Fiona O'Sullivan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Fiona O'Sullivan

O'Sullivan with the Republic of Ireland in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Fiona Julia O'Sullivan
Date of birth	(1986-09-17) 17 September 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	San Geronimo, California, U.S.
Height	1.78 m
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2007	Sonoma County Sol
2009–2010	California Storm
2010	Chicago Red Stars	0	(0)
2010	AIK	7	(2)
2011	Piteå IF	9	(1)
2011	→ Kvarnsvedens IK (loan)	10	(12)
2011–2012	ASJ Soyaux	9	(4)
2012–2014	SC Freiburg	30	(12)
2014–2015	Notts County	8	(2)
National team
2009–2016	Republic of Ireland	41	(13)
Teams managed
2015–2017	San Francisco Dons (assistant)
2015-2017	De Anza Force
2017-	San Domenico School
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Fiona Julia O'Sullivan (born September 17, 1986) is a former professional footballer (soccer player). She played as a striker, which means she was a goal-scorer. Fiona played for many clubs in the United States, Sweden, France, Germany, and England. She also played for the Republic of Ireland national team. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) described her as a strong and powerful attacker.

After she stopped playing, Fiona became a coach and mentor for young athletes. Her soccer camp, O’Sullivan Soccer Academy, has been helping young players for over 20 years!

Fiona's Early Life and Soccer Journey

Fiona O'Sullivan grew up in Marin County, California. She started playing soccer when she was young. In high school, she was the top scorer for her team three times. She also led the league in goals twice. Fiona still holds the record for the most goals scored at her high school.

In 2003, Fiona started her own soccer camp. She wanted to earn money to buy her first car. At first, only three kids signed up! So, she asked her younger brother to help as a counselor. This way, they had more people for the camp.

Playing at the University of San Francisco

Fiona went to the University of San Francisco from 2004 to 2007. She scored eight goals for the San Francisco Dons soccer team. Her best year was 2006, even though she missed half the season due to a knee injury. That year, she scored five goals, including three goals in one game (a hat-trick).

In her final year, 2007, Fiona was the team captain and top scorer. Her coach, Pam Kalinoski, believed Fiona could play at an even higher level.

Fiona's Professional Club Career

Playing in the United States

In 2010, Fiona was chosen by the Chicago Red Stars in a special draft. She went to their training camp. However, she was later released from the team. This happened because she chose to join the Irish national team for a game. The Red Stars coach wanted her to stay and compete for her spot.

Instead, Fiona played for the California Storm in 2010. She played with famous soccer players like Brandi Chastain. Fiona scored seven goals in ten games. Because of her great performance, she was named to the all-league second team.

Playing Soccer in Europe

In July 2010, Fiona signed with AIK, a professional team in Sweden. She scored two goals in seven games for AIK. In January 2011, she moved to another Swedish team, Piteå IF. She scored one goal in nine games there. Later, she was loaned to Kvarnsvedens IK to get more playing time.

In December 2011, Fiona moved to France to play for ASJ Soyaux. She scored four goals in nine league games. She also scored one goal in a French Cup game. However, her team finished low in the standings and was moved down to a lower league. Fiona knew she needed to find a new team to keep playing at a high level.

Fiona then signed with SC Freiburg in Germany in July 2012. She liked playing in Germany more than in Sweden or France. She started the season very well. But then, she faced some tough times, including a knee injury. Despite this, she scored six goals in 13 games. Her team finished fifth in the league.

Even while playing professionally in Europe, Fiona continued her O’Sullivan Soccer Academy every summer in the United States. She would train hard before and after long days at camp. She often flew back to Europe right after camp ended. Fiona said these summers were "unique and challenging."

She remembered one time flying to the Austrian Alps for preseason training. She arrived just in time for a tough fitness test. This was after three weeks of running her camp in the California heat.

In June 2014, Fiona scored three goals in one game for Freiburg. This was her last game for the club. She then moved to England to play for Notts County. In her very first game, she scored a goal against Arsenal Ladies! She scored another goal against Birmingham City. She finished the 2014 season with two goals in five games. Her coach praised her impact on the team.

In 2015, Fiona played less often because the main striker, Ellen White, returned from injury. Fiona came on as a substitute in the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. Her team lost the game, but playing at Wembley was a big highlight for her.

Fiona said she didn't fully realize how special Wembley Stadium was to English players. She compared it to a very important religious place. Seeing her English teammates walk through the tunnel made her understand how big of a deal it was.

After this, Fiona decided to stop playing professional soccer. She returned to her old university, the University of San Francisco, to become an assistant coach. She started her new coaching job the day after the English Cup final.

Fiona's International Career with Ireland

Fiona's father is from Ireland, and her mother is American. Fiona found out she could play for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team. She sent an email to the FAI to let them know. She made her first appearance for Ireland in 2009.

Fiona played very well in the qualifying games for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. In August 2010, she scored three goals in one game against Israel. She had scored six goals in five games, and people called her "a revelation." In February 2011, Fiona was named the FAI International Player of the Year.

After a lot of goals, Fiona's performance dipped a bit. Her coach, Susan Ronan, left her out of the team in 2012. But Fiona worked hard and came back stronger. The coach praised her for improving so much. Fiona scored another goal against Israel in a qualifying game.

Fiona missed some games in 2013 due to a knee injury. In June 2013, she scored two goals in a friendly game against Austria. Ireland was losing 2-0 but came back to draw 2-2. Fiona scored three goals in the 2015 World Cup qualifying campaign, but Ireland did not make it to the finals.

In May 2015, Fiona played her final professional match for Ireland. The team was struggling to score goals, so the coach asked her to come back. This game was against the United States. It was played close to Fiona's home in California.

Ireland lost the game 3-0 to the US team, which was ranked second in the world. But it was a very special moment for Fiona. She played in front of her family and friends who had supported her since high school.

Fiona said she had spent ten years playing in Europe. Even though she is Irish, she grew up in California. She had a huge family there who always supported her. When her name was announced at the game, she heard a huge cheer. She felt like her whole career had come together in that moment.

International Goals for Ireland

Here are some of the goals Fiona scored for the Republic of Ireland:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition	Scored
1	24 September 2009	Turners Cross, Cork	Kazakhstan	2–1	2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Qual.	1
3	21 March 2010	Ness Ziona Stadium, Ness Ziona	Israel	3–0	2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Qual.	2
6	25 August 2010	Carlisle Grounds, Bray	Israel	3–0	2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Qual.	3
7	19 September 2012	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan	Israel	2–0	2013 UEFA Women's Championship Qual.	1
9	18 June 2013	Tallaght Stadium, Dublin	Austria	2–2	Friendly	2
10	30 October 2013	Ob Jezeru City Stadium, Velenje	Slovenia	3–0	2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Qual.	1
11	7 May 2014	Tallaght Stadium, Dublin	Russia	1–3	2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Qual.	1
12	20 August 2014	Tallaght Stadium, Dublin	Slovenia	2–0	2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Qual.	1
13	15 January 2015	La Manga Stadium, La Manga	Norway	1–3	Friendly	1
14	7 June 2016	Tallaght Stadium, Dublin	Montenegro	9–0	2017 UEFA Women's Championship Qual.	1

Fiona's Life After Playing Soccer

Fiona O'Sullivan earned a degree in international politics from the University of San Francisco.

In August 2014, Fiona experienced a sad loss when her fiancé, Devougn Lamont, passed away. He was a 30-year-old professional basketball player.

From 2015 to 2017, Fiona worked as an assistant coach and recruiting director for the University of San Francisco women's soccer team. At the same time, she also worked for a local youth soccer club called De Anza Force.

In 2016, Fiona met her husband, Steve Domecus, at her old university. Steve was an assistant coach for the baseball team. Fiona and Steve now live in Fairfax, California, and they have two children.

Since 2017, Fiona has been the soccer director at San Domenico School. She also coaches the girls' varsity team there.

Her summer soccer camp, the O’Sullivan Soccer Academy, celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022. The camp is still very popular and runs in three different locations.

See also

In Spanish: Fiona O'Sullivan para niños