Tziarra King

Tziarra King
King with the Seattle Reign in 2024
Personal information
Full name Tziarra Lanae King[1]
Date of birth (1998-08-24) August 24, 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Sicklerville, New Jersey, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Seattle Reign FC
Number 23
Youth career
0000–2014 Winslow Tigers Soccer Club
2015–2016 Princeton SA
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 NC State Wolfpack 88 (48)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020 Utah Royals 0 (0)
2021– Seattle Reign 48 (4)
International career
2014 United States U16 (futsal)
2015 United States U18 (futsal)
2018 United States U23
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 21, 2024

Tziarra Lanae King (born August 24, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Seattle Reign. She played college soccer for the NC State Wolfpack and was drafted by the Utah Royals in 2020.

Early life

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Raised in Sicklerville, New Jersey, King played for the varsity soccer team at Winslow Township High School where she set a record as the all-time leading scorer (for both girls and boys) with 105 career goals and 36 assists.[2][3] She was named to the First-Team All-South Jersey team in 2014 and 2015.[4] During high school, King also competed in track-and-field and was named New Jersey state champion in both the indoor and outdoor 4×400 during her junior year.[5] During her senior year, her 51 goals and 14 assists ranked first in the state of New Jersey.[3]

King played club soccer for Winslow Tigers where she helped lead the team to regional and state championships.[4] She also played for Princeton SA IGFA 97/98 Tigers NPL and won the 2015 US Club Mid-Atlantic Regional and NEWSS Championships.[4]

King was a regional and national futsal champion, and competed internationally for the United States Youth Futsal National Team.[3] Also a top scholar, she was on the Honor Roll all four years and a member of the National Honor Society.[3]

College career

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King attended North Carolina State University where she played for the NC State Wolfpack women's soccer team from 2016 to 2019.[4] She was one of two players nominated by the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, after being the conference's first women's soccer player to win the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.[6][7]

As a freshman in the 2016 season, King was a starting forward in all matches and was the Wolfpack's leading scorer with eight goals, including four game-winners. She competed on the pitch a total of 1,702 minutes.[4] Her penalty kick goal against Minnesota helped North Carolina advance to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Championship.[4][8] Top Drawer Soccer ranked King as the #28 freshman player in the country.[4] During the 2017 season, King led the Wolfpack in goals scored (17), game-winning goals (5), and points (40).[4] She also ranked second in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in goals and points, fourth in goals in the NCAA, and fifth in points in the NCAA.[4] King was a starter in all 22 matches of her sophomore season and competed a total of 1,716 minutes.[4] She scored a hat trick in North Carolina's 4–1 win over Notre Dame in the ACC Championship quarterfinals.[4] She scored braces against Arkansas, East Carolina University, Louisville, and Syracuse.[4] She was twice named ACC Offensive Player of the Week.[4][9][10] As a junior in the 2018 ACC season, King was the Wolfpack's leading scorer for the third consecutive year with 10 goals and 26 points.[4] She was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and finished the season ranked 47th on Top Drawer Soccer's Top 100 Player Rankings.[4] During the 2019 season, King scored 13 goals and recorded 32 points ranking third in the ACC and 35th in the NCAA for both goals and points.[4] She was named to the All-ACC First Team, United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region, and United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-America. She earned TopDrawerSoccer Best XI Second Team, CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team and United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team honors.[4] She was twice named ACC Offensive Player of the Week and earned 2019 ACC All-Tournament Team honors.[4]

King finished her collegiate career ranked third all-time on the Wolfpack in career goals (48) and points (115) as well as with career starts (88).[4] She was the second player in program history to earn four-time All-ACC and multiple scholar All-America honors.[4]

Club career

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Utah Royals FC, 2020

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King was drafted 8th overall in the 2020 NWSL College Draft by the Utah Royals FC, the first ever NC State Wolfpack player to be drafted into the NWSL.[11] She made her professional debut in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup in June 2020, scoring her first professional goal less than 20 minutes after entering the field as a second-half substitute in a 3–3 draw against the Houston Dash.[12][13] King was a starter in all four matches of the tournament under head coach Laura Harvey.[14]

OL Reign, 2021–

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Ahead of the 2021 season, King was traded to OL Reign in January 2021.[15] She was a starter in 7 of the 15 matches she played.[14] She scored the club's second goal in its 2–0 win against Orlando Pride on July 24 and provided the assist to Jess Fishlock's goal in the tenth minute.[16] King was subsequently named NWSL Player of the Week.[17] The Reign finished in second place during the regular season with a 13–8–3 record.[18] After advancing to the NWSL Playoffs, they were eliminated by eventual champions Washington Spirit.[19]

In 2022, King helped OL Reign finish in first place during the regular season, winning the NWSL Shield.[14][20]

King scored her first goal of 2024 in a 2–1 loss to the Chicago Red Stars on April 21, which was named the NWSL Goal of the Week.[21]

Honors

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OL Reign

Individual

Other work

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In September 2020, King entered into a collaboration with the National Women's Hockey League to help improve representation on NWHL merchandise.[27]

Personal life

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King goes by the nickname "Zee".[4] In October 2022, she and fellow Seattle Reign player Jess Fishlock announced their engagement. On December 12, 2023, they married in Fishlock's native Wales at Sant Ffraed House.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Academic Excellence Award – 2020". 1A Faculty Athletics Representatives. August 14, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  2. ^ Tannenwald, Jonathan (January 16, 2020). "Sicklerville's Tziarra King a first-round NWSL draft pick by Utah Royals". inquirer.com.
  3. ^ a b c d "Q&A with Tziarra King". 253 Lifestyle Magazine. June 1, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Tziarra King". North Carolina State University. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  5. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com.
  6. ^ Friedlander, Brett (August 12, 2020). "Tziarra King Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year Award". Sports Illustrated NC State Wolfpack News, Analysis and More.
  7. ^ "NC State's Tziarra King goes to great lengths". September 5, 2018.
  8. ^ Fehlman, Jeremy (November 13, 2016). "NC State women's soccer upsets Minnesota". Technician. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "NC State's Tziarra King Named ACC Player of the Week". Pack Insider. September 14, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  10. ^ "King and Proctor Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of the Week". The ACC. September 12, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  11. ^ "Tziarra King celebrates the moment while maintaining a wider perspective – Equalizer Soccer". July 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "Houston Dash 3–3 Utah Royals FC". NWSLSoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  13. ^ "Tziarra King scores in her pro debut for Utah Royals". July 2, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c "T. King". Soccerway. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  15. ^ "OL REIGN ACQUIRES TZIARRA KING AND DRAFT PICK FROM KANSAS CITY". NWSLSoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. January 4, 2021.
  16. ^ Sylvs, Southern (July 24, 2021). "OL Reign close out July road trip with 2–0 victory at Orlando Pride". Sounder at Heart. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  17. ^ "Budweiser Player of the Week: Tziarra King, OL Reign". National Women's Soccer League. July 28, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  18. ^ "2021 National Women's Soccer League". Soccerway. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  19. ^ "OL Reign season ends with stunning 2–1 home playoff loss to Washington Spirit". The Seattle Times. November 14, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  20. ^ "OL Reign claim NWSL Shield with comfortable win over Orlando". ESPN. October 2, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  21. ^ "Seattle Reign FC Forward Tziarra King Wins NWSL Goal of the Week". Seattle Reign FC. April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  22. ^ "OL Reign Claim 2022 Women's Cup Title with 2–1 Win over Louisville". King 5. August 20, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  23. ^ Azzi, Alex (October 2, 2022). "OL Reign wins 2022 NWSL Shield, Gotham denies Thorns". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  24. ^ Sylvs, Southern (August 20, 2022). "OL Reign defeat Racing Louisville 2–1 to win 2022 The Women's Cup". Sounder At Heart.
  25. ^ "TZIARRA KING NAMED NWSL PLAYER OF THE WEEK". OL Reign. July 28, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  26. ^ "NC State's King Named ACC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year". The ACC. January 28, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  27. ^ "NWHL collaborates with NWSL star Tziarra King to improve t-shirt line". September 4, 2020.
  28. ^ Holmes, Jon (December 13, 2023). "LGBTQ sports royalty attend Jess Fishlock and Tziarra King's wedding". Outsports. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
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