Neal Signs Contract With Le Havre AC

LE HAVRE, France -- Former Tennessee soccer standout Maya Neal has signed a contract with Le Havre AC, a professional athletic club based in Le Havre, France. She becomes the fourth Vol to enter the professional ranks over the last eight months.

Neal will join Le Havre next week as the club is midway through its 2019-20 campaign. The HAC women compete in France's second division and are currently second on the table with a 9-1-1 record for 28 points.

A member of the Tennessee soccer program for the past five seasons, Neal enjoyed a well decorated collegiate career on Rocky Top. She is one of two players in program history to be recognized as a four-time All-SEC and four-time United Coaches All-Region player, earning first team distinction from those organizations on four occasions. Over the course of her career, Neal started 79 matches for the Vols and anchored a back line that recorded 34 shutouts from 2016-19.

In her final season on Rocky Top, the Naperville, Illinois, native started all 17 matches for the Vols at center back. Seeing the field for every minute of SEC play in 2019, she helped UT secure shutout victories over conference rivals Kentucky, Georgia and Florida.

Neal was a major contributor during Tennessee's historic 2018 season, which saw the Vols reach the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Neal led all field players with 1,810 minutes as part of a back line that set program records for fewest goals allowed (15) and most shutouts (12) in a single season. Tennessee finished the season 16-3-3 (.795) and was tabbed No. 7 in the final United Coaches national poll, the highest final ranking for UT in program history.

Her first full season as a defender came in 2017, as Neal started all 21 matches at center back and led the Vols to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012. She was part of 10 shutouts that year and recorded assists in wins over Virginia Tech and Murray State.

Neal started her career at Tennessee as a forward, scoring three goals in the first half of her redshirt-freshman season before making the switch to defender midway through the campaign. When the Vols were short-handed at halftime against MTSU on Sept. 11, 2016, head coach Brian Pensky called on Neal to play center back for the first time in her career. She went on to help UT record four shutouts in conference play and was recognized on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Additionally, Neal was a dual-sport standout at Tennessee as an All-American heptathlete on the track & field team. Most recently competing in 2018, Neal placed 13^th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to become UT's first All-American in the heptathlon since 1994. At the 2018 SEC Outdoor Championships in Knoxville, Neal recorded a personal-best total of 5,650 points that ranks second on the school's all-time top 10 list.

Neal will become one of six active pros from the Tennessee soccer program - joining VFLs Carlyn Baldwin (midfielder, Sporting CP), Bunny Shaw (forward, Bordeaux), MA Vignola (forward/defender, Thróttur FC), Hannah Wilkinson (forward, Sporting CP) and Shae Yanez (goalkeeper, Washington Spirit).

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University of Tennessee Athletics

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Maya Neal

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MA Vignola

Shae Yanez

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