ORLANDO, Fla. – This year has been, among many things, a women’s sports renaissance.
From the NCAA Women’s Final Four & title game having historic viewership, to the U.S. Women’s Soccer team recapturing gold at the Olympics, women’s sports has been in the spotlight for much of 2024.
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As the Orlando Pride join that list this year, the News 6 sports team put together their list of the greatest female soccer players to come out of Central Florida, including some familiar names.
Where to begin with Marta, one of, if not the greatest striker in not NWSL history, but women’s soccer overall.
The native of Brazil joined the Orlando Pride in 2017, after winning 7 championships in Swedish Damallsvenskan with three different teams: Umeå (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008), Tyresö (2012) and Rosengård (2014, 2015). She led that league in scoring three times (2004, 2005, 2008).
On the international stage, Marta sits atop the record books with 17 World Cup goals, the most by any player, man or woman, and was the fist player to score in five separate World Cups. She also won FIFA’s Women’s Player of the Year six times, and was named to FIFPro World XI four times, three of them since joining the Pride (2017, 2019, 2021). Marta competed in six Olympics, winning three silver medals (2004, 2008, 2024), and like the World Cup, became the first player to score in five straight Olympic games.
Since joining the Pride, Marta set the record for all-time goals (27) and appearances (84) in team history, was named to NWSL Team of the Month six times, and named to NWSL’s best XI once (2017).
As quickly as our team listed Marta at number one, they listed Michelle Akers at number two.
The UCF alumna was named FIFA Player of the Century in 2000. What more can be said?
She joined the USWNT at it’s birth in 1985, scored the team’s first-ever goal, and was the leading scorer in the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup with 10 goals in six matches.
Akers would go on to win two FIFA World Cups, an Olympic gold medal, and a FIFA Golden Boot. She scored an impressive 105 goals and 37 assists in 153 career games.
Akers was also a superstar off the field, becoming the first and only female to receive the FIFA Order of Merit, the highest honor awarded by FIFA for significant contributions to the game around the world.
In retirement, Akers returned to her roots, as a volunteer assistant coach for UCF women’s soccer in 2009, and joining the Orlando Pride as an assistant for the 2022 season.
3. Alex Morgan
When talking about the sheer dominance from the USWNT in the 21st century, the story can’t be complete without Alex Morgan.
Across her 15 year career, Morgan scored 123 goals, fifth all-time, along with 53 career assists, ninth in U.S. history. In her 224 appearances for the national team, 177 of those resulted in wins, and the USWNT never lost in the 86 matches Morgan scored. She was instrumental in Team USA’s back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Cup wins in 2015 and 2019, and the Olympic gold medal in 2012.
She’d win two U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year awards (2012, 2018), named to the FIFPRO World XI six times, and was runner-up for FIFA Women’s Player of the Year twice.
Morgan joined the Orlando Pride in 2016, where she played in 69 games over five seasons, scoring 23 goals.
Some of Central Florida’s soccer stardom are born and raised Central Floridians. Like Ashlyn Harris.
The Satellite Beach native saw success earlier in her career, as the keeper and youngest starter on the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cup team at just 16-years-old, and winning three NCAA Championships at the University of North Carolina (2006, 2008, 2009).
Harris made her USWNT debut in 2013, where she’d go on to play in 25 games, starting 21 of them. The team was 17-2-2 in those games, including nine shutouts.
She played for the Orlando Pride from 2016 to 2021. In her final season with the Pride she set a new NWSL all-time career save record with her 469th save.
5. Aline Reis
Marta isn’t the only Brazilian star to play in Central Florida. Enter Aline Reis.
Reis started all four years she was enrolled at UCF, starting all but two matches for the Knights. The NSCAA named her a second-team All-American in her redshirt frshman season in 2008, the first Knight to be named an All-American since 1995.
She finished her college career ranked second saves (347), fourth in shutouts (28), and sixth in goals against average (1.04).
Reis earned her first-ever roster spot at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, earning a shutout against South Africa in group play.
After retiring, Reis joined the Orlando Pride as goalkeeping coach in January of 2022.
Are there any great Central Florida soccer players you think we missed? Let us know in the comments!
Are there any great Central Florida soccer players you think we missed? Let us know in the comments!
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