SALT LAKE CITY — Barring a rather colossal disaster or an unexpected decision from her head coach Farid Benstiti, former Timpanogos High School and University of Utah standout goalkeeper Carly Nelson won’t play a single second for Washington-based OL Reign during the National Women’s Soccer League’s Challenge Cup in her home state.
That’s the nature of the goalkeeper position and her place as third on the depth chart, especially behind quality starter Casey Murphy and veteran backup Michelle Betos.
Nevertheless, Nelson, who is currently under contract just through the end of the tournament later this month, is working to put everything she has into the experience as she begins what she hopes becomes her established professional career.
While that dream has been present since Nelson was young, it really started to take root during, of all things, a summer sales internship she took in 2017 in between her freshman and sophomore seasons with the Utes. She had started six games early as a freshman but sustained a concussion in late September and missed the rest of the campaign.
The injury caused her to think about life after soccer, and as she spent time selling educational software in Pennsylvania, the work skills she developed set the course for the rest of her collegiate playing career.
“It was completely life-changing,” she said. “It changed my whole character and attitude. I was very focused. It was like a shift. I was just like, ‘No distractions. This is what I want to do. Let’s go,’ and I kind of just pushed harder.”
Utah coach Rich Manning remembers it well, recalling a phone conversation he had with Nelson and her father Eric when she returned.
“She said, ‘I just want to train,’” Manning said. “‘I don’t want to miss training and I want to be there.’ It kind of hit me, and from that point forward, I think she just kind of dedicated herself to it.”
The results weren’t immediate, however, as Nelson’s sophomore season in 2017 was good, but nothing spectacular. She got better as her junior year started to unfold in 2018, but things really began picking up halfway through the season. Except for one bad game against high-powered UCLA, Nelson was lights out over the Utes’ last nine contests, allowing just three goals.
Remembering the second of those last nine, a 2-0 win over Washington, Manning said, “From that point forward, her performances in games were at a different level. She really was kind of the leader on the field. ... It just clicked halfway through the season her junior year.”
During that run, Nelson remembers then-Utah assistant coach Gabe Smart mentioning the idea of playing professionally, and at that point she realized it could be a real possibility. Then last summer before her senior season, Nelson played for Utah Royals FC Reserves, a semi-professional team the NWSL side in the Beehive State uses to develop players, even as she dealt with osteomyelitis.
The head coach of that team is URFC assistant Amy LePeilbet, who won a gold medal with the United States Women’s National Team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and URFC veteran goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart also helped out when time permitted.
“I think just being able to play and being in that environment, even though not necessarily all of the girls were technically considered pro or had contracts, just having that experience and even being coached by someone who’s won a gold medal, who played in the game for a while, definitely grew my game,” Nelson said.
Heading into her senior year last fall, Nelson said she tried not to think about how her performance could affect her future opportunities, and instead focused on playing as well as she could and letting the chips fall where they may.
“Regardless, I was going to go pro, whether that was in the NWSL or overseas,” she said. “I just wanted to focus on my senior season and whatever happened happened.”
After Nelson’s senior season, which saw her lead the Pac-12 Conference in shutouts (10) and saves (105), she did not get chosen in January’s NWSL draft, which she saw as a good thing because it gave her freedom to decide where she wanted to go.
Ultimately, she was invited to training camp with URFC as a non-roster player, where she had the chance to compete for the third-string goalkeeper spot behind Barnhart and Abby Smith. At the very least, she figured it was going to be a good experience being in the professional environment.
But then just two days into camp in March, the NWSL shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Nelson kept training by herself as much as was possible during those initial weeks as uncertainty clouded the situation. Ultimately, as the NWSL started getting back in gear in late May, URFC had to cut ties with her because they didn’t know if they could carry non-roster players.
Nelson was kind of bummed, but, “I had this feeling. I was like, ‘No, I’m good. Everything’s going to be fine. I’m not going to worry about it. Things are going to be OK. I’m good,’” she said.
That proved to be true, as the very next day, Reign CEO Bill Predmore emailed her saying the team was in need of a third goalkeeper for the tournament.
“I think he literally kind of just pulled me out of a hat or something,” Nelson joked.
With encouragement from Ute assistant coach Allie Wisner — who played at Utah before stops around the world, including the NWSL — Nelson committed to join the Reign. The agreement with Predmore was that she would start as a practice player without a contract as the Reign opened camp in Missoula, Montana (they weren’t allowed to train in Washington).
“They are just such a good organization from the staff to the players, so I was like, ‘You know if you go, you’ll be very well taken care of,’” Wisner told Nelson of the Reign, as she spent her first year as a pro with the club. “Along with the Royals, they set the standard for the league to take care of their players.”
Nelson was officially announced as a non-roster invitee on May 31, and camp opened the next day. On June 23, the club announced she had signed a short-term contract for the tournament.
The 22-year-old Nelson said she’s enjoying the tournament, even if it’s a little weird being in a bubble environment in her home state and fans such as her family can’t come to games. Chiefly, she’s relishing the opportunity to learn from veteran players, especially Murphy and Betos.
“They both are incredible goalkeepers for their own individual reasons, and I am learning a lot and am going to learn so much more from them,” she said.
Benstiti was highly complimentary of Nelson, saying, “Really, if you don’t know that she’s just come to the team and she’s new, you could think that she’s the first goalkeeper. Really, she’s mature.”
As for the future, it’s possible that the Reign could sign Nelson to a more permanent contract, although she said Predmore indicated it’s likely they’ll help her find a situation overseas. She’s open to that idea, saying, “I’d definitely love to go overseas and get some experience there.” Besides, there are a bunch of players in the NWSL who started their careers abroad before coming to the United States, including Murphy.
“I think playing abroad is such a good opportunity for any player, but especially for goalkeepers,” Wisner said. “I think being able to play abroad and getting game time experience is really important...some people hate it, but for her, she’s really open to new experiences and bettering herself as a whole person, and that’s what going abroad can do as well.”
Whatever her path ends up being, Nelson plans on giving a real go at chasing her professional dreams.
“Why not?” she said. “I’m here, and I’m young. I’m 22, and I think it’s a time to kind of just go and explore and live a little, figure out what I want. If I’m in the world and I’m doing it, I might as well do it good. Might as well put my heart and step forward.”