Meggie Dougherty Howard

Megan "Meggie" Dougherty Howard (born July 27, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Angel City FC of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for San Diego Wave FC, Orlando Pride, and Washington Spirit.

Early life
Raised in Largo, Florida, Dougherty Howard attended St. Petersburg Catholic High School where she played soccer as a freshman and senior. As a senior, she captained the team to the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A regional final and was named to the All-Pinellas County first team by the Tampa Bay Times.

As a youth, Dougherty Howard initially played for a boys teams at Strictly Soccer won the Disney Showcase and President’s Day titles in 2010. She played club soccer with Tampa Bay United Premier Girls 94 team, which won the 2011 and 2012 Disney Qualifier. In 2011, she attended the U.S. under-15 national team camp.

Florida Gators, 2013-16
Dougherty Howard was a four-year starter for the Florida Gators at the University of Florida from 2013 to 2016 while also earning a degree in management. She totaled 89 career starts in 94 appearances and scored 14 goals, playing mostly as a holding midfielder. In 2016, Dougherty Howard saw a career high in minutes, goals and assists as a senior and was recognized with All-SEC first team and All-American third team selections, and was named SEC Tournament MVP after registering an assist in each tournament match including on the match-winning golden goal in the final.

Club career
In 2015 and 2016, while still in college, Dougherty Howard played for Washington Spirit Reserves in the W-League and in the Women's Premier Soccer League. Her team won the W-League title in 2015 and the Women's Premier Soccer League East Conference in 2016. In 2015, she was named to the W-League All-League Team.

Washington Spirit (2017–2020)
In 2017, Dougherty Howard was selected in the third round (29th overall) of the 2017 NWSL College Draft by Washington Spirit. She was signed to the team on March 12 and made her professional debut on April 22 as a 67th minute substitute for Kristie Mewis in a 1–1 draw with Orlando Pride. She scored her first goal as a rookie on August 4, 2017, in a 4–1 victory over Sky Blue FC.

Orlando Pride (2021–2022)
On December 24, 2020, Dougherty Howard was traded along with two first-round picks and $140,000 in allocation money to Orlando Pride in exchange for Emily Sonnett. She made her debut for the club on April 10, 2021, starting and assisting both goals in a 2–2 draw with Racing Louisville in the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup opening round.

San Diego Wave FC (2023)
On January 12, 2023, Dougherty Howard signed a two-year contract as a free agent with San Diego Wave FC. During the 2023 season, she made 12 appearances for the club, including 8 starts. San Diego finished first in the regular season winning the NWSL Shield. They were defeated by OL Reign in the semi-finals of the NWSL Playoffs.

Angel City FC (2024–present)
In January 2024, Dougherty Howard was acquired by Angel City FC in exchange for $40,000 in allocation money ahead of the 2024 season. She made her debut for Angel City on March 17, 2024 in a match against Bay FC.

International career
In November 2011, Dougherty Howard was called up to the United States under-15 team. In April 2016 she was called up to the under-23 training camp in Charlottesville, Virginia that featured only collegiate players. The following month she was part of the 20-player roster that won the U23 Nordic Tournament. In January 2017 Dougherty Howard was again called up to the under-23 team, the first camp of the year that included a mixture of top players from the U.S. youth teams, elite college players and four NWSL players. It was overseen by senior team head coach Jill Ellis to evaluate players for potential senior call-ups.

Club
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Honors
Florida Gators San Diego Wave
 * Southeastern Conference regular season: 2013, 2015
 * SEC Women's Soccer Tournament: 2015, 2016


 * NWSL Shield: 2023

Individual
 * USL W-League All-League team: 2015