Alana Cook facts for kids
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Cook with the Seattle Reign in 2024
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Alana Simone Cook | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | April 11, 1997 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Worcester, Massachusetts, United States | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Center back | |||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Kansas City Current | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 15 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| The Pennington School | ||||||||||||||||
| Match Fit Academy Colchesters | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Paris Saint-Germain | 21 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2020 | → OL Reign (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Seattle Reign | 65 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2024– | Kansas City Current | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | United States U17 | |||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | United States U20 | |||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | United States U23 | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2019– | United States | 29 | (1) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Alana Simone Cook (born April 11, 1997) is an American professional soccer player. She plays as a center back (a defender) for the Kansas City Current in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Alana also plays for the U.S. National Team.
Before joining the NWSL, Alana played for the Stanford University team. She also played for a French club called Paris Saint-Germain. She then joined Seattle Reign FC in 2021. Alana first played for the U.S. National Team in 2019. She was part of the team for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Contents
Early Life and College Career
Alana Cook was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. She grew up there and in Far Hills, New Jersey, with her parents, Florence and Bryan Cook, and her sister, Brianna.
High School Soccer Star
Alana went to The Pennington School, a boarding school in Pennington, New Jersey. She helped her high school soccer team win regional and state championships. In 2013, she was named the New Jersey Prep Player of the Year. In 2015, she earned the NSCAA High School Scholar Player of the Year award.
Alana also played club soccer for Match Fit Academy Colchesters. With this team, she won the 2013 U.S. Youth Soccer National League title. She started playing for U.S. youth national teams when she was a teenager.
Playing for Stanford University
From 2015 to 2018, Alana attended Stanford University. She studied a subject called symbolic systems. During her time there, she was a key player for the Stanford Cardinal women's soccer team. She started in games for all four years.
In her last two seasons, Alana was the team captain. In 2018, she was named the Pac-12 Conference Defender of the Year. She was also a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy. This award goes to the best college soccer players in the U.S.
Professional Club Career
Starting in France: Paris Saint-Germain
In January 2019, Alana decided not to join the NWSL right away. Instead, she chose to play soccer in Europe. She signed a three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain, a top team in France's Division 1 Féminine league.
Short Loan to OL Reign
On June 16, 2020, Alana joined OL Reign for a short time. This was a loan for the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup.
Joining OL / Seattle Reign
On June 7, 2021, OL Reign signed Alana permanently from PSG. She signed a three-year contract with an option for an extra year.
During the 2021 season, Alana was a starting defender in all 20 regular season matches. The Reign finished second in the league that year. They made it to the NWSL Playoffs but were stopped by the Washington Spirit. Alana was recognized for her great play and was named to the league's NWSL Best XI.
In 2022, Alana helped OL Reign finish first in the regular season. They won the NWSL Shield for this achievement. Alana was nominated for the NWSL Defender of the Year award in both 2021 and 2022.
Moving to Kansas City Current
On July 22, 2024, Seattle Reign announced that Alana had been traded. She moved to the Kansas City Current. This trade involved money and transfer funds between the teams.
International Career
Alana Cook has played for several United States national soccer teams. She has been part of the under-17, under-20, under-23, and the senior national teams.
She was the captain of the under-17 team. She then moved up to the under-20 team in 2014. In 2017, she joined the under-23 team, and in 2019, she captained that squad too. Alana can also play for England because her father is British. She was even called to train with England in 2019.
Alana got her first call-up to the U.S. National Team on October 31, 2019. In June 2023, she was chosen to be part of the U.S. team for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. This big tournament was held in Australia and New Zealand.
Honors and Awards
Alana Cook has won many awards and championships throughout her career:
- Stanford Cardinal
- NCAA Women's College Cup: 2017
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Division 1 Féminine: 2020–21
- OL Reign
- NWSL Shield: 2022
- The Women's Cup: 2022
- Kansas City Current
- NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup: 2024
- United States U23
- Nordic Tournament: 2019
- United States National Team
- CONCACAF Women's Championship: 2022
- SheBelieves Cup: 2022, 2023
- Individual Awards
- Pac-12 Conference Defender of the Year: 2018
- MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist: 2018
- NWSL Best XI: 2021, 2022
Images for kids
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Alana Cook playing for the Kansas City Current in 2024
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See Also
In Spanish: Alana Cook para niños
