Sarah Gorden

For people with similar names, see Sarah Gordon.

Sarah Gorden
Gorden with Angel City in 2024
Personal information
Full name Sarah L. Gorden[1]
Date of birth (1992-09-13) September 13, 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Elk Grove Village, Illinois
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s) Center back
Team information
Current team
 Angel City
Number 11
Youth career
Eclipse Select SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2015 DePaul Blue Demons 77 (1)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2021 Chicago Red Stars 76 (0)
2022– Angel City 46 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 1, 2024

Sarah L. Gorden (born September 13, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for the Chicago Red Stars. She has been named to the NWSL Best XI two times.

Early life

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The adopted daughter of Jeff and Sue Gorden, Sarah Gorden began playing soccer at age four. When she began playing competitively, her speed on the pitch inspired her to join her high school track team.[2] While attending James B. Conant High School she played as a defender for the Eclipse Select Soccer Club.

DePaul Blue Demons

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Gorden attended DePaul university from 2011 to 2015, following in the footsteps of her parents who were both student athletes at DePaul. Gorden majored in journalism and competed as a hurdler on the track team for her first two years of university in addition to playing soccer.[3]

She scored her first collegiate goal on September 11, 2011, against Minnesota.[4]

Gorden did not compete in the 2013 season due to pregnancy.[5] She returned to the Blue Demons in 2014 to lead the team's defense to a conference title and consecutive NCAA tournament appearances while allowing the fewest goals in the Big East Conference.[6] In 2014, Gorden was named to the All-Big East second team.[7] In 2014, Gorden also help set a school record with a 20-game undefeated streak that was tied with No. 1-ranked UCLA for longest in the nation. In 2015, Gorden was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week four times,[8] and was named to the All-Big East first team.[9]

Club career

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Chicago Red Stars, 2016–2021

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Gorden was drafted by Chicago Red Stars in the 3rd round, as the 22nd pick overall, during the 2016 NWSL College Draft.[10] She became the first DePaul Women's Soccer player to be selected in the NWSL draft.[11] She made her professional debut in the season opener against the Houston Dash, subbing in for Alyssa Mautz in the 83rd minute of play.[12]

In January 2021, Gorden was signed to a two-year contract renewal with Chicago Red Stars.[13]

On October 29, 2021, Gorden became Chicago's first Iron Woman by playing every minute of the 2021 NWSL season.[14] She came second in voting for NWSL Defender of the Year behind Caprice Dydasco.[15]

Angel City FC, 2022–

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Gorden (top) with Angel City FC in 2023

On December 3, 2021, Gorden's rights were traded to Angel City FC ahead of the upcoming expansion draft.[16] After missing the entire 2022 season due to an ACL injury, Gorden went on to return and play every minute of the 2023 regular season, becoming an iron woman for the second time in her career in the team's run to their first playoff appearance. She also named in the NWSL Best XI and nominated for Defender of the Year at the conclusion of the season.[17][18] On December 19, 2023, it was announced that Gorden has signed a new contract with Angel City which would keep her at the club until 2026 with a mutual option for 2027.[19]

Ahead of the 2024 season, Gorden was named as Vice Captain of the team, and would end up regularly captaining Angel City matches after captain Ali Riley suffered a season-ending injury during the season. On April 21, 2024, Gorden made her 100th NWSL regular-season appearance as captain in Angel City's home match against North Carolina Courage which finished as a 2–1 victory.[20] On August 9, 2024, Gorden was named to the July 2024 NWSL Team of the Month after recording four tackles won throughout the month and registering a passing accuracy of 79.34% in 360 minutes played. Gorden captained Angel City to the top of Group D and a spot in the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri.[21] Gorden was named to the NWSL's Team of the Month for a second consecutive month for August 2024, after helping her club record one clean sheet in August while registering a passing accuracy of 83.2% in 270 minutes played.[22]

International career

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Gorden received her first call-up to the United States women's national soccer team in December 2019.[23] In October 2020, Gorden was again called up to the United States national team.[24]

Personal life

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She gave birth to a son, Caiden, in 2014.[5]

In September 2020, Gorden launched a nonprofit organization, HoodSpace.[25]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of November 1, 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Playoffs[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chicago Red Stars 2016 NWSL 4 0 – – – 4 0
2017 5 0 – – – 5 0
2018 17 0 – – – 17 0
2019 23 0 – 2 0 – 26 0
2020 0 0 9 0 – – 9 0
2021 24 0 4 0 3 0 – 31 0
Total 74 0 13 0 5 0 – 92 0
Angel City FC 2022 NWSL 0 0 0 0 – – 0 0
2023 22 0 5 0 1 0 1 0 29 0
2024 24 0 4 0 – 1 0 29 0
Total 46 0 9 0 1 0 2 0 58 0
Career total 120 0 22 0 6 0 2 0 150 0
  1. ^ Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup & NWSL Fall Series.
  2. ^ Includes NWSL Playoffs.

Honors

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Class Notes" (PDF). DePaul Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 412018. DePaul University. December 28, 2016. p. 39 (10 of PDF). Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "Sarah Gorden: A Tale of Two Sports". The DePaulia. May 5, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  3. ^ "DePaul University Official Athletic SiteSarah Gorden Bio – Depaul University Official Athletic Site". www.depaulbluedemons.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  4. ^ "Gorden Simply Golden in Win Over Minnesota". DePaul University Athletics.
  5. ^ a b Costabile, Annie (May 11, 2019). "Mother's Day special: Parenting while playing, Red Stars moms doing both". Chicago Sun-Times.
  6. ^ "Sarah Gorden's journey to being drafted by the National Women's Soccer League's Chicago Red Stars". The DePaulia. January 24, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  7. ^ "Seven Blue Demons Earn All-BIG EAST Postseason Honors". DePaul University Athletics.
  8. ^ "Sarah Gorden – Women's Soccer". DePaul University Athletics.
  9. ^ "Cerny Honored as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year". DePaul University Athletics.
  10. ^ "Red Stars Select Seven Players in 2016 Draft". Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  11. ^ "Sarah Gorden Named to U.S. Women's National Team Training Camp Roster". DePaul University Athletics. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  12. ^ "Chicago Falls 3–1 to Hosts Houston in NWSL Opener – Chicago Red Stars". chicagoredstars.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  13. ^ Goldner, Lindsay (January 13, 2021). "Chicago Announces Contract Renewals Ahead of 2021 NWSL Season". Chicago Red Stars. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  14. ^ Watkins, Claire (November 4, 2021). "Red Stars Iron Woman Sarah Gorden embodies the spirit of Chicago". Just Women's Sports.
  15. ^ Hruby, Emma (November 16, 2021). "Gotham FC's Caprice Dydasco Named NWSL Defender of the Year". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  16. ^ "Angel City FC signs USWNT star Julie Ertz, Sarah Gorden from Chicago Red Stars". ESPN. December 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Gorden, McCaskill, and Vignola Earn Best XI Honors". Angel City. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  18. ^ Hruby, Emma (November 8, 2023). "Naomi Girma Wins NWSL Defender of the Year in Back-to-Back Seasons". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  19. ^ "Defender Sarah Gorden Re-signs with Angel City". Angel City. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  20. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  21. ^ a b NWSL (August 9, 2024). "NWSL Announces July Best XI of the Month, Presented by Amazon Prime | NWSL Announces July Best XI of the Month, Presented by Amazon Prime | National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  22. ^ a b NWSL (September 6, 2024). "NWSL Announces August Best XI of the Month, Presented by Amazon Prime | National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  23. ^ "ANDONOVSKI NAMES 24-PLAYER ROSTER FOR U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM DECEMBER IDENTIFICATION TRAINING CAMP IN FLORIDA". US Soccer. November 27, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  24. ^ Goldner, Lindsay (October 8, 2020). "Six Chicago Red Stars Called Up to U.S. WNT Camp". Chicago Red Stars.
  25. ^ Costabile, Annie (September 3, 2020). "Sarah Gorden's nonprofit HoodSpace is focused on creating space for girls of color to prioritize mental health". Chicago Sun-Times.
  26. ^ "NWSL Announces the Winners of Mastercard Inaugural 2021 Best XI Awards". October 17, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  27. ^ "NWSL Announces Winners of 2023 Mastercard Best XI Awards". November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  28. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  29. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  30. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  31. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
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