Nancy Lay-McCormick
Nancy Lay-McCormick (born April 27, 1962) is a St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame inductee (2016) and the first woman to referee in the MLS(1998). She was an ambidextrous soccer star who played Forward at the University of Central Florida. She debuted at UCF in 1981. She was a leading goal scorer and an All-American. She also played for Senior League teams J.B. Marine, Trammel-Crow, TBA and Busch winning state, regional, and national championships. Progression into sports. Growing up, Lay-McCormick had many idols including, but not limited to, Franz Anton Beckenbauer (German soccer  player), Edson Arantes do Nascimento, also known as Pele (Brazilian soccer player), and Giorgio Chiellini (Italian soccer player). After completing high school, Lay-McCormick moved on to college where she started out at the University of Missouri for her freshman year. The University of Central Florida then offered Nancy a scholarship for soccer, and despite being able to be a walk-on basketball player for Mizzou, Lay-McCormick decided to take the scholarship and move to Florida. While playing for the UCF Knights, Lay-McCormick played in two National Finals including the AIWA and the first NCAA Women’s Soccer  Finals. She also became an All-American proving her worth even more. Lay-McCormick received her bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education. Career. In 1985 Lay-McCormick started her career in refereeing. After over a thousand games as the senior referee Lay-McCormick became the first woman to referee in the MLS (Dallas VS New York in Dallas, Texas on August 29, 1998), developed the Women Referee Academy for US Soccer (which developed officials for women at the National Veteran’s Cup), and developed the Florida State Referee Teaching Association. She also coached for Villa Duchesne, Driftwood Middle  School, Pacific High School, Clearwater High School, as well as boys and girls in Olympic development in Georgia and Virginia. Lay-McCormick was an advocate of equal rights and liberties in the male dominated world of sports. She helped bridge the gap and coached/refereed for both genders. References. Curtis, Russell. "Florida Teacher Makes Soccer History", "American Teacher", November 1998. Retrieved on 15 July 2019. Borzilleri, Meri-Jo. "Soccer ref's debut a milestone", "The Herald", August 26, 1998. Retrieved on 15 July 2019. Barnes, Craig. "Refs", "Sun-Sentinel", August 25, 1998. Retrieved on 15 July 2019. Nancy Lay-McCormick