8 BIPOC Players Rising to the Top This Year
In honor of Black History Month, we take a look at eight BIPOC players that are poised to have big years in 2022 and beyond.
Naomi Girma
Girma had a terrific career at Stanford as the anchor of their backline. She helped lead the team to two Pac-12 Championships and an NCAA Championship during her time there. She appeared in 68 games, starting all but one for the Cardinals over her college career.
Girma was also a two-time Pac-12 Defender of the Year, MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, and the 2020 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year.
The California native was the first overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft by the San Diego Wave. She’ll be an essential piece for the expansion side in their inaugural season.
Alana Cook
Cook is another standout defender out of Stanford from 2015-18. She was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and the Pac-12 Defender of the Year in 2018. The defender started all 93 games as a Cardinal.
In 2019, Cook skipped the NWSL Draft and signed with Paris St. Germain, making 21 appearances.
During the 2020 season, she was loaned to OL Reign for the Challenge Cup, and the move became permanent when Cook signed a three-year contract with the Reign in 2021.
She received her first senior USWNT call-up in 2019 and has four appearances under her belt. She was also named to the 2022 SheBelieves Cup roster.
Brianna Pinto
Pinto spent three years at North Carolina and was one of the best midfielders in the college game during her collegiate career. She finished her time as a Tar Heel with 31 goals and 19 assists in 73 games.
She was a First Team All-ACC selection for each of her three years, and in 2020, she was named a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist.
The midfielder chose to forgo her senior year and entered her name in the 2021 NWSL Draft. NJ/NY Gotham FC selected her with the third overall pick. Pinto made her NWSL debut against the Orlando Pride as a substitute in June of 2021.
In December, Pinto was traded to the North Carolina Courage, bringing the midfielder back to her home state. She will play an important role on a new-looking Courage team and should get a lot of minutes in 2022.
Sophia Smith View Post
The Colorado native spent two seasons at Stanford. She had 24 goals and 11 assists in 34 games. Seventeen of those goals came during the 2019 season. During her time there, she helped lead the Cardinals to an NCAA Championship and two Pac-12 Championships.
After just two years, she left Stanford to start her professional career and entered her name into the 2020 NWSL Draft. Smith was the first overall pick by the Portland Thorns.
In her first full regular season with the Thorns, she appeared in 22 games (17 starts) and had seven goals for the club.
Smith earned her first cap for the senior USWNT in November of 2020 and now has ten appearances with one goal and three assists for the U.S. The forward will be a star for both club and country for a long time.
Nichelle Prince
Prince spent her college career at Ohio State. As a Buckeye, she tallied 27 goals and 20 assists in 72 games between 2013-16. The Houston Dash selected Prince in the 2017 NWSL Draft with the 28th overall pick.
The forward has spent her entire professional career in H-Town. She’s got 75 appearances with seven assists and eight goals for the Dash.
Prince has been representing Canada since 2013 and has 13 goals and 13 assists in 75 appearances. She’s a two-time Olympian winning Bronze and Gold with Canada. She also was a member of the 2019 Women’s World Cup team.
Look for Prince to have a big year for Canada and the Dash this season.
Sarah Gorden
Gorden is a continuously underrated player, but she’s been getting more and more attention with her club play. While at DePaul University from 2011-16, she appeared in 77 games, starting all but one of them as the heart of the defense.
She was also a two-sport athlete, playing soccer and track and field.
She became the first DePaul player ever to be selected in the NWSL Draft when the Chicago Red Stars selected her with the 22nd pick in 2016. With the Red Stars, she appeared in 78 matches, playing every minute of the season in 2021.
She was traded to Angel City FC at the end of 2021 and will be a leader in the defense for the expansion side.
Off the field, she founded HoodSpace, a nonprofit organization designed to help girls of color. She plans to expand it to Los Angeles as well.
Imani Dorsey
Dorsey finished her career at Duke fourth all-time in career goals with 29 in 87 appearances. After a great career as a Blue Devil, she was the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NWSL Draft by Sky Blue FC. She was also named the 2018 NWSL Rookie of the Year.
She is a founding member of the Black Women’s Player Collective and won the first U.S. Soccer One Nation Social Impact award for her work with the BWPC.
Tziarra King
The New Jersey native attended NC State and was a star forward during her four years there. She started all 88 appearances with 48 goals and 19 assists for the Wolfpack.
She was the eighth overall pick by the Utah Royals in the 2020 draft. King scored her first professional goal in her debut for the Royals during the 2020 Challenge Cup.
She was traded to the OL Reign ahead of the 2021 season, making 15 appearances for the Reign in 2021. Look for the forward to get even more minutes this upcoming season.
Here’s to celebrating BIPOC women this month and every month!
Featured image via Getty Images
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