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 while being close to home.
"I knew what I wanted to get to, and being a training player was a really cool opportunity, but it's not what I wanted to end up coming off of a college season that I thought was just incredible," she said.
That time training with the Pride, however, was an eye-opening experience for her where she went from being the best goalkeeper in college to joining the professional ranks where everybody is the best player from their college team.
"Now looking back at it, I realize that it was not the case, and it was just a stepping stone to be able to go closer to where I want to be," she said. "It was definitely very eyeopening to see that I had a lot of work ahead of me, and I think I still do. There's always room to improve, for sure."
And improve she did. After a full year of putting in the work, she was rewarded with a full contract at the beginning of the season, serving as the backup keeper to Anna Moorhouse throughout the year. With there being only one spot on the field for the keeper compared to all the other positions, it takes a lot of patience and a lot of work to get minutes, especially in NWSL, one of the most competitive women's soccer leagues in the world.
On July 20, that patience finally paid off. Leading into the Pride's game against the North Carolina Courage in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, Crone was told she would be the one starting in net for her hometown team.
"It was kind of surreal, the whole 24 hours leading into it," she said. "I was kind of like, 'oh my gosh, this is really happening, I'm going to be a professional soccer player.' Not that I didn't feel that before, but to really to get to play in a game feels like it solidifies that statement."
"I don't have words to really express how amazing it felt to be able to finally get to be on that field. The field that I ended my college career on and hadn't played in another game since. It was just an amazing experience to go in and just enjoy it. That was one thing I kept saying to myself was just no matter what happened, I wanted to enjoy it. I'd worked so hard to be able to be there, and I didn't want to waste it away being stressed and not get to really savor that moment."
Against a team with one of the best home-field advantages in the league, Crone showed out in her professional debut against North Carolina. She ended the game with five saves on the night, helping send the game to a penalty shootout, where she made two more saves. Her parents and sister even traveled up to Cary to watch her play, so getting to have a performance like that in front of her family made the night that much more special.
"To have like their support in this, it fills my cup, genuinely," she said. "They're incredible. They didn't miss a game my senior year of college; they traveled anywhere to come see me play, as well as my sister, so I'm just really grateful that I have their support."
Looking back at her journey a few weeks after the game, Crone is grateful that her first-ever pro game was filled with so much meaning.
"I'm just grateful that I got to showcase what I could do. I think given that opportunity to show that I can be in a situation with high pressure and high stakes and still perform I'm grateful that I was given that opportunity."
Even moreso, being able to wear the Pride crest on her jersey was the cherry on top.
"Knowing that I got to represent this city that I've grown up in means the world to me," she said.
