Mélina Descary (born 23 February 2004) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for USL Super League club Sporting JAX. She played college soccer in the United States for the Florida State Seminoles and the South Alabama Jaguars.
Early life Born in Greenfield Park, Quebec, Descary grew up in Candiac, a suburb of Montreal. She received a secondary school education at Mortagne High School in Boucherville. She also spent a short stint studying at Champlain College Saint-Lambert to complete the mandatory twelve years of education required for acceptance to a college in the United States. In October 2021, Descary was one of five denizens of her hometown to be inducted into the Order of Candiac.
Descary started playing soccer at the age of four and soon began to play with more advanced age groups. Descary eventually joined AS Brossard's AAA team, where she earned two annual club MVP awards and was named Brossard's 2020 Ballon d'Or recipient. In 2019, she helped Brossard win a league title and earn a silver medal at the national championships in Edmonton. She also trained at the Canada National High Performance Centre and spent two years with FC Laval.
College career
Florida State Seminoles Descary received various scholarship offers from colleges in the United States, including multiple full-ride scholarships. Although Florida State University could only cover 83% of Descary's tuition, Descary chose to assume the extra financial burden in order to play for the Seminoles. In her sole season at Florida State, she contributed to titles in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and the ACC women's soccer tournament, as well as a run to the NCAA tournament semifinals. A rotational player, she made 10 appearances, all of which were as a substitute. The Seminoles never lost a match that Descary participated in.
In the offseason leading up to her sophomore year of college, Descary played for Eagle FC of the pre-professional USL W League. She helped Eagle FC win the W League Eastern Conference championship and scored a goal in her team's trophy-clinching win over Morris Elite SC.
South Alabama Jaguars Descary transferred to the University of South Alabama ahead of the 2023 season. She scored her first collegiate goal for the Jaguars on 20 August 2023, in an 8–0 victory over Alcorn State. She then scored again in the following match before only finding the back of the net once more before graduating. She finished her first year at South Alabama having made 19 appearances (17 starts). As a junior in 2024, she registered a career-high 1,499 minutes as a member of a Jaguar attack that ranked within the top five in the Sun Belt Conference in both goals and assists. Descary had her most successful year in 2025. A co-team captain, she earned spots on the All-Sun Belt third team, All-Southeast region second team, and the 2025 Sun Belt tournament team. She left South Alabama having made 56 total appearances.
Club career On 9 July 2026, USL Super League club Sporting JAX announced that they had signed Descary to her first professional contract ahead of the 2026 fall season. Descary made her pro debut on August 16, making a substitute appearance in Sporting JAX's season-opening victory over Fort Lauderdale United.
International career Descary has been a member of the Quebec under-14 and under-15 teams. She was selected to participate in multiple Canada under-17 national team camps in 2019, but never made the final squad.
Career statistics College
Season Games Scoring GP GS G A PTS SH SOG Florida State Seminoles 2022–23 10 0 0 0 0 3 2 South Alabama Jaguars 2023 19 17 2 0 4 20 7 2024 19 16 0 0 0 21 9 2025 18 17 1 1 3 9 4 Career Career total 66 50 3 1 7 53 22
Professional
ClubSeasonLeagueCupPlayoffsTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSporting JAX2026 USLS3 0 —— 3 0Career total30——30
Honors and awards Florida State Seminoles
ACC women's soccer tournament: 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference: 2022
Individual
Third-team All-Sun Belt: 2025 Sun Belt Conference tournament all-tournament team: 2025
References
External links
Melina Descary at the South Alabama Jaguars