Jessica McDonald

“I haven't had any injuries since I've had my kid, so I think it's changed my body externally and internally. I don't know what it is, but I hadn't felt so great, body-wise, until I had my kid. I look more in shape, and I feel more in shape. And speaking from a confidence side, it's changed me in such a positive way.”

“You name the sport, I've played it. I was quarterback for a football team one year, played volleyball, played softball - you name it.”

“I became a starter in Portland, and then I lost my spot, but for what reason? It wasn't explained to me. I thought it was unfair.”

“The more minutes you get on the pitch, the more you can prove yourself.”

“Being here in Houston, I have a lot more weight on my shoulders than I did in Portland. I feel a lot more appreciated because I am starting now, and I'm scoring goals.”

“I'm trying to take care of my kid, and the only way to do that is obviously being financially stable.”

“Both of my parents were both multi-sport athletes. Their mindset was, be an athlete as long as possible, up until they became parents. And so they dropped their dreams for their children.”

“My grandmother - my inspiration - was a single mom with nine kids, and she helped raise me.”

“Obviously this is something huge, just to be playing on the world stage and repping all the parents out there - not just the parents, but obviously all of the African American girls who feel as if they don't have much to rely to make your dreams come true, whatever the circumstances may be.”

“You don't know where you're going to be tomorrow. It's kind of hard to plan a future.”

“I need to just give - everything that I do, every single day - my all. I just need to. Life is short. We have one life to live. And I need to be able to push for my kid.”

“In high school and college, I always, always straightened my hair. Don't ask why; I was just so into my image. Post-college, I started wearing my hair natural.”

“It's just an amazing feeling to walk barefooted in some nice grass.”

“Sometimes women's soccer can be political.”

“If anything as simple as child care was covered by the league or your organization, that would be life-changing for moms, especially when we're scraping pennies. Maybe we would have more moms in this league if something like that was there for us, but I feel like we're far from that.”

“For me as a mom, not an allocated player, there have been some years that have been a difficult journey because NWSL doesn't really support mothers.”

“I was born and raised in Phoenix.”

“Sometimes I wear makeup while I play - I did it during the World Cup because the cameras were always on us, but for club, not so much. If I'm wearing it on the field, I try not to apply too much.”

“My journey has been up and down a little bit. Everything that has to do with success for me has sort of become a shock to me. You work so hard, you work so hard, and it happens; you're like, 'What? Wait, it's happening to me?'”

“I'm not just working for myself anymore. I'm working for my kid as well, someone who's actually looking up to me on a whole other level than the younger generation.”