Catherine Barry
Catherine Noelle Barry is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for USL Super League club Lexington SC. She played college soccer for the South Carolina Gamecocks, earning third-team All-American honors twice and setting a program record with 51 career goals. She began her professional career briefly with the Chicago Stars before joining Lexington SC.
Early life
Barry was raised in Hingham, Massachusetts, one of four children born to Lauren and Christopher Barry. She played multiple sports during high school at Tabor Academy, lettering in four years of soccer, three years of lacrosse, and two years of basketball. In her junior year, her high school basketball team reached the NEPSAC championship game, losing to the Worcester team led by future South Carolina basketball star Aliyah Boston. She became the all-time top scorer for Tabor's soccer team with 88 goals, leading them to the NEPSAC Class B championship in 2018. She was twice named both NEPSAC Player of the Year and the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year. she played DA club soccer for NEFC and Boston Breakers Academy. Rated a four-star prospect by TopDrawerSoccer, she committed to South Carolina as a sophomore.College career
Barry's freshman season with the South Carolina Gamecocks was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She started from her debut and finished the 2020 season as the team's top scorer with 6 goals and 4 assists in 16 games, a distinction she would earn all five years in South Carolina. She scored 8 goals with 3 assists in 18 games in her sophomore season, including one goal and one assist during South Carolina's run to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. In her junior season in 2022, she set then career highs with 10 goals and 7 assists in 24 games, earning first-team All-SEC honors. She helped lead South Carolina to the program's third SEC tournament title, scoring two goals during the tournament and assisting in a 1–0 victory over Alabama in the final. She scored three times at the NCAA tournament to help the Gamecocks reach the third round.Barry became one of South Carolina's team captains as a senior in the 2023 season. She scored 9 goals with 5 assists in 21 games and was named first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American by United Soccer Coaches. She chose to use her fifth year of eligibility granted to college athletes because of the pandemic. She broke the program single-season and career scoring records during the 2024 season, scoring 18 times in 22 games and finishing her career with 51 goals in 101 appearances. She also had 8 assists and repeated her first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American selections.
Club career
Chicago Stars
Barry joined the NWSL's Chicago Stars as a non-roster trialist in the 2025 preseason. On March 13, 2025, Chicago announced that they had signed Barry to her first professional contract on a roster relief deal. She made her professional debut one day later as a late substitute in the season-opening 6–0 loss to the Orlando Pride. On April 10, she signed a second short-term contract through June. She made four appearances, all relieving Ally Schlegel, in her stint with Chicago.Lexington SC
On July 1, 2025, USL Super League club Lexington SC signed Barry on a one-year contract. She made her club debut and first professional start in a season-opening 3–3 draw with Fort Lauderdale United on August 24. She scored her first professional goals for the club on September 7, with a brace in a 2–0 win over Brooklyn FC in her debut at Lexington SC Stadium. The next day, the club announced a one-year extension for Barry keep her under contract through June 2027. With four goals in her first five games, she was named to the league Team of the Month for September.International career
Barry appeared in two friendlies for the United States national under-20 team in December 2019.Honors and awards
South Carolina Gamecocks- SEC women's soccer tournament: 2022
- Third-team All-American: 2023 2024
- First-team All-SEC: 2022, 2023, 2024
- SEC all-freshman team: 2020
- SEC tournament all-tournament team: 2020, 2022