Ally Sentnor

Allyson Marie Sentnor (born February 18, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the Utah Royals of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels and has played for the United States national under-20 team. She was drafted first overall by the Royals in the 2024 NWSL Draft.

Early life

Sentnor grew up in Hanson, Massachusetts, in Boston's South Shore, the oldest of three children of Richard and Lee Sentnor. She began playing soccer at age four, and her father coached her first team. She later played club soccer alongside future UCLA player Lilly Reale for South Shore Select of Hingham, Massachusetts, and often trained with the Boston Bolts boys' team. She also played futsal, an indoor soccer variant, which helped develop her touch in limited space. She graduated a year early from Thayer Academy in 2021.

College career

Sentnor began attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall of 2021. Minutes into her first preseason game in August 2021, she suffered an ACL tear and took nine months to recover after surgery. She returned to the college field in August 2022, scoring in a 2–0 win against UNC Wilmington. She scored ten goals in her redshirt freshman season and was named to the All-ACC first team; five of her goals came in the 2022 NCAA tournament, where North Carolina reached the final. In her redshirt sophomore season, she led the team with 11 goals and 7 assists and was named the 2023 ACC Midfielder of the Year, first-team All-ACC, and third-team All-American. She finished her college career having contributed a goal or assist in each of her last seven games.

Professional career

The Utah Royals, returning to the NWSL after four years, selected Sentnor with the first overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft; she and North Carolina teammate Savy King were the top two picks. On February 19, 2024, Sentnor signed a three-year contract with the club.

International career

Sentnor began participating in youth national team training camps in seventh grade. She was the youngest player at the under-14 team camp in July 2016 at age 12 and at the under-15 team camp in June 2017 at 13. She traveled to Germany as the youngest member of the under-15 team in November 2017, scoring five goals in two games. She was named the most valuable player of the 2018 Weifang Cup, won by the under-15 team. She was the youngest player on the national under-18 team roster in February 2019 and scored twice in two friendlies against England.

Following her ACL recovery, Sentnor was called up to the national under-20 team and played her first matches outside of scrimmages at the 2022 Sud Ladies Cup in June 2022. In August 2022, she appeared in all three group stage matches at 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, scoring once against Ghana. The next year, she scored four goals at the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship to help the team qualify for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Awards and honors

Individual
* ''Sports Illustrated'' SportsKid of the Year: 2019

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sentnor, Ally
Living people
2004 births
People from Hanson, Massachusetts
Soccer players from Massachusetts
American women's soccer players
Women's association football forwards
Women's association football midfielders
United States women's youth international soccer players
United States women's under-20 international soccer players
North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer players
Utah Royals FC draft picks
Utah Royals FC players