Brooklyn is a high-level women's goalkeeper coach with experience playing at top levels in both Europe and the NCAA. She will be entering her first season with the Patriots in the 2024 season.
She is a dynamic leader with demonstrated excellence in both team and individual pursuits from the arts to the pitch. A natural coach and champion of others, Brooklyn seeks opportunities where she can lift others to become the best versions of themselves through athletics and mindfulness.
Nielsen Wade has had previous coaching experience at the club, high school and collegiate levels. She enjoys specializing in goalkeeper training.
A four-year starter for Utah Valley University, she won the UVU Rookie of the Year and multiple Western Athletic All-Conference team awards, as well as being named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week multiple times. Nielsen Wade has recorded the most minutes played in program history, tied the UVU record for most shutouts in a season with 11, recorded a total of 218 career saves (the second most in program history) and was third overall in wins. In 2021, she won the Utah Valley University DJ Smith Teammate of the Year award.
Brooklyn Took UVU to their first three NCAA tournament appearances and led the Wolverines to their first-ever NCAA tournament win against 25th-ranked Memphis. She later graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in music (cello performance) from Utah Valley University.
Professionally, Brooklyn played for Völsongur Football Club in Husavík, Iceland, from March to October of 2022. She played and started every minute of season, where recorded three assists and gave up fewest goals in the division. Brooklyn also Trained part-time with Völsongur Men's Team.
"I believe that all aspects of goalkeeping at George Mason Women's Soccer have improved tremendously," said Victoria Coninck, current goalkeeper for the Patriots. "It has been a pleasure for me to be a part of the team. Brooklyn Nielsen, our coach, brings a lot of energy to the training sessions, and she is very knowledgeable about the sport. Her coaching has pushed us to our limits and improved our skills. Our performance in the spring season shows that we have become better goalkeepers under her guidance, with four out of five clean sheets. As a goalkeeper union, we are thrilled with the training environment created by Brooklyn, and we wouldn't change it for anything. We are confident that George Mason Women's Soccer will achieve great things in the future."
Brooklyn enjoys playing basketball with her husband, Billy, who was the team manager for the Princeton varsity men's basketball team. Other hobbies include mountain biking, running Spartan Races, playing the cello, guitar & other musical instruments, or performing aerial arts like silks, trapeze & trampoline wall. She also enjoys playing Just Dance and painting. Brooklyn speaks fluent Danish and enjoys history and going to museums with her husband.
A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Brooklyn is the youngest of five children and currently lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband.
