Meredith Florance

Meredith Beard

Teaching soccer to an Afghan girl in June 2004
Personal information
Full name	Meredith Grace Beard
Date of birth	(1979-05-10) May 10, 1979 (age 38)
Place of birth	Dallas, United States
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
1994–1996	Dallas Sting
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2000	North Carolina Tar Heels
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001	Carolina Courage	20	(2)
2002–2003	Washington Freedom	19	(1)
National team‡
1999–2001	United States	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:37, 30 April 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:37, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Meredith Grace Beard (née Florance; born May 10, 1979) is an American former professional soccer player. A forward, she represented the Carolina Courage and the Washington Freedom of Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). She won three caps for the United States national team.

Beard was the Carolina Courage's second draft pick ahead of the inaugural 2001 season of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). Ahead of the 2002 season she joined the Washington Freedom as a free agent. She was mainly a substitute at the Freedom, as coach Jim Gabarra preferred to field celebrated forwards Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach.

In 2003, Beard's Freedom team won the Founders Cup, but she did not play in the post-season fixtures. When WUSA subsequently folded, she began working for a kitchen and bathroom showroom.

In February 1999, Beard won her first cap for the United States national team. She played the second half of a 3–1 behind closed doors win over Finland in Orlando. She played two more matches for the national team in January 2001, both against China.