Mead celebrating Sunderland's promotion to WSL1 in 2014
|
|||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Bethany Jane Mead | ||
Date of birth | 9 May 1995 | ||
Place of birth | Whitby, England | ||
Height | 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) | ||
Playing position | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team
|
Arsenal | ||
Youth career | |||
2005–2011 | Middlesbrough COE | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2011–2017 | Sunderland | 78 | (77) |
2017– | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2010 | England U15 | 2 | (2) |
2010 | England U17 | 3 | (2) |
2012–2014 | England U19 | 15 | (5) |
2014 | England U20 | 3 | (1) |
2015– | England U23 | 2 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 September 2015. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:15, 19 July 2015 (UTC) |
Bethany Jane "Beth" Mead (born 9 May 1995) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for FA WSL club Arsenal Ladies and the England under-23 team.
Mead began her youth career at California Girls FC before joining Middlesbrough F.C. Centre of Excellence at age 10 before moving at age 16 to Sunderland, then in the FA Women's Premier League. In her first season she scored 23 goals in as many games,and ended the season with 29 goals in all competitions, followed by 30 goals in 28 matches the following season, and 15 goals in the 2014 FA WSL season to lead Sunderland to promotion to WSL 1. Although Mead turned professional upon Sunderland's promotion, she resolved to finish her final year at University. She also agreed to work as a barmaid in her local pub during the off-season, as a courtesy to the owners who had previously provided her with sponsorship funding.
In her first match at the top level, Mead scored in Sunderland's shock 2–1 win over reigning champions Liverpool. On 19 July 2015, Mead scored a hat-trick against league leaders Chelsea, making her the league-leading scorer with eight goals. Earlier that week, Mead avoided injury despite rolling her car three times while trying to avoid a deer. The following week, she scored twice in a 4–1 win at Bristol, sending Sunderland to the top of the WSL 1.
On 24 January 2017, it was announced that Arsenal Ladies had signed Mead on an undisclosed-length full-time deal.
She has represented England at every age level from 15 to 23, and played in all three England under-20 matches at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup where she scored a long-range goal against Mexico.