Elizabeth Ball (soccer)

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Elizabeth Ball
Ball with the Kansas City Current in 2024
Personal information
Full name Elizabeth Rose Ball[1]
Date of birth (1995-10-20) October 20, 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Kansas City Current
Number 7
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Penn State Nittany Lions 95 (9)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Portland Thorns 23 (0)
2020 Utah Royals 4 (0)
2021– Kansas City Current 60 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 18, 2024

Elizabeth Rose Ball (born October 20, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for Penn State and has previously played for the Portland Thorns and Utah Royals.

Early life

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Ball played on the Richmond Strikers ECNL (Elite Club National League) team.[2] She was selected to attend the ECNL id2/The Chance National Training Camp in 2013.[3] On her ECNL team from 2011 – 2014, Ball scored 57 goals.[1]

Ball played as a forward at Deep Run High School (2010–2014) in Richmond, Virginia.[4] During her high school career, the Wildcats soccer team appeared in the state quarterfinals (2011), semi-finals (2012, 2014)[5][6] and the finals (2013),[7][8] winning the title in a 2–1 match against Battlefield High School. As a freshman, Ball was named The Times-Dispatch's 2011 girls soccer Player of the Year,[9] as well as Colonial District and Central Region Player of the Year and team MVP, having scored 20 goals and 9 assists in a 20–1 season.[5] As a sophomore, Ball scored 21 goals and 7 assists, with the team ending the 2012 season as the state semi-finalist.[10][5] She received The Times-Dispatch's All-Metro Player of the Year honor a second time in 2013 to cap off winning the state championship, having scored both goals in the title match for a total of 34 goals and 7 assists in the season.[11] [12][13] As a senior, Ball was named 2014 High School State Player of the Year for Virginia by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.[14]

College career

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Ball attended Penn State University (2014–2017), majoring in Biobehavioral Health.[15] She started every game (24) her freshman year as a centerback, scoring one goal and helping to secure 9 shutouts.[16][1] The 20–4–0 season ended in the NCAA Elite Eight in a 2–1 loss to Texas A&M.[17] As a sophomore (2015), Ball won numerous accolades for her defense including BIG Ten Defensive Player of the Week (twice), TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week and, as a team, winning the Big Ten Tournament.[18] The biggest prize, however, came when Penn State Women's Soccer won the NCAA College Cup Championship, without allowing a single goal in the entire tournament.[19][20] Ball started all 27 games on a backline that secured 15 shutouts.[21] In addition, she scored 3 goals.[1] The season ended 22–3–2 with the 1–0 win over Duke in the 2015 College Cup final.[22]

In 2016, Ball started all 21 games, helped to secure 9 shutouts, and scored 2 goals and 1 assist.[1] She was named to the BIG Ten First Team and the NSCAA All Great Lakes Region Second Team. The team lost to Virginia in the NCAA tournament to end the season 12–5–4.[23] In her senior season, Ball was co-captain and started 21 of 23 games, scored 3 goals and helped to secure 12 shutouts.[1] The team lost to Stanford, the 2017 College Cup winner, in the Elite Eight on a 15–5–4 record. She ended her Penn State career as the 4th all-time leader in minutes played with a total of 7,881 minutes over 95 games.[24]

Club career

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Portland Thorns, 2018–2019

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Ball signed her first professional contract with the Portland Thorns in 2018. She made her first start against the North Carolina Courage in Cary on March 24, 2018. She appeared in 7 games in the 2018 season.[25] In the 2019 season, Ball played in 16 matches, 14 of which were starts.[25] She made her first career playoff start (and played 45 minutes) in the NWSL semi-finals against the Chicago Red Stars on Oct. 20.[26]

Utah Royals, 2020

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As the 2020 season began, Ball was traded to Utah Royals.[27] She appeared in five matches of the NWSL Challenge Cup, starting in four.

Kansas City Current, 2021–

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Ball joined the Kansas City Current before its inaugural 2021 season.[28] She scored her first NWSL goal against the Houston Dash on October 13, 2021.[29] Following that season, she signed a three-year contract through 2024.[29]

Honors

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Penn State Nittany Lions

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Elizabeth Ball – Women's Soccer". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "Strikers Q&A with Elizabeth Ball". Richmond Strikers. September 19, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  3. ^ "ECNL/id2 invitees". www.socceramerica.com. August 8, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "Deep Run High School – Henrico County Public Schools". deeprun.henricoschools.us. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Fellin, Billy (July 2011). "Deep Run freshman named player of year". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Times-Dispatch, MIKE BARBER Richmond (June 15, 2014). "Maggie Walker, Deep Run, Cosby girls soccer fall". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  7. ^ correspondent, ARTHUR UTLEY Special (June 12, 2013). "Bird football, Deep Run girls soccer teams honored". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 16, 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ Times-Dispatch, BILLY FELLIN Richmond (June 9, 2013). "Deep Run captures girls state soccer title". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  9. ^ Staff, Times-Dispatch (June 16, 2011). "Baseball and girls soccer all-region teams". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  10. ^ Fellin, Billy (June 9, 2012). "Girls soccer: Deep Run falls to Broad Run". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Times-Dispatch, BILLY FELLIN Richmond (June 10, 2013). "Ball scores twice as Deep Run realizes title dream". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  12. ^ Times-Dispatch, BILLY FELLIN Richmond (July 4, 2013). "All-Metro: Deep Run's Ball finds state title worth waiting for". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  13. ^ "Girls soccer: Group AAA state tournament preview". Richmond Times-Dispatch. June 4, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  14. ^ "United Soccer Coaches | Uniting Coaches Around the Love of the Game". Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "2017 Women's Soccer Roster". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  16. ^ "2014 Women's Soccer Schedule". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  17. ^ "NCAA Tournament Central". Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  18. ^ "Nittany Lions, Scarlet Knights Battle in College Cup Semi-finals". Penn State University Athletics. December 2, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  19. ^ "Penn State Women's Soccer Wins NCAA Tournament Title". Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  20. ^ "DI Women's Soccer Championship History | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  21. ^ "BLOG: Elizabeth Ball's Steady Presence Fueling Lions' Defensive Prowess". Penn State University Athletics. October 8, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  22. ^ "Penn State captures first women's national title". www.socceramerica.com. December 6, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "Women's Soccer Concludes 2016 Season". Penn State University Athletics. November 18, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  24. ^ "No. 10 WSOC Concludes 2017 Campaign". Penn State University Athletics. November 24, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  25. ^ a b "Elizabeth Ball #7 Stats, Video, News & More". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  26. ^ "NWSL SEMI-fINAL RECAP | Chicago Red Stars 1, Portland Thorns FC 0". October 20, 2019.
  27. ^ Kennedy, Paul (March 4, 2020). "NWSL great Becky Sauerbrunn headed home after trade to Portland Thorns". www.socceramerica.com. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  28. ^ "Reborn Kansas City pro soccer team unveils roster for 2021 season. It includes 'A-Rod'". The Kansas City Star. December 18, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Kansas City Current Defender Elizabeth Ball Extends Contract Through 2024 Season". Kansas City Current. December 6, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
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