Rachel Dawson

Olympian 2008, 2012, 2016

Gold - 2015 Pan American Games (Toronto, Canada) Gold - 2014 Champions Challenge (Glasgow, Scotland) Gold - 2013 World League Round 2 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Athlete Bio#

Age

Hometown

Berlin, NJ

Education

Eastern Regional High School '03 University of North Carolina '07 (graduated with distinction)

Personal

Daugther of David and KarenDawson...Siblings are David, Natalie, Andrew, Sarah, Meghan, Hannah and Melanie...Began playing field hockey in 1995...Game Day Mantra: "Relax and run"...Best Words of Advice: "Enjoy it, it doesn't last forever."

Career Highlights

2016: Retired from the U.S. Women's National Team with 298 international caps
2016: Series against Canada (Chula Vista, Calif.), Series against Chile (Lancaster, Pa.), Series against Holland (Hilversum, The Netherlands), Citi Rio Send-Off Series (Lancaster, Pa.)
2015: Series against Argentina (Lancaster, Pa.), 8 Nations Tournament (5th, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand), Series against Ireland (Lancaster, Pa.), Series against Great Britain (Marlow, England), Series against Japan (Lancaster, Pa.)
2008: No. 9 UNC jersey was retired in February, only the third player in program history to have her jersey retired
2007: Recognized with the Honda Award as the National Player of the Year for field hockey, Selected as one of the five finalists for the Honda-Broderick Cup as the nation's top college female athlete, With 19 goals, ranked as the top scorer for the No. 1 offensive team in the country (UNC), Named 2007 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and 2007 ACC Tournament MVP, National Player of the Year by womensfieldhockey.com
2006: Nominated for the 2006 WorldHockey Women's Young Player of the Year award as one of the top six players under the age of 23 in the world, Redshirted the 2006 season at UNC while representing the U.S. in international competition
2005: Named second-team All-America, Named to the inaugural ACC All-Academic Team and to the NFHCA National Academic Squad, Earned first career cap versus Australia in Virginia Beach (6/5), Junior Pan American Championships (2nd, San Juan, Puerto Rico), Named Most Outstanding Player at Junior Pan American Championships, Junior World Cup Team (7th, Santiago, Chile), Named to the U.S. Women's National Team
2004: Named first-team All-America ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Named to the NFHCA Academic Squad
2003: Selected as the ACC Freshman of the Year, only the fourth UNC player to win the honor, Named National Freshman of the Year by collegefieldhockey.com, All-ACC Tournament, Named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad
2001: Named to the U.S. U-21 Women's National Team

More #

From her childhood home in Berlin, NJ, Dawson shared her competitive spirit, natural athleticism and a tiny bathroom with her seven siblings. Two of her older sisters even played field hockey for the U.S. National Team. For Dawson, being a part of a big team is second nature. The versatile defender, midfielder joined the National team in 2005 and graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2007. She is the most capped athlete on the team with 240 marks. Dawson is a two-time Olympian.