Kaleigh Ann Riehl (born October 21, 1996) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club

San Diego Wave FC San Diego Wave FC is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in San Diego, California. The team is owned by Ron Burkle. The team is the San Diego area's first women's professional soccer team s ...

. Riehl has represented the United States at the U-18, U-20 and U-23 levels. She was called up to the senior team training camp in January 2019. Riehl played for Penn State at the collegiate level and was the 11th pick in the

2020 NWSL College Draft The 2020 NWSL College Draft was the eighth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select newly eligible college players for the 2020 NWSL season. It was held on January 16, 2020 in conjunction with the United Socce ...

, going to

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 ...

Early life

Riehl was born on October 21, 1996 in

Fairfax Station Fairfax Station is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 12,030 at the 2010 census. Located in Northern Virginia, its center is located southwest of Washington, D.C. Geography Fairfax St ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. She played with Braddock Road Youth Club '95 Elite for 11 years, with whom she won several competitions.

College career

Riehl played with Penn State University for her entire college career. As a freshman, she started all 27 matches. She was named to the Big 10 all-freshman team and helped lead the team to winning the

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

. She was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

for the 2016 season, during which she started for the U.S. six times at the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

. As a sophomore, she started all 24 matches and recorded 13 clean sheets. As a junior, she started all 25 matches, recorded 13 clean sheets, and was named Big 10 defender of the year. As a senior, she started all 25 matches. Over all four years, she set the NCAA record for minutes played as an outfield player with 8,847 minutes played.

Club career

Sky Blue FC, 2020

On January 16, 2020, Riehl took part in the

NWSL College Draft The NWSL Draft is an annual event which takes place in January of each year where the teams of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) select players who are in their senior season in college or have exhausted their collegiate eligibility. Prior t ...

. She was the 11th pick, being chosen by

. Riehl made her professional debut in the

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. ...

on July 4, 2020 against the

Utah Royals FC Utah Royals FC was an American women's professional soccer club based in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah. Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion club, the Royals played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) from 2018 ...

Racing Louisville, 2021

On November 12, 2020, Riehl was selected 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 Champ ...

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 ...

San Diego Wave FC, 2022-

On December 16, 2022, Riehl was selected by

in the

2022 NWSL Expansion Draft The 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft (formerly named the 2021 NWSL Expansion Draft) was an expansion draft held by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) on December 16, 2021, for two expansion teams, Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC, to select pla ...

International career

Riehl has played for multiple youth national teams throughout her career. In January 2020, she was called up for the senior team training camp.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riehl, Kaleigh 1996 births Living people American women's soccer players Soccer players from Virginia People from Fairfax Station, Virginia Women's association football defenders Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer players NJ/NY Gotham FC draft picks NJ/NY Gotham FC players United States women's under-20 international soccer players National Women's Soccer League players Racing Louisville FC players San Diego Wave FC players