FC Kansas City announced their official roster yesterday. With that, they announced the signing of draft pick Christina Gibbons for the 2017 NWSL season. Due to league and team policy, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Gibbons was the fifth overall pick of the 2017 NWSL College Draft back in January. She was also Kansas City’s first pick of the draft. The Duke University product started in three preseason games as part of the backline for the Blues in the past month.
Head coach Vlatko Andonovski shared in the official press release, “Gibby has been a great player so far for us. She is so smart and plays like a veteran already.”
While at Duke, the defender started 87 of 88 matches and earned All-ACC first team honors three times in her collegiate playing career. She recorded a total of 7,794 minutes of playing time for the Blue Devils. This is the second most in Duke’s program history for a field player.
“I really like everyone and they’ve all been so welcoming so I’m really glad to be here,” said Gibbons. “I’m just excited! I’m just excited to get out there and play some good games and hopefully do some really great things for Kansas City this year.”
Gibbons has also grown up playing for youth national teams. Most recently, Gibbons was part of the US U-23 Women’s National Team roster that traveled to Spain for the La Manga Tournament. She also has a bit of senior team experience, as she was called up to the US Women’s National Team for the January camp that took place right after the draft.
FC Kansas City opens the 2017 National Women’s Soccer League season at home against the Boston Breakers on April 16. Kick off is schedule for 5 pm Central Time.