Alexandra Lowe Riley (born 30 October 1987) is an American-born New Zealand professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a defender for Angel City of the American

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

(NWSL), as well as the

New Zealand women's national football team The New Zealand women's national football team, nicknamed the Football Ferns, is governed by New Zealand Football (NZF). The New Zealand national team qualified for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, held in China in September 2007, sending the te ...

. She captains both her club and national teams. As a collegiate athlete, she captained the

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

soccer team to two NCAA semi-finals and one final.

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, California to parents John Graham Riley and Beverly Fong Lowe, Ali attended St. Matthew's Parish School in Pacific Palisades and Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood, California. She was named captain of the soccer team during her senior season and was a two-time Mission League Offensive MVP as well as a two-time first-team San Fernando Valley selection. As a senior, she helped lead the Wolverines to the 2006 Southern Section Division I final and was named to the All-CIF Southern Section Division I first team. Riley also competed for local soccer clubs, LA Breakers FC (formerly Westside Breakers) and Real SoCal (formerly SoCal United).

Stanford University

Riley attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

and played for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

from 2006 to 2009. During her freshman year, she started in fifteen of the eighteen matches she played. She played forward and scored four goals with two assists. As a sophomore, she played sixteen games and started in fourteen of them. She scored two goals and had two assists. During her junior year, Riley converted from her position at forward to an outside back and she has played almost exclusively at left or right full-back ever since, As a senior, Riley started in each of the twenty-four games and scored one goal with one assist.

Club career

FC Gold Pride

In January 2010, Riley was selected as the tenth pick in the first round of the

2010 WPS Draft The 2010 WPS College Draft took place on January 15, 2010. It was the second college draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of college players to the American-based teams. FormatFC Gold Pride. While she played on her natural right wing-back position for the NZ Women's National Team, she played professionally as a left wing-back and had three assists in the 2010 run to the WPS championship by FC Gold Pride. Riley won the WPS Rookie of the Year award.

Western New York Flash

Riley signed for Western New York Flash for the 2011 season becoming a free agent after FC Gold Pride failed to find financial backers. In the 2011 season Riley was a finalist for Defender of the year as the Flash swept both the league season title and then won the 2011 WPS Championship. In 2012, Riley re-signed with Western New York Flash for the 2012 season, however, the league folded before play began.

LdB FC Malmö/FC Rosengård

With the suspension of the WPS, she signed in 2012 with LdB FC Malmö, 2011 Swedish League Champions. In her first game, (the Super Cupen) she assisted on the winning goal. She played her first full season in the

Damallsvenskan The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ''ladies all-Swedish'' and also known as OBOS Damallsvenskan for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred to as the women's Allsvenskan. The term Allsvenskan ...

in 2013. With LdB FC Malmö she finished top of the table. In September 2013 Riley re-signed with LdB FC Malmö (since December 2013 renamed FC Rosengård) for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. FC Rosengård again won gold in the

. In March 2015 she played both at full-back and forward in her second Super Cupen victory with Rosengård. In September 2015 she re-signed with Rosengård. The team went on to win the Damallsvenskan for the third straight year earning Riley earned her fifth league championship in her eight-year career.

Chelsea

On 26 June 2018, it was announced that Riley would be leaving Rosengård in July to join Chelsea in the English FA Women's Super League.

Bayern Munich

On 18 July 2019, Riley moved to

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

of the

Frauen-Bundesliga The Frauen-Bundesliga (German for ''Women's Federal League''), currently known as the FLYERALARM Frauen-Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of league competition for women's association football in Germany. In 1990 the German Foo ...

Orlando Pride

On 10 February 2020, Ali Riley returned to the US and signed a one-year contract with an option for an additional year for the Orlando Pride. The season was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic with the NWSL eventually scheduling a smaller schedule

2020 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was a tournament during the 2020 National Women's Soccer League season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first professional team sports event to return to play in United States. ...

tournament. However, on 22 June 2020, the team withdrew from the tournament following positive COVID-19 tests among both players and staff.

Loan to FC Rosengård

On 13 July 2020, having been unable to feature for the Pride, Riley returned to Sweden to be with her partner during the pandemic and rejoined Rosengård on loan.

Angel City FC

On 27 January 2022, Riley was traded to Angel City FC in exchange for $15,000 in allocation money and a third-round pick in the

2023 NWSL Draft The 2023 NWSL Draft presented by Ally was the eleventh annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select amateur players above the age of 18 playing in the United States who exhausted, lost, or renounced any remaining ...

. As a result of the trade, she was able to play in her hometown for the first time in her career.

International career

Riley represented New Zealand at the 2006 Women's U-20 World Cup finals. She made her

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

debut in a 0–5 loss to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 6 February 2007, and represented New Zealand at the

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but th ...

finals in China, where they lost to Brazil 0–5, Denmark (0–2) and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(0–2). Riley also played every minute for the New Zealand squad in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

where they drew with

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(2–2) before losing to Norway (0–1) and the United States (0–4). Riley's first international goal was scored in the final of the OFC Women's Nations Cup as New Zealand qualified for the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the even ...

with an 11–0 win over Papua New Guinea. On 27 June 2011, Riley earned her 50th A-international cap in a 2–1 loss to

in New Zealand's opening group stage match at the

. In the final seconds of extra time in the match v. Mexico she assisted on the tying goal that gave the Football Ferns their first point in a World Cup final. In the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Riley played every minute of the Football Ferns' four games. In the preliminary round games the Ferns lost 0–1 to Great Britain and Brazil and beat Cameroon 3–1. This was the first victory by a NZ football team in the Olympics. With the victory the Ferns advanced to the second round based on goal differential. In the quarter-final the Ferns played the USA losing 0–2. In 2013 Riley started for New Zealand in a series of games establishing the Football Ferns as a growing force in international competition. The Ferns won the Vallais Cup beating #4 Brazil 1–0 and #16 China 4–0 and also had ties playing #10 Australia, #3 Japan and #1 USA. She featured in all New Zealand's three matches at the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

in Canada. In the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Riley played every minute of the Football Ferns' three games. The Ferns lost 0–2 to

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, 0–3 to France and beat

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

1–0. Riley has been the captain of the Football Ferns since the

2017 Cyprus Cup The 2017 Cyprus Women's Cup was the tenth edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. Format The tournament consisted of a group stage, held over three match days followed by a single d ...

. In April 2019, Riley was named to the final 23-player squad for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It ...

Media

2022 NWSL Championship 90 - Kelley O'Hara and Ali Riley

Riley hosts a Off the Ball show for sports website

Just Women's Sports ''Just Women's Sports'' (''JWS'') is an American news website and media company focused on women's sports. It was founded in 2020 by former soccer player Haley Rosen. The company has produced podcasts hosted by athletes such as Kelley O'Hara, Sa ...

since 2021.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

: ''New Zealand score listed first, score column indicates score after each Riley goal.''

Honours

Club

FC Gold Pride * Women's Professional Soccer (1):

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Western New York Flash * Women's Professional Soccer (1):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

FC Rosengård (formerly LdB FC Malmö) *

(3):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

* Svenska Supercupen (3):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

* Svenska Cupen (3):

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

International

New Zealand *

OFC Women's Nations Cup The OFC Women's Nations Cup (previously known as the OFC Women's Championship) is a women's association football tournament for national teams who belong to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). It was held every three years from 1983 to 1989. ...

Individual

International *Nike Junior Women's Player of the Year 2006 *Nike National Women's Player of the Year 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 *Oceania Football Confederation Women's Player of the Year 2009, 2010 * FIFPRO World XI short-list (55 players): 2016, 2017 * IFFHS OFC Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020 Club *WPS Rookie of the Year: 2010 *WPS All Pro selection (First XI): 2010, 2011 *Damallsvenskan All Star Selection (First XI): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 College *All-Pac-10 freshman first team: 2006 *

TopDrawerSoccer.com TopDrawerSoccer.com (TDS) is an American soccer website that is dedicated to youth soccer in the United States. Specifically, the website focuses on Academy soccer, high school soccer, and college soccer in the United States. The website was laun ...

Team of the Season: 2009 *All-Pacific Region first team: 2009 *All-Pac-10 first team: 2009 *Pac-10 women's soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year: 2009 *Stanford University, Pat Strathairn Best Competitive Athlete Award: 2010

References

External links

* * * *
archive
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Ali 1987 births Living people New Zealand women's association footballers Olympic association footballers of New Zealand Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Stanford Cardinal women's soccer players FC Gold Pride players Pali Blues players Western New York Flash players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players USL W-League (1995–2015) players FC Rosengård players Damallsvenskan players Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Sweden New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Chelsea F.C. Women players Women's Super League players Expatriate women's footballers in England Soccer players from Los Angeles Women's association football midfielders Women's association football defenders New Zealand women's international footballers FIFA Century Club Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics American people of New Zealand descent New Zealand people of American descent New Zealand people of Chinese descent American women's soccer players Harvard-Westlake School alumni 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players FC Bayern Munich (women) players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Germany Frauen-Bundesliga players Orlando Pride players Angel City FC players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics National Women's Soccer League players Women's Professional Soccer players New Zealand expatriate women's association footballers New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Expatriate women's footballers in Germany