August 21, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Orlando Pride News Release
Under the bright lights on a rainy night in Cary, North Carolina, McKinley Crone walked out onto the pitch at WakeMed Soccer Park, getting ready to make a childhood dream a reality. It was a moment for the Orlando-born goalkeeper that meant everything to her. Not just because she was taking the pitch for the first time as a pro, but becasue she was doing it for the team she had supported as a fan since day one.
The Crone family and soccer in Orlando go almost hand in hand. McKinley grew up playing soccer just as Orlando City SC was getting announced as a USL Pro francise in 2010. Playing for FC America at the time, Crone and her team were invited out to the second-ever Orlando City game on April 22, 2011. As the goalkeeper, Crone got to walk out of the tunnel and onto the pitch with the Lions goalkeeper at the time – the one and only Miguel Gallardo – as they took the field against Puerto Rico United.
That moment 14 years ago, as well as the family’s sporting background, set the tone for Crone and her family supporting the organization. Her dad was a professional athlete, her mom was an athlete in college and her younger sister is playing out her final year in college soccer at Lynn University.
“Not playing sports was really not an option in my family,” Crone told Orlando-Pride.com.
As she continued to play in her youth career, the Orlando Pride were founded at the end of 2015, bringing women’s professional soccer to the City Beautiful. As the pro side started play in 2016, the Crone family attended many games at Camping World Stadium, giving life to McKinley’s dream of being a pro.
“I remember going to games and just thinking to myself like, ‘wow, this is really cool, there’s Women’s professional soccer in my backyard,'” she said. “To watch this team grow over the years has been really special.”
Crone continued to play youth soccer in the organization, eventually earning a scholarship to go to the University of Oklahoma. After two years of playing every game for the Sooners, she transfered to the University of Alabama, where she played three more seasons with the Crimson Tide. She finished her collegiate career as the NCAA record holder in career goalkeeping minutes with 9,519.
Naturally, as her time in college came to a close, the professional world beckoned. Coming back home in 2023, she originally joined the Pride as a training player in order to get her feet wet as a pro…