Julia Ashley (born November 11, 1996) is an American
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
defender for
Houston Dash
The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC.
History Establishment
On November ...
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). She previously played for
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...
and
Linköpings FC
Linköpings Fotboll Club is an association football club from Linköping, Sweden. The club was established in 2003 when Kenty DFF women's football club decided to merge with the premier division ice hockey club Linköpings HC under the new name L ...
, as well as
collegiately for the
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...
.
Early life
University of North Carolina
In Ashley's freshman season she started all 21 games at right back and was named to the 2015 Freshman All-ACC Team. In her sophomore year, she played in 24 games and ranked second on the team in minutes played. In her junior year, Ashley was one of the nation's most consistent defensive performers, she started all 22 games at right back and was second-team All-ACC and was named to the 2017 All-ACC Academic Women's Soccer Team. In her senior season, Ashley started all 25 games for the Tar Heels as they advanced all the way to the
College Cup Final, where they were defeated 1–0 by
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
.
Club career
Linköpings
On January 20, 2019, Ashley signed a five-month contract with
Linköpings FC
Linköpings Fotboll Club is an association football club from Linköping, Sweden. The club was established in 2003 when Kenty DFF women's football club decided to merge with the premier division ice hockey club Linköpings HC under the new name L ...
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 Sweden.
She made her professional debut on February 16, starting in a
Svenska Cupen
Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...
game against
Växjö
Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...
. She made her league debut against the same opposition on April 17. On May 22, 2019, she was released by the team having struggled for playing time with injury and competition within the squad.
Adelaide United
In November 2019, Ashley signed a deal with Australian club
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...
. She made her debut for the team on November 14, starting in the
2019–20 season opener against
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
.
OL Reign
Ashley was originally selected by
Sky Blue FC
NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...
with the 6th overall pick in the
2019 NWSL College Draft, but she never signed for the club.
She expressed a hope that Sky Blue would either trade her
NWSL
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 ...
rights to another team or release her. On January 17, 2020, Sky Blue traded her NWSL rights to
Reign FC
OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...
. Ashley subsequently signed a three-year contract with
Reign FC
OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...
on March 4, 2020.
Racing Louisville
On November 12, 2020, Ashley was chosen by
Racing Louisville FC
Racing Louisville Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League team based in Louisville, Kentucky. It began playing in 2021 at Lynn Family Stadium. The team is owned by Soccer Holdings LLC, which also owns Louisville City FC of the USL Cham ...
in the
2020 NWSL Expansion Draft
The 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft was a special draft held on November 12, 2020, by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) for Racing Louisville FC, an expansion team, to select players from existing teams in the league. Louisville would be able to ...
.
Houston Dash
She was traded to Houston Dash in December 2021.
International career
Ashley was part of the
United States U–20 player pool and was called up to a U–20 camp in January 2016. In 2018 she was named to the
United States U–23 roster for the
2018 Thorns Spring Invitational. She received another U–23 call-up in March 2019 for the La Manga Tournament in Spain.
Career statistics
Club
.
References
External links
UNC biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Julia
1996 births
Living people
American women's soccer players
North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer players
United States women's under-20 international soccer players
People from Verona, New Jersey
Soccer players from New Jersey
Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey
Women's association football defenders
NJ/NY Gotham FC draft picks
Linköpings FC players
Adelaide United FC (A-League Women) players
American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
Damallsvenskan players
American expatriate women's soccer players
Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden
Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia
American expatriate sportspeople in Australia
Racing Louisville FC players
National Women's Soccer League players
Houston Dash players