Abby Dahlkemper


Abigail Lynn Dahlkemper is an American soccer player for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League, the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the United States women's national soccer team.

Early life

Dahlkemper was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and raised in Menlo Park, California. She has two brothers, Andrew and Joseph and is the daughter of Andrew and Susan Dahlkemper. She attended Sacred Heart Preparatory and played on the soccer team. In 2010, she was named Gatorade California Girls Soccer Player of the Year and a Parade All-American.

UCLA Bruins, 2011–2014

In 2013 she helped the Bruins win their first ever NCAA National Championship. In 2014, Dahlkemper was awarded the Honda Sports Award.

Club career

In 2013, Dahlkemper signed with the Pali Blues in the W-League. The team won the western conference title as well as the national championship in July 2013.

Western New York Flash, 2015–2016

In January 2015, Dahlkemper was selected by the Western New York Flash in the 2015 NWSL College Draft as the third overall pick. She was signed to the team in March and made her debut in April. Dahlkemper won the NWSL Championship with the Flash in 2016.

Adelaide United FC, 2015–2016 (loan)

In October 2015, Dahlkemper joined Adelaide United in the Australian W-League on loan for the 2015–16 season.

North Carolina Courage, 2017–present

Dahlkemper became part of the North Carolina Courage in 2017 after the Western New York Flash were sold to the owners of North Carolina FC. She played every minute for the Courage in 2017 helping them win the NWSL Shield. Dahlkemper was named to the 2017 NWSL Best XI. Dahlkemper was voted NWSL Defender of the Year for the 2017 Season.
In 2018 Dahlkemper played 19 regular season games for North Carolina. She was an important part of North Carolina's defence which broke the record for fewest goals conceded and repeated as NWSL Shield winners. She was named to the 2018 NWSL Best XI and was a finalist for Defender of the year. North Carolina won the 2018 NWSL Championship with a 3–0 win over Portland, and didn't concede any goals in the playoffs.

Club summary

International career

In 2013, Dahlkemper represented the United States under-23 women's national soccer team at the 2013 Four Nations Tournament helping the under-23 team win the championship. She played in the 2014 Six Nations Tournament as a member of the under-23 team and helped lead the team to win the championship for a second time.
Dahlkemper received her first call-up to the U.S. Women's National Team in October 2016 for a set of friendlies against Switzerland. On October 19 she earned her first cap, as she came in as a second-half substitute. Due to a sepsis infection contracted at the end of 2016, Dahlkemper was unable to appear for the U.S. WNT until June 2017.
Following her recovery from sepsis, Dahlkemper quickly became a mainstay for the United States in central defense. She played her first 90 for the U.S. WNT against Norway on June 11, 2017. Dahlkemper would start 10 of the final 11 games of the year, accumulating 945 minutes in 2017, which was fifth highest on the team.
In 2018 Dahlkemper won the SheBelieves Cup and the Tournament of Nations with the U.S. WNT. On September 19, she was named to the final 20 player roster for the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship.
In 2019, Dahlkemper was the starting central defender for the national team beside Becky Sauerbrunn at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, marking her first World Cup appearance. Dahlkemper and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher were the only players to start every match of the tournament for the United States, with Dahlkemper playing every minute of the team's seven games aside from coming off in the 82nd minute against Chile in the group stage. Dahlkemper and the United States defeated the Netherlands 2–0 in the final to win the United States' fourth Women's World Cup title.

Personal life

In 2019, along with USWNT teammates Crystal Dunn, Megan Rapinoe, and Alex Morgan, Dahlkemper posed for the 2019 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in Saint Lucia.
She was previously in a relationship with Max Kepler.
She is in a relationship with Aaron Schoenfeld.

Player statistics

World Cup appearances

Honors

College

UCLA
USWNT
Western New York Flash
North Carolina Courage
Personal