Karen Bardsley

Karen Louise Bardsley (born 14 October 1984) is a US-born English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Manchester City and the England national team. She previously played for Sky Blue FC in the previous top-flight American Women's Professional Soccer league, Linkopings FC in the Swedish Damallsvenskan, and Lincoln Ladies in the FA WSL.

Club Career

Sky Blue FC, 2009–11

After college, Bardsley joined Ajax America Women for the 2007 WPSL season and played for Pali Blues during the 2008 W-League season. The team went undefeated 14–0 and won the league championship.

Bardsley was selected by Sky Blue FC as a third-round pick in the 2009 WPS Draft ahead of the inaugural season of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league. She competed in four games for the club in their 2009 season. Sky Blue finished the regular season in fourth place with a 7–8–5 record and advanced to the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Playoffs where they defeated the Washington Freedom 2–1 and Saint Louis Athletica 1–0 during the semi-final. After a 1–0 win against Los Angeles Sol, the team clinched the league championship and were later invited to the White House to be honoured by President Barack Obama.

During the 2010 WPS season, Bardsley competed in 10 matches recording 900 minutes in goal. During a match against Atlanta in May 2010, she made 13 saves helping the team win 1–0. Sky Blue head coach Pauliina Miettinen reveled, "As a team, it gives you a huge confidence boost when you know that you will get such a high level of play by your goalkeeper." She was named the WPS Player of the Month the same month. During a training session in July 2010, Bardsley injured her clavicle when she led the league with five shutouts and a.90 goals against average (GAA). The team finished in fifth place with a 7–10–7 record narrowly missing the WPS Playoffs.

During the 2011 WPS season, Bardsley competed in only three matches for Sky Blue largely due to her 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup