Kennedy Fuller
.jpg?lang=en) Fuller warming up with Angel City in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kennedy Linh Fuller[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | March 9, 2007[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Angel City FC | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Angel City FC | 19 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | United States U15 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | United States U17 | 12 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 4, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:46, November 4, 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Kennedy Linh Fuller (born March 9, 2007) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She was named the national Gatorade Player of the Year in 2023. She signed with Angel City at the age of 16 in 2024. She won bronze with the United States at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
Early life
[edit]Fuller grew up in Southlake, Texas. She is a quarter Vietnamese through her maternal grandmother.[2] She played high school soccer for Southlake Carroll High School. In her freshman year in 2022, she scored 26 goals and had 14 assists to lead Southlake Carroll to a Class 6A state championship, scoring a hat trick in the title game. She was named Gatorade Texas Girls Soccer Player of the Year.[3][4] In her sophomore year in 2023, she scored 55 goals and was named the Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year.[5]
Fuller committed to the University of North Carolina in September 2022 and planned to graduate early in the class of 2024.[3] She signed a name, image, and likeness (NIL) with Nike in September 2023.[5] She played club soccer for Solar Soccer Club.[3]
Club career
[edit]Angel City FC (2024–present)
[edit]Fuller previously trained and completed a trial period with Chelsea FC as well as NWSL teams North Carolina Courage, Kansas City Current, and San Diego Wave FC. In March 2024, Angel City FC announced that they had signed Fuller at the age of 16.[6] She became the second youngest signing in the teams history through the league's U-18 entry mechanism, signing a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year. Fuller made her professional debut on March 17, 2024 (eight days after turning 17), as a starter in Angel City's home opener against Bay FC.[7] In addition to being the youngest player to ever play for the club, she played 90 minutes, made three shots, and finished the match with a passing accuracy of 79.2%.[7]
Fuller scored her first professional goal on June 19, 2024 in the 17th minute of a home match against Racing Louisville, which ended as a 3–2 victory. She was named Angel City's player of the match for her performance.[8]
International career
[edit]Fuller made her international debut for the United States national under-15 team at the 2022 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship, where she scored nine goals and was awarded the tournament's Golden Ball.[9] At the 2024 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, she scored eight goals for the under-17 national team and was awarded the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer after helping the US team win their sixth championship.[10]
Fuller scored in both of the United States's group stage wins over Colombia and South Korea at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. With the help of a penalty, she opened scoring in a 2–0 win over Nigeria in the quarterfinals as the United States advanced to the U-17 World Cup semifinals for the first time since 2008.[11] After the United States were defeated in the semifinals by North Korea, Fuller scored the opening goal and provided an assist in the third-place match against England to secure a 3–0 victory and the bronze medal, marking the United States's best result at the tournament since 2008. Fuller finished the tournament having started all six matches, captaining three matches, and ultimately led the team in scoring with four goals and three assists and was awarded the Silver Boot as the tournaments second top scorer.[12][13]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of October 4, 2024
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Playoffs[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Angel City FC | 2024 | NWSL | 19 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 23 | 2 | |
| Career total | 19 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | ||
- ^ Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup & NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.
- ^ Includes NWSL Playoffs.
Honors
[edit]United States U15
United States U17
- CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship: 2024
- FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Bronze Medal: 2024
Individual
- Gatorade National Female Soccer Player of the Year: 2023
- CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship Golden Ball: 2022
- CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship Golden Boot: 2024
- FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Silver Boot: 2024
References
[edit]- ^ a b "National team roster – 2024 Concacaf Women's Under-17 Championship" (PDF). CONCACAF. January 29, 2024. p. 8. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Includes NWSL Playoffs.
- ^ a b c Riddle, Greg (September 29, 2022). "Southlake Carroll soccer star Kennedy Fuller commits to North Carolina, to graduate early". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Kretzschmar, Rick (April 16, 2022). "Southlake Carroll rolls past Rockwall to win 6A girls soccer state championship". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ a b Assimakopoulos, Lia (November 8, 2023). "Southlake Carroll's Kennedy Fuller signs with North Carolina, plans to forgo senior season". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024.
- ^ "Angel City Signs USYNT U-17 Midfielder Kennedy Fuller". Angel City FC. March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ a b "Kennedy Fuller, 17, has strong pro debut for Angel City FC". Orange County Register. March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "Sydney Leroux's late goal gives Angel City a win over Racing Louisville". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 20, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Her Glass Is Always Fuller". United States Soccer Federation. February 3, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "Etienne, Fuller lead honors at Women's Under-17 Championship". CONCACAF. February 12, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "U.S. U-17 WYNT Reaches Semifinals for the First Time Since 2008 to Square Off With Korea DPR". United States Soccer Federation. October 29, 2024. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
- ^ "USA Defeats England 3–0 to Take Third Place at 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup". United States Soccer Federation. November 3, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
- ^ "Fifa U17 WWC: Nigeria's Flamingos win award but Shakirat Moshood misses out on sliver and bronze boots | All Nigeria Soccer". www.allnigeriasoccer.com. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Kennedy Fuller National Women's Soccer League profile
- Kennedy Fuller at Angel City FC
- Kennedy Fuller at Soccerway
- Living people
- 2007 births
- People from Southlake, Texas
- Soccer players from Texas
- Carroll Senior High School alumni
- American women's soccer players
- Women's association football midfielders
- United States women's youth international soccer players
- Angel City FC players
- National Women's Soccer League players
- 21st-century American sportswomen
- American sportspeople of Vietnamese descent
- Sportspeople of Vietnamese descent