Marissa Everett’s development is guided by belief in herself and from her teammates

Marissa Everett’s professional career began in 2019 when she was signed by the Portland Thorns as a national team replacement player. Since her arrival, she’s continued to grow more and more as a player every season. “I think I’ve just been extremely grateful to have the support I do and I owe a lot of my growth as a player to my teammates and coaching staff,” Everett told BGN. “To see how much I’ve grown in the short time I have played for the Thorns has been amazing to see. There was definitely a lot of tough moments I won’t lie, but for the past few years I think the difference for me has been belief.”

“Belief from my teammates and belief in myself for what I can bring to the team. Having this level of trust has allowed me to not be afraid to make mistakes because they will only make me better and the team better.”

Kicking off her NWSL career in Portland allowed Marissa to stay in Oregon, where she was a star in college for the Oregon Ducks. Everett explained, “Playing at the University of Oregon and then having the opportunity to play for the Thorns was probably the coolest thing ever! It was one of those things where I would actually be sitting in the stands at Providence Park watching the Thorns play and hoping one day I get the chance to be down on the field instead.”

“Even watching a Timbers game with my dad when I was probably like 12 years old. The atmosphere absolutely drew me in and it was the only club I would want to play for. It is crazy to me to this day that it actually happened. And there are so many good things about Oregon, but if I had to choose one I would say the food. I didn’t know what a food truck was until I came to Oregon!”

While there are gifted veterans across the Portland roster, Everett is a part of an exciting young core of talented players. “The future is so bright for this team that it is honestly unreal! Every day in training I see how talented and hardworking everyone is, but the scary part is how hungry we all are to constantly improve,” Marissa said. “I honestly don’t know if there is a ceiling for this group because they just continue to impress me.”

“Playing alongside some of our teammates who have accomplished so much both domestically and internationally in the football world has only showed us some of the things we want to accomplish. It has been an absolute blast sharing this experience with them and these young guns are just getting started. I cannot wait to see where we could go as a team.”

Thorns FC won the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup earlier this month and are off to a 1-2-0 start to the regular season. Everett said, “I think this season is going to be super exciting! This is weird to say since I have been with the Thorns for a few years now, but I think this will actually be my first true season with the team. I arrived halfway through my first season from college and then last year was a thing of its own.”

“So maybe I do not know what entirely to expect. However I do know that we have put in so much work in the off-season that I cannot wait to actually have the opportunities to show everybody what this team is about. The Challenge Cup was a good teaser, but I truly believe we have more to show.”

As Marissa continues to try and establish herself in the Portland starting XI, her dog definitely made the cut on the Thorns’ pets starting group as you can see below. “Cru! The absolute cutest pup and best attacking midfielder there is! He is an American/English white Labrador and he about 3 now,” Everett said. Answering the tough question of who are the three cutest dogs in the Thorns’ family, she answered, “I won’t put Cru in the cutest dogs list because I know he’d win. I’m totally just kidding! But I would say Morgan Weaver’s Luna and Lucky and Bella Bixby’s Moose and Sammie. I have to put 4 because I couldn’t break up the sibling pups.”

Hoje é dia de apresentação das jogadoras, mas vocês já pensaram se os pets delas formassem um time?
Pois se liga aí no melhor time já montado:
O PETSland Thons! 🐈🐕🐓 🗣️🗣️#BAONPDX 🌹 pic.twitter.com/UOHha68Z5L

— Portland Thorns Brasil 🇧🇷 (@PTFCBR) February 1, 2021

Everett’s Twitter bio includes “Chai enthusiast”, so we had to ask the expert for her go-to chai. “I am for sure a self-proclaimed chai enthusiast,” she said. “I don’t actually know much about the actual tea and spices but I love a good chai latte. I am always heading over to Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai and Tea Chai. You could get a flight of chai from Pip’s like it was a flight of beer. My favorite from them is probably the Smokey Robinson! So yummy!”

Next up for the Thorns and their self-proclaimed chai enthusiast is a Sunday showdown with Gotham FC at Red Bull Arena. Kickoff is set for noon Pacific Time and the match will be live on Paramount+.