TAKOMA PARK, MD—Christy Monroy Bravo returns to WAU Women's Soccer after serving as an assistant coach during the 2022 campaign and with years of high-level playing experience.

"It has been a pleasure having Coach Christy here with WAU Athletics in the capacity of an assistant coach," said WAU Athletic Director Jered Lyons. "She brought a wealth of knowledge, having played at the highest level at Rutgers University and playing semi-professional. For her to move over into the Head Coaching position has been a blessing for us. We look forward to her pouring into our student-athletes as we strive for excellence. She will indeed model the way and put our women's program in position to be successful."

Coach Christy spent most of her collegiate soccer career as a defender and midfielder for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from 2015 to 2017. She captained the team in her senior campaign and helped lead the team to an NCAA DI top-25 finish. Coach Christy was a member of the 2015 squad that advanced to the NCAA DI College Cup, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2016, and a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient in 2017. Before Rutgers, she spent two seasons at the University of Louisville. While in school, she coached many soccer programs, including TOPSoccer, U3-U4 programming, elite youth clinics, and high school soccer camps.

"The soccer community in the DC area is amazing, and it is the reason why this area has come to feel like home to me. Soccer is my passion, and I love connecting with other people through this beautiful game—either as a player, a teammate, or a coach!"

Christy is active in the DMV soccer community both as a player and supporter. She and her husband are passionate supporters of DC SCORES, a non-profit in the city that provides soccer, poetry, and service-learning programming to DC public elementary and middle school kids. She captains the VA Marauders USLW semi-pro team and plays for several other high-level women's soccer and futsal teams in the DMV.

"We are really fortunate to live in a city that has opportunities for women's soccer players from the professional level to the collegiate level, to the recreational level. I'm excited to step into this role at WAU to help the next generation of women develop on the pitch and more broadly as professionals and thriving community members."

Christy is a native of Scotch Plains, NJ, and relocated to the DMV area in 2018. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Rutgers University in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering.