Tina Ellertson

Tina Ellertson

Tina Ellerston as a WPS All Star Starter 2009
Personal information
Full name	Christina Jo Ellertson
Date of birth	May 20, 1982
Place of birth	Vancouver, Washington, United States
Height	4 ft 2 in (127 cm)
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
2001–2004	Washington Huskies
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2003–2005	Seattle Sounders Women	8	(8)
2009–2010	Saint Louis Athletica	26	(0)
2010	Atlanta Beat	16	(2)
2011	magicJack	17	(0)
2013	Portland Thorns FC	5	(0)
National team
2004	United States U-21
2005–2008	United States	34	(1)
Honours Women's football (soccer) Representing the  United States FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 China Team
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Christina "Tina" Ellertson, née Christina Jo Frimpong (born May 20, 1982), is an American former professional soccer defender and former member of the United States women's national soccer team.

Early life

Ellertson was born and grew up in Vancouver, Washington. The daughter of a Nigerian mother and a Ghanaian father who immigrated to the U.S., she played soccer throughout her childhood.^[1]

University of Washington

Ellertson originally signed to attend Santa Clara University, but instead went to the University of Washington. The decision was hard since at age 18, she gave birth to her daughter, MacKenzie. She competed in soccer throughout college to become one of UW's most respected forwards. She was named Pacific-10 Conference co-player of the year in 2003 and player of the year in 2004.

Playing career

Club

On September 16, 2008, Ellertson was one of the three players drafted for Saint Louis Athletica in the WPS allocation of national team members, with the new league starting play in April 2009. Ellertson was a consistently solid presence in the Athletica back line, logging 1748 minutes for the season, the most on the team. She played as team captain whenever Lori Chalupny was not on the field, made the All-Star team, and was nominated for WPS's Defender of the Year award.

When Saint Louis folded in May 2010, Ellertson moved to Atlanta Beat alongside team mates Hope Solo and Eniola Aluko.^[2] After 16 games and two goals for the Beat, Ellertson left by mutual consent in February 2011.^[3] She moved to new franchise magicJack and quickly became a cornerstone of the team's defense, producing notable performances against Marta and Kelly Smith.^[4]

Ellertson has also played previously for the Seattle Sounders of the W-League.

Ellertson in August 2011

In February 2013, she was chosen in the first round of the National Women's Soccer League's supplemental draft by Portland Thorns FC, despite having stated that she would not be playing in the league.^[5] Nevertheless, she ultimately joined the Thorns a few months later, on July 31, after being repeatedly approached by Coach Cindy Parlow Cone.^[6] Ellertson made five appearances for the Thorns, including an appearance as a substitute during the team's victory in the inaugural NWSL Championship match.

In February 2014, Ellertson announced that she was retiring from the Thorns to focus on coaching and her family.^[7]

International

After April Heinrichs's reign as coach, Ellertson tried out for the women's national soccer team, and earned her first cap against Ukraine on July 10, 2005. New coach Greg Ryan moved her to defender. She was named to the U.S. roster for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup and competed against Nigeria during group stage,^[8] against Brazil in the infamous semi-final in which Hope Solo was benched in favor of more experienced Briana Scurry,^[9] and against Norway in a 4-1 win in the third-place playoff match.^[10]

International goal

On December 13, 2008 at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, Ellertson scored her only international goal against China in her final USWNT game, and in her only start at forward; a 1–0 game winner.^[11]

	Key (expand for notes on “international goals” and sorting)
Location	Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred Sorted by country name first, then by city name
Lineup	Start – played entire match on minute (off player) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time off minute (on player) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time (c) – captain Sorted by minutes played
Min	The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal.
Assist/pass	The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information.
penalty or pk	Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.)
Score	The match score after the goal was scored. Sorted by goal difference, then by goal scored by the player's team
Result	The final score. Sorted by goal difference in the match, then by goal difference in penalty-shoot-out if it is taken, followed by goal scored by the player's team in the match, then by goal scored in the penalty-shoot-out. For matches with identical final scores, match ending in extra-time without penalty-shoot-out is a tougher match, therefore precede matches that ended in regulation
aet	The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation
pso	Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parenthesis; the match was tied at the end of extra-time
	Light-purple background color – exhibition or closed door international friendly match
NOTE: some keys may not apply for a particular football player

Goal	Date	Location	Opponent	Lineup	Min	Assist/pass	Score	Result	Competition
1	2008-12-13[11]	USA Carson	China PR	off 77' (on Cheney)	61	Amy Rodriguez	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Personal life

Ellertson married Brad Ellertson, with whom she had two daughters,^[12] Mackenzie (born 2000) and Mya (born 2007). Prior to her marriage, she played under her maiden name, Frimpong. Her twin sister, Crystal Frimpong, played soccer at the University of Florida.

References

1. "PLAYER BIO: TINA ELLERTSON". U.S.Soccer.
2. "Beat agrees to terms with Solo, Ellertson, and Aluko". Women's Professional Soccer. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
3. "Tina Ellertson, Atlanta Beat terminate contract, magicTalk signs three more players". Our Game Magazine. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
4. Jeff Kassouf (2011-06-08). "Nogueira stepping up for Sky Blue FC; Ellertson proving her worth". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
5. "Results: Ochs taken first in NWSL Supplemental Draft". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
6. Farley, Richard. "Tina Ellertson’s curious journey to Portland’s roster". Retrieved September 4, 2013.
7. Ellertson retires to focus on coaching, family. Equalizer Soccer, 2014-02-26.
8. "Chalupny Scores in First Minute at U.S. WNT Edges Nigeria 1-0 to Win Group B at 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup". U.S.Soccer.
9. "USA Falls, 4-0, to Brazil in 2007 FIFA World Cup Semifinals". U.S.Soccer.
10. "U.S. Women Defeat Norway, 4-1, to Take Third Place". U.S.Soccer.
11. "U.S. Women Set Defeat China PR 1-0 on Achieve Your Gold Tour". U.S.Soccer.
12. Goff, Steven (September 18, 2007). "Ellertson Clearly Sees Both Sides". Washington Post. Retrieved September 28, 2009.

External links

• as Tina Frimpong – FIFA competition record
• as Tina Ellertson – FIFA competition record
• US Soccer player profile
• Saint Louis Athletica player profile
• Washington Huskies player profile
• Tina Ellertson on Twitter