Former C-N and current Northern Ireland defender Nelson awarded British Empire Medal by IFA
Former Carson-Newman women’s soccer standout Julie Nelson has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honors as announced by the Irish Football Association.
IRELAND- Former Carson-Newman women's soccer standout Julie Nelson has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honors as announced by the Irish Football Association.
Nelson recently became the first senior women's player to reach the landmark of 100 caps for her country back in 2018. Since making her 100th cap for Northern Ireland in 2018, the defender has made another 17 appearances for her country.
"It's an incredible honor to be on the Queen's Birthday Honours List. It's not something I ever imagined my name would be on. So it's special to be on the list and to be given an honor after so many years of hard work," Nelson said.
The year 2004 was a major one for Nelson in terms of her soccer-playing career. The Northern Ireland native made her national debut for the country as part of the Algarve Cup tournament in Portugal, along with caps in both the U15 and U19 clubs for the country. Nelson also received a scholarship to play in the US for the Eagles in 2004, which led her to play three seasons in Mossy Creek while also going back home and playing for the Strikers during the summer.
In 2005 while playing in a friendly for Northern Ireland, Nelson ruptured a cruciate ligament, but that did not stop her determination. She quickly worked to recover from the injury and was able to make a name for herself professionally.
Nelson continued to be a member of the Strikers until 2010. During her time as part of the club, she competed in both the UEFA Women's Cup in 2003 and 2004, as well as helping the club to an appearance in the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2010. From there, she joined an Icelandic club, IBV. Nelson's next big step in her career came in 2013 as she joined the Glasgow City club and had two years full of trophies and personal honors. The defender helped lead the club to Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups, and a League Cup. While playing for Glasgow, Nelson made another appearance in the UEFA Women's Champions League.
In her year with Glasgow, Nelson helped lead the team to the titles above and the team to the last 16 in her first season before improving upon it and making the last eight in the following season. This was the first time Glasgow City had appeared in the last eight in program history, and it allowed them to be the first Scottish club to achieve the feat.
"This honor shows that women's football is now on the map in Northern Ireland. Some of the other countries (England, Scotland, and Wales) have been recognized in the past. Hence, it's great to see one of our players now getting recognition, and hopefully, more will get recognition in the future," Nelson added.
After leaving Glasgow City, she made a short pit stop with the WSL 2 side Durham Ladies (now Durham Women) before returning home in 2016 and re-signing with her current club, the Strikers.
