CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – After making her professional debut overseas in Austria this spring, former Colorado School of Mines women's soccer striker Reese McDermott will take the next step in her career as she returns stateside for the summer to join the Women's Premier Soccer League's (WPSL) Chattanooga FC.
 
McDermott spent the spring with FC Pinzgau Saalfelden of the Austria Frauen Bundesliga 2. She signed with Chattanooga FC back on February 25 and following federation and league approval, will join the club ahead of their season opener on May 23 at home at 7 p.m. ET against the United Futbol Academy Gunners.
 
While overseas, McDermott appeared in 10 matches and was one of the top strikers for FCPS, scoring eight goals with four assists for a total of 20 points. She scored the game-winner in her debut match against SPG Geretsberg Bürmoos on March 2 and had her first multi-goal outing on March 29 against Wacker Innsbruck. The highlight of her time with FCPS came on May 3 against RW Rankweil when she scored four goals from the 34th to 55th minutes of the match.
 
McDermott, a December 2024 graduate in Quantitative Biosciences & Engineering, was recognized this spring as the Sportswomen of Colorado's Sportswoman of the Year in Division II soccer after leading the Orediggers to a sweep of the RMAC Championships, the South Central Region Championship and a spot in the national quarterfinals.
 
The back-to-back RMAC Academic Player and Player of the Year, McDermott scored a career-high 19 goals with seven assists for 45 points with seven game-winning scores in 1,457 minutes. She recorded a point in 16 of 23 matches last fall, scoring in 14, assisting in seven and doing both in five matches. McDermott recorded a hat trick and an assist on her way to seven points against West Texas A&M and strung together a six-match goal streak from October 6-25 during which she tallied eight goals while posting an eight-match point streak starting at the same time and running until November 1, during which she recorded 18 points. During the Orediggers' postseason run, she scored three goals with two assists including the equalizer in the RMAC semifinals against UCCS and the game-winner tournament title game against Fort Lewis. She also scored in the regional championship against Angelo State. McDermott ended 2024 tied for second in Division II in goals scored and also set the program record for fastest consecutive goals by an individual (29 seconds apart on Sept. 20 at Saint Martin's) and the latest goal and game-winner in program history (89:53 on Oct. 20 vs. MSU Denver).
 
The D2 CCA South Central Region Player of the Year, CSC First Team Academic All-America® honoree, RMAC Tournament Most Valuable Player and two-time All-America selection in 2024, McDermott started 81 times in 86 matches for 5,288 minutes in her career with 53 goals and 19 assists for 125 points with 18 game-winners on 288 shots with 141 on goal. She ranks third all-time in goals, points, game-winners, shots and shots on goal and is fifth all-time in assists. She also ranks inside the top 10 all-time in matches captained and is on top five lists when it comes to single-season goals, points, assists and game-winners. She also holds the record for the two fastest goals scored to begin a match in program history and has several goal and point streaks that place among the best in program history.
 
Chattanooga Football Club was founded in 2009. Chattanooga FC Women was established in 2013 competes in the Women's Premier Soccer League and plays all home games at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. Chattanooga Football Club will compete in the Peachtree Division of the Southeast Conference beginning in 2025. Chattanooga will be joined by Atlanta Fire United (Atlanta, Ga.), Decatur FC (Atlanta, Ga.), Georgia Impact (Atlanta, Ga.) and UFA Gunners (Atlanta, Ga.) in the Peachtree Division. The 2025 WPSL season will feature a league-record 150 teams, with teams divided into Central, East, South, and West regions. The club won the Southeast Conference championship in 2018.
 
The WPSL is the longest-active women's soccer league in the United States. Boasting more than 140 clubs nationwide while occupying 32 states coast-to-coast, the WPSL solidifies itself as the largest women's soccer league in the world. Team rosters feature elite collegiate, post-collegiate, international, and standout prep student-athletes. Many of the United States' most accomplished women's national team players have played in the WPSL since its inception in 1998, including household names such as Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Abby Wambach, and Brandi Chastain.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's soccer on X and Instagram at @mineswsoc. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.