Several female members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who play at the highest levels of women’s soccer made headlines thie past few days.
On Thursday, Jan. 11, Latter-day Saint Olivia Moultrie, a midfielder for the Portland Thorns FC was named the 2023 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year.
The next day, on Jan. 12, five BYU women’s soccer players were selected in the National Women’s Soccer League draft following a memorable season for the Cougars.
Olivia Moultrie
Moultrie, who signed an endorsement deal with Nike at age 13 and became the youngest player in NWSL history at age 15, was thrilled to receive the U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year honor, awarded to the top player within the United States’s Youth National Team system.
“I’m just superexcited and thankful to everyone who voted for me for this award, it’s really special,” the 18-year-old said in a news release. “To see the list of those players who have won it before, and what they’ve gone on to accomplish in their careers, is inspiring and motivating for me. It was a hard year but a fun year, and I’m so appreciative of all the older players on the Thorns and the National Team who embraced me and helped me along the way. To grow as a person and a player, you really need your teammates, your coaches and your family, so thanks to all of them. It was a big year of growth for me, and I just hope it’s a step in the right direction. I promise I’m going to work even harder in the coming years.”
This is the second consecutive year Moultrie was nominated for the award.
In 2023, Moultrie helped lead the United States at the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup and was called up to the Senior National Team in October.
This past year with Portland, Moultrie played a career-high 1,205 minutes in 22 matches, including 12 starts. Offensively, Moultrie contributed two goals and three assists for the Thorns, helping the team earn a second-place finish in the NWSL regular season and a semifinal berth in the postseason.
Which 5 BYU players were drafted?
More than 200 players registered for the 2024 NWSL draft, and only 56 were selected.
The BYU women’s soccer team, which featured 10 returned missionaries during the 2023 season, had five players selected:
- Round 1 — Brecken Mozingo, pick No. 4 overall, Utah Royals.
- Round 2 — Olivia Smith-Griffitts, pick No. 20, Utah Royals.
- Round 2 — Olivia Wade-Katoa, pick No. 23, Portland Thorns FC.
- Round 3 — Jamie Shepherd, pick No. 30, Bay FC.
- Round 4 — Laveni Vaka, pick No. 55, Bay FC.
This is the most BYU soccer players to be drafted in a single season. Only the University of North Carolina had more players selected in the 2024 draft, with six.
“It means the absolute world to me,” Mozingo, the MAC Herman Trophy finalist, for top collegiate soccer player in the country, and two-time All-American, told KSL.com: “There’s no feeling to describe it. My parents the whole time were literally praying that I would be staying here in Utah.”
The most-recent Cougar drafted by the NWSL was Mikayla Colohan following the 2021 College Cup runner-up season. BYU had seven soccer players drafted from 2013 to 2021. Four BYU alumnae are playing in the league.
