Julie, third from left, with her fellow Hall of Fame inductees at Tennessee ceremony
NORTHERN Ireland most capped women’s international footballer, Julie Nelson, has been inducted into her former US University’s sporting Hall of Fame.
Julie was one of five alumni inducted during a banquet and ceremony at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson, tennessee.
During her spell at the university from 20-4 to 2007, Julie helped the university soccer team, the Eagles, to four NCAA tournaments, four SAC championships and two Final Fours.
She still ranks in the top10 all-time career starts with the Eagles.
Julie said afterwards: “It was a special night with some great friends. I feel privileged and honoured to be inducted into the Carson-Newman Hall of Fame. I absolutely loved my time there! Thanks to everyone at the Eagles for making it happen.
Julie went on from Carson-Newman to a successful professional career and is Northern Ireland’s record holder for career national team appearances on 126 after becoming the first NI player to gain 100 caps.
The central defender from Larne started kicking a ball around with her brother when she was about five or six but only started playing competitively in the Moyle Primary School boys’ team when she was nine or 10 and she then joined Larne-based girls’ side Gilmour Gals when she was 11.
From there it was on to Newtownabbey Strikers (who evolved into Crusaders Strikers) at the age of 15 and she went on to win five league titles with the Strikers between 2002 and 2010.
In 2004 she won a football scholarship to Carson-Newman and played in the States for three autumn/winter/spring seasons before returning home to play for the Strikers each summer.
She ruptured a cruciate ligament in 2005 when earning her fifth cap for Northern Ireland in a friendly against Sweden, however she managed to get over the injury and carve out a great career.
After her successful spell with the Strikers – she played in the UEFA Women’s Cup with Newtownabbey Strikers in 2003 and 2004 and in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (which evolved from UEFA Cup) in 2010 when they had become Crusaders Strikers – she joined Icelandic side IBV in 2011 following a trial.
Julie played in Iceland for two seasons before switching to Everton Ladies (now Everton Women) in FA Women’s Super League 1 for a short spell in 2013.
Next stop was Glasgow and a trophy-laden two seasons with Glasgow City that included two Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup. She also got to play in the UEFA Women’s Champions League again. In her first season, in 2013, the team reached the last 16, while in her second year they made it to the last eight for the first time in their history – and were the first Scottish team to do so.
In 2015 WSL 2 side Durham Ladies (now Durham Women) came calling and Julie played for a season in the North-East of England before returning home in 2016 and re-signing for Crusaders Strikers – and she’s still going strong with the Strikers at 40.
