Stephanie McCaffrey: A Journey Through the Football Pyramid

Stephanie McCaffrey currently plays as a forward for Tier 7 side Leyton Orient,

located in East London. However, her experience of playing football goes far beyond

this having also played at the highest ranks of the football pyramid. Originally from

the United States, her career started across the pond and has undoubtedly had an

inspiring journey through the ranks.

College Career:

McCaffrey attended Boston college where she played for the Eagles in the Atlantic Coast

Conference between the years of 2011 to 2014. Beginning with her freshman season, she

featured in every game with a total of 776 minutes. Her debut goal came at a crucial moment

for her team to take a 1-0 victory over Rutgers.

She continued her role as a vital player on the team into her sophomore season, where she

started 20 out of the 21 games played. During this campaign, Steph was ranked second on

the team with her goal tally of 10, which involved three match winning goals. As well as this,

she recorded seven assists. On October 23rd 2012, McCaffrey was highlighted as ACC Co-

Player of the Week as a result of directly contributing to two of the three Boston goals scored

in a big 3-2 victory over an undefeated Florida State University side.

Then as a junior, Steph appeared in the starting lineup for all 24 matches played. Her goal

contributions included 12 scored, and 9 assists. This ranked her second on the team for

goals scored, and first for assists. Furthermore, McCaffrey was named to the All-ACC

Academic Team and received the Athletic Director's Award for Academic Achievement.

Finally, as a senior, she helped to co-captain the squad and completed the season as the

second-leading scorer for the side with six goals. This then left Steph to finish her college

career with a total of 32 goals, giving her a ranking of fifth in the team’s history, as well as

being named on two occasions to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team.

Club Career:

Boston Breakers (2015–2016)

McCaffrey was selected overall as fifth by the Chicago Red Stars of the 2015 NWSL College

Draft and during the second round was traded to Boston Breakers.

In her first season, she appeared in the starting lineup 17 times, and was able to bag 3 goals

for the club. Then, in 2016, she made a further 12 appearances for Boston Breakers, before

she was traded to the Chicago Red Stars later that year.

Chicago Red Stars (2016-2018)

On July 22nd 2016, Steph was traded to the Chicago Red Stars and made her first

appearance on July 23rd. Her debut came in a clash against Houston Dash as a substitute

in the 85th minute. Throughout that year, McCaffrey netted two goals helping the Red Stars

qualify for the 2016 NWSL playoffs. However, in 2018 she only made 2 appearances for the

side due to a neurological condition.

Then, in March of 2019, she made the announcement she would have to cut her

professional football career short due to this condition.

International career:

Across 2014-2015, Steph represented the United States at the under-23s level, and played

with the team at the La Manga Tournament in February 2015.

In January 2015, she was called up to train with the senior national team, before going on to

earn her first senior cap against Brazil on October 25th 2015. This fixture also saw her first

international goal being added to the scoresheet.

Furthermore, McCaffrey was named to the 20-player roster for the 2016 CONCACAF

Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship.

Where is she now?

To this day, Steph’s career remains in sport as she runs a pickleball business by the name

of PicklePop alongside her wife & fashion star, Erin Robertson. Originating in Santa Monica,

they made the decision to expand their business across to London, as well as relocating to

the area.

Steph’s father, James McCaffrey, is a senior partner and Head of Europe for Eastdil

Secured, who are Leyton Orient's current front-of-shirt sponsor. He made the decision to

invest into Orient Women with the McCaffrey Football Group, which he founded.

With her relocation and links to the club, Steph made the decision to join Leyton Orient to

continue playing football but at a non-professional level. She rightfully earned her place on

the team by proving her skill through training with the team.

Whilst Tier 7 of English Football may not be a league Stephanie is accustomed to, her time

at Leyton Orient has been one to remember so far this season. Having trained with the O’s

during the entirety of pre-season, she made her competitive debut in their FA Cup Qualifier

facing Oakland Wolves, scoring a spectacular 5 goals in this fixture which ended in an 11-3

victory for the O’s.

Furthermore, she was named as December Player of the Month for the team, as she bagged

7 goals across three fixtures.

So far this season, McCaffrey has made 14 league appearances, scoring 15 goals and

assisting 12. These 27 goal contributions highlight the talent she has and the ability to score

in crucial moments.

Steph McCaffrey remains an impressive talent providing Orient with an additional body to

create crucial moments as well as score goals as the East London side continue their quest

for promotion and climb up the football pyramid.