Jenna Gray Nighswonger (born November 28, 2000) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a midfielder/ defender for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the

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) and the United States women's national team. She lifted the 2023 NWSL Championship trophy with Gotham FC and was named the 2023

NWSL Rookie of the Year The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) presents six annual awards to individual players. The Golden Boot award is presented to the top scorer at the end of the regular season, while the Most Valuable Player, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of ...

Early life

Nighswonger played youth soccer for Slammers FC, winning a U14 ECNL National Championship. She also participated in the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program. Nighswonger graduated from Huntington Beach High School in December 2018. She played soccer for the school until her junior year, when she instead opted to play for a United States Soccer Development Academy club.

College career

In May 2017, Nighswonger committed to play college soccer at Florida State. In 2019, she played for United Women's Soccer club

LA Galaxy OC LA Galaxy OC was an American soccer club based in Irvine, California that played in United Women's Soccer. The team played its home games at the Championship Soccer Stadium in the Orange County Great Park The Great Park is a public park locat ...

and played in the league's national championship, which LA Galaxy OC won in a 1–0 victory over

Calgary Foothills WFC Calgary Foothills WFC is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta that currently plays in United Women's Soccer. The club was founded as a youth club in 1972 and in 2017 as a UWS franchise. The team is the women's team of Calgary Foothi ...

. She played at Florida State from 2019 to 2022. Nighswonger made her Florida State debut on August 22, 2019 against

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

. She scored her first collegiate goal on September 1, 2019 against

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. She recorded her first

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on September 12, 2019 against Colorado. The Seminoles reached the finals of the 2020 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament, drawing in regulation against

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

1–1 on Nighswonger's 63rd-minute goal before losing in a penalty shoot-out, and won the 2021 tournament. Nighswonger was especially noted for scoring Olympico goals directly from her left-footed corner kicks, including an equalizing Olympico goal in the 2022 ACC championship match, a Michigan own goal forced by an Olympico goal attempt in the 2021 NCAA Division I tournament quarterfinals, and two Olympico goals scored in separate September 2022 matches against Louisville and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, the latter of which was featured on ''

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''. The

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

named Nighswonger the most valuable player of the 2022 ACC women's soccer tournament. Nighswonger was also voted as one of three finalists for the 2022

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

recognizing the nation's best collegiate players.

Club career

In November 2022, Nighswonger said she was eschewing the fifth year of NCAA eligibility granted by the association due to the COVID-19 pandemic and considering playing for a European club after finishing her career at Florida State. Nighswonger was among the final registrants for the 2023 NWSL Draft and was considered by draft analysts as a top prospect as a midfielder. On January 13, 2023, NWSL club NJ/NY Gotham FC selected Nighswonger with the 4th overall pick in the draft.

NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2023–present

Nighswonger signed a three-year contract with Gotham FC on March 17, 2023. She made her NWSL regular-season debut with Gotham FC, substituting for an injured

Ali Krieger Alexandra Blaire Krieger (born July 28, 1984) is an American soccer player for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the United States women's ...

during the club's

2023 NWSL season The 2023 National Women's Soccer League season will be the eleventh season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional S ...

opener at Angel City. Though she primarily played as an attacker during her college career, head coach Juan Carlos Amoros played her at outside-back during her first professional season. She played in 20 league games, starting in 17. She scored three goals and played over 1,500 minutes during the regular season. The NWSL named Nighswonger its Rookie of the Month in May and July, making her the only player to earn the award twice. She was named Rookie of the Year on November 8, 2023. Nighswonger played in every game of the NWSL postseason, helping Gotham FC lift the NWSL Championship trophy on November 11, 2023.

International career

Nighswonger represented the United States under-20 team at the

2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organized by CONCACAF for the women's under-20 national teams of the North, Centra ...

. She also appeared for the under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-23 teams. She was called into her first full women's national team camp November 20, 2023 and made her first appearance on December 2, 2023 in a 3-0 win against China PR. Though she was called up as a midfielder, Nighswonger played in her first national team games as an outside-back. Nighswonger earned her first start on December 5, 2023 against China PR. She scored her first goal on February 20, 2024, when she converted a penalty against the Dominican Republic during the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

Personal life

Nighswonger has an older sister with whom she played recreational soccer as a child, and is a fan of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. In 2022, Nighswonger donated $1,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, using money from her

name, image, and likeness In college athletics in the United States, the National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA") has historically resisted efforts to compensate college athletes. However, after years of effort by those in favor of student athlete compensation, ...

deal with Garnet & Gold.

Career statistics

International

International goals

Honors

United States * CONCACAF W Gold Cup:

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

NJ/NY Gotham FC * NWSL Championship:

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Florida State Seminoles *

NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's nation ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

United States U20 * CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Individual * ACC women's soccer tournament MVP:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

finalist: 2022 * NWSL Rookie of the Month: May 2023, July 2023 *

References

Match reports

External links

*
Jenna Nighswonger #32
at NJ/NY Gotham FC
Jenna Nighswonger
at

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

(archived) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nighswonger, Jenna 2000 births Living people Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California Soccer players from Orange County, California American women's soccer players United States women's international soccer players United States women's under-20 international soccer players Florida State Seminoles women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players NJ/NY Gotham FC draft picks NJ/NY Gotham FC players Women's association football midfielders United Women's Soccer players Huntington Beach High School alumni Florida State University alumni United States women's youth international soccer players Women's association football defenders