Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 19 -- Joy Biefeld Fawcett, Big Stage Star

Originally posted on Cal Bears on SI | By Jeff Faraudo | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 12:03 PM ET

We are counting down Cal’s top 50 athletes based on their careers as post-collegiate professionals. Their performance as Golden Bears is not factored into the rankings.

19. JOY BIEFELD FAWCETT

Years at Cal: 1986 to 1989

Sport: Soccer

Pro teams: U.S. National team, Ajax America, San Diego Spirit

Age: 57

Hometown: Inglewood, Calif.

Why we ranked him here: Fawcett made her first U.S. national team appearance in 1987 against Trinidad. A scorer at Cal, she became an elite defender on the international scene. Fawcett played in 241 games with the national team, starting in all but five of them. She played at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics, winning gold medals in ’96 and ’04 and a silver in between. On the World Cup stage, Fawcett represented the U.S. in 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003, returning home victorious in ’91 and ’99. When she retired, Fawcett was the highest-scoring defender in team history, having found the net 27 times. She scored the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Canada in the 1993 CONCACAF championship match. In 241 international caps, she never was issued a red card. Fawcett played for the San Diego Spirit of the Women’s United Soccer Association from 2001 through 2003, joining the team in her debut season just six weeks after giving birth to her third child. She was a WUSA All-Star in 2003. She retired from the national team in 2004 after a 17-year run and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2009.

At Cal: Fawcett was a three-time All-American and was the national collegiate Player of the Year as both a sophomore and junior. Soccer America named her the national MVP as a junior and senior. She set Cal career records for goals (55), assists (23) and points (133). The two latter marks program records. As a sophomore, she scored a school-record 23 goals and led the Bears to the first of back-to-back national third-place finishes. Cal was 62-12-4 during Fawcett’s four seasons. She was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.

Other: Fawcett served as the first head coach of the UCLA women’s team from1993-97, posting a record of 65-24-7 and winning the Pac-12 championship her final season. She also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. women’s soccer national deaf team.

This article first appeared on Cal Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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