Raven McDonald

Position:
Midfielder
Height:
5-6
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Benson, N.C.
High School:
St. Mary's

General - One of the nation's most underrated players...three-year letter winner...has started 77 of 80 games for the Tar Heels over the past three years...has never missed a game to injury in her Carolina career...ranks tied for 26th in career goals at UNC with 26...ranks in a tie for 28th place in career assists at Carolina with 27...played a key role in UNC's run to the national championships as a freshman and a junior...was a two-year starter in the Carolina front line before moving into the midfield as a junior....was red-shirted during the 1996 season so she still has one year of eligibility remaining...has blazing speed, is agile and is a hard worker...her speed, quickness and tremendous agility make her a definite attacking threat...one of the team's top playmakers from her flank midfield spot.

U.S. National Team Experience -Chosen to play in the 1998 Nordic Cup in Holland August 3-9...that was the world championships for the under-21 national teams....it marked the first time she has been chosen for the U.S. under-21 national team...she also played on the under-21 National Team in 1999 at the Nordic Cup competition in Iceland...the United States regained the gold medal in that competition after settling for silver in 1998...was a member of the 1998 U.S. Under-20 Girls National Team which trained in Portland, Ore. July 5-12 and then played a series of international friendlies that summer.

1999 Season - Started 25 games for Carolina last season and played in all 26 contests...finished the year with seven goals and 10 assists for 24 points...had three game-winning goals for the team...scored game winnrs against Florida State in the regular season game, at Hartford and against Central Florida in the NCAA Tournament second round...had three-point games in both meetings with Florida State and in the Central Florida game...had a pair of assists in UNC's 3-0 win over Clemson in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals...tied the ACC Tournament record for assists in a game when she recorded three in UNC's 4-0 quarterfinal win over Florida State...named to UNC's Dean's List in fall semester of 1999...earned membership on the 2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll.

1998 Season - Had her second straight productive season for the Tar Heels in 1998...Soccer News and College Soccer Weekly Online honorable mention All-America selection...second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection...started all 26 games for the Tar Heels...had eight goals and eight assists for 24 points...scored game-winning goals against Hartford, Portland (regular-season game) and in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games against UNC-Charlotte and William & Mary...had two goals and one assist for five points in the win over Hartford...scored both goals as the Tar Heels defeated Portland 2-0 in the regular season game at Moraga, Calif....had two assists in the win over Colorado College...had a goal and an assist in the regular-season win at Clemson...named ACC Women's Soccer Player of the Week September 14, 1998...named to Soccer America Collegiate Team of the Week September 15, 1998 and November 4, 1998.

1997 Season - Was the team's fourth-leading scorer with 31 points on 11 goals and nine assists...scored game-winning goals against SMU, against fourth-ranked Texas A&M and against Florida State in the regular season...it was her goal late in the second half which broke a 1-1 tie and beat the stubborn Aggies...had two goals in the win over Tennessee...scored one goal and had one assists against Virginia Commonwealth...scored one of Carolina's two goals in the 2-2 tie at Notre Dame..scored at Maryland in the regular season...was tremendous in the 3-0 regular season win over Santa Clara...figured in all three goals, scoring once and assisting twice...had one goal and one assist in the first-round NCAA Tournament win over Wake Forest...assisted on Cindy Parlow's game-winning goal in the NCAA championship game against Connecticut...was named a first-team Soccer Buzz Freshman All-America and a Soccer News Freshman All-America...was also named to the Soccer Buzz Southeast Region All-Freshman Team...was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 1997 adidas/Eurosport Carolina Classic...was named to the Soccer America Collegiate Team of the Week on September 30, 1997 and on October 21, 1997.

Prep - Parade All-America in 1995...played both striker and midfield...member of U.S. Youth National Team...a first-team all-state selection...1995 regional MVP...member of state ODP team six years and Southern Regional Team five years...three-year member of under-17 national team...part of the under-20 national team pool...team captain as a senior...led Saint MaryÕs High School to the state championship game as senior...three-time under-17 All-America...voted MVP of numerous tournaments...also played basketball for four years and ran track at Saint MaryÕs...was MVP of the conference track and field meet...member of the honor roll all four years of high school...captained high school soccer team three years.

Personal - Daughter of Charles and Barbara McDonald...enjoys playing tennis and dancing...born March 27, 1978 in Sanford, N.C....full name is Raven Nichole McDonald...has one brother and one sister...would like to pursue a career in medicine as a pediatrician...athletes she most admires are Michael Jordan and Kristine Lilly...exercise science major.

Raven McDonald's Career Statistics