Olivia Moultrie facts for kids
_092.jpg)
Moultrie with the Portland Thorns in 2024
|
||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Olivia Lynn Moultrie | |||||||||
| Date of birth | September 17, 2005 | |||||||||
| Place of birth | Santa Clarita, California | |||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | |||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||
| Current club | Portland Thorns | |||||||||
| Number | 13 | |||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||
| 2017 | Total Futbol Academy | |||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Beach FC | |||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Portland Thorns FC | |||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||
| 2021– | Portland Thorns FC | 66 | (10) | |||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | United States U15 | |||||||||
| 2019 | United States U16 | |||||||||
| 2020 | United States U17 | |||||||||
| 2022– | United States U20 | 5 | (2) | |||||||
| 2023– | United States | 5 | (2) | |||||||
|
Honours
|
||||||||||
† Appearances (Goals). |
||||||||||
Olivia Lynn Moultrie (born September 17, 2005) is an American professional soccer player. She plays as an attacking midfielder for the Portland Thorns in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Olivia made history by becoming the youngest American women's soccer player to turn professional at just 13 years old in 2019.
In 2021, she took legal action against the NWSL. This helped remove the league's age limit, allowing her to play. She then joined the Thorns at age 15. In 2023, she was chosen to play for the United States national team.
Contents
Early Life and Soccer Beginnings
Olivia Moultrie was born in Santa Clarita, California. Her parents, K.C. and Jessica Moultrie, both played sports in college. She grew up in the Canyon Country area of Santa Clarita. Olivia is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
She started playing soccer when she was only four years old. By the time she was in fifth grade, she began learning at home. This allowed her to focus more on soccer. She even became the first girl to play on a boys' club team in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
When she was 11, Olivia received an amazing offer. She was given a full scholarship to play soccer for the Tar Heels at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This made her the youngest girl's soccer player to accept a college offer publicly at that time.
Soon after, she traveled to Europe to train. Her family even thought about moving to Lyon, France. This would have allowed her to start playing professionally even sooner. However, these plans changed when the Portland Thorns FC signed her in 2019. She then moved from California to Wilsonville, Oregon, where she lives now.
Professional Club Career
Joining the Portland Thorns
In February 2019, Olivia Moultrie announced she was becoming a professional soccer player. She signed a deal with a sports agency. She also signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Nike, which meant she gave up her chance to play college soccer. After this, she joined the Portland Thorns FC academy.
Even though she trained with the Thorns' main team and played in practice games, she couldn't sign a professional contract. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) had a rule that players had to be at least 18 years old. Also, FIFA, the world's soccer governing body, usually doesn't allow players under 18 to play overseas.
Challenging the Age Rule
On May 4, 2021, Olivia took legal action against the NWSL. She argued that the league's age limit was unfair. She said the NWSL was the only place for top women's soccer talent in the U.S. and that the age rule stopped young players like her from joining.
She asked the court to quickly remove the age rule. This would allow her to play in regular games during the 2021 season. On May 24, 2021, a judge agreed with Olivia. The judge ordered the league to lift its age limit. This meant Olivia could try for a spot on the Thorns team. The judge said the league didn't have good reasons for keeping the age rule.
In June 2021, the league allowed teams to try and sign Olivia. The OL Reign team got her rights first. But they then traded her to the Thorns for a future draft pick. On June 30, 2021, Olivia Moultrie signed a three-year contract with the Thorns. This made her the youngest player ever to sign a contract with an NWSL team.
Making Her Debut and Scoring Goals
Olivia made her first professional appearance on July 3, 2021. She came into the game as a substitute in the 83rd minute. The Thorns won the game 2–0 against Racing Louisville. She got her first start and made her first assist on August 7 against Washington Spirit.
On August 19, 2021, Olivia scored her first professional goal. It was a direct free kick in the 57th minute against Houston Dash. This goal happened during a semifinal match in the International Champions Cup.
On June 12, 2022, Olivia scored her first goal in an NWSL league game. This made her the youngest player to score a league goal in the NWSL.
On October 29, 2022, Olivia played as a substitute in the 2022 NWSL Championship game. The Thorns won the match, giving Olivia her first NWSL Championship title.
On February 13, 2024, it was announced that Olivia signed a new three-year contract with the Thorns. This means she will stay with the team until the end of the 2026 season.
International Career
On February 15, 2022, Olivia Moultrie was chosen for the U.S. under-20 squad. She played in the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship.
In October 2023, Olivia was called up to the senior U.S. national team for the first time. She was 18 years old. She played her first game for the national team on December 2, 2023, against China PR.
She earned her first start and scored her first two goals for the national team on February 20, 2024. This was against the Dominican Republic in a group stage match of the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup. She became only the third U.S. women's soccer player to score two or more goals in a game at age 18 or younger. The other two were legendary players Mia Hamm and Cindy Parlow Cone. Olivia also won the Player of the Match award for her performance.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Portland Thorns FC | 2021 | NWSL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2022 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 3 | ||
| 2023 | 21 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 2 | ||
| 2024 | 22 | 5 | — | — | 22 | 5 | ||||
| Career total | 66 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 79 | 10 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | 3 | 2 | |
| Total | 5 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list United States's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Moultrie goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 20, 2024 | Carson, California |  Dominican Republic |
1–0 | 5–0 | 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup | |
| 2 | 3–0 |
Honors and Awards
Portland Thorns FC
- International Champions Cup: 2021
- NWSL Championship: 2022
United States
- CONCACAF W Gold Cup: 2024
- SheBelieves Cup: 2024
United States U20
- CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship: 2022
Individual
- U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year: 2023
See also
In Spanish: Olivia Moultrie para niños
