025). "From Dreams to Goals: Holly Ward Scores Big for Canada and Canadian Women's Soccer". Let's Go Calgary.
  23. ^ "Holly Ward Selected for SheBelieves Cup". Vancouver Rise FC. February 18, 2026. Retrieved February 20, 2026.

Notes

  1. ^ Varsity FC changed its name to Nautsa’mawt FC in 2023
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Holly Ward.
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.