Kennya Kinda Esther Cordner (born 11 November 1988) is a Tobagonian 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Turkey Kadinlar Super Lig club Fenerbahce and the Trinidad and Tobago women's national team. Previously Seattle Sounders Women in the W-League, the

Brisbane Roar FC Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record ...

of Australia's W-League as well as the Northampton Laurels FC and Seattle Reign FC in 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).

Early life

Cordner grew up in

Speyside, Tobago Speyside is a village in northern Tobago within Saint John Parish. It lies on the leeward coast, across from the island of Little Tobago (for which it is a departure point), 26 km northeast of Scarborough, overlooking Tyrrel's Bay. At t ...

where she attended Signal Hill Secondary Comprehensive. It was at Signal Hill where she was introduced to football.

Young Harris College

Cordner attended Young Harris College, a private university located in the state of Georgia in the United States. In 2006, she scored 18 goals and provided nine assists in the 13 games that she played for the

Mountain Lions The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

. In 2007, she played in 17 matches, scoring 37 goals, serving 13 assists for a total of 87 points for the season – the highest in the program.

Playing career

Club

Northampton Laurels FC

In 2006, Cordner signed with the Northampton Laurels FC in the WPSL, the highest division of women's professional soccer available in the United States at the time. At the time of her signing, the team was ranked third in the WPSL Eastern Conference – South Division. With Cordner's game-winning goal over top-seeded side

Adirondack Lynx Adirondack Lynx is an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2005. The team is a member of the Women's Premier Soccer League, the third tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the North Division of the E ...

, she helped secure Northampton's place in the playoffs.

Kvarnsvedens IK

Cordner signed with Swedish side, Kvarnsvedens IK, for part of the 2009 season. She scored five goals for the squad.

Brisbane Roar

Cordner signed with the

in late 2010 for the remaining two months of the 2010–2011 season. Of her signing she stated, "The quality of football here (in Australia) is much higher than that of my previous encounters, apart from national duty, and I am sure it will improve my game. This means a whole lot for my career because not only do I have the opportunity to become a better player, but set a standard be a role model for the younger players coming up." She made four appearances playing a total of 99 minutes and scored one goal helping the Roar ultimately win the 2010–2011 W-League Championship.

San Juan Jabloteh FC

Cordner played for San Juan Jabloteh FC of the Lucky Bakery Women's Super League in the summer of 2011. During a match against the Arima Giants, she scored seven goals launching the team to the top of the league standings. During another match against the Tunapuna Titans, she scored nine goals.

Seattle Reign FC Reserves

Cordner signed with Issaquah SC, the reserve team for the NWSL's Seattle Reign FC for the 2013 season. During her debut with the team, she scored two goals against Emerald City FC.

Seattle Reign FC

On 19 June 2013, it was announced that Cordner had signed with the Seattle Reign FC part way through the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League. Of the signing, Reign FC head coach

Laura Harvey Laura Harvey (born 15 May 1980) is an English football manager and former player who currently manages OL Reign of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She holds USSF "A" and UEFA "A" coaching licenses. Harvey previously managed ...

said, "At every level she has played Kennya has shown she knows how to find the net. We are clearly a club that is in need of a player who can consistently deliver goals, so we are excited to see the impact Kennya can have in the NWSL." Cordner made two appearances for the club and was waived in mid-July to make way another international player on the squad. NWSL rules allow only two international players on a team.

Sportivo Limpeño

In 2016, Cordner joined Paraguayan team Sportivo Limpeño, integrating into the squad with her compatriot with

Kimika Forbes Kimika Sanell Forbes (born 26 August 1990) is a Tobagonian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Colombian club Millonarios FC and the Trinidad and Tobago women's national team, which she represents since 2006. Forbes played for Paraguaya ...

International career

Cordner made her first appearance for the Trinidad and Tobago women's national football team at age 15. She is a leading scorer for the team. In July 2011, she scored nine goals during the Women's Olympic Football Qualifying match against Dominica leading the Trinidad and Tobagonian squad to a 15–1 win.

International goals

''Scores and results list Trinidad and Tobago' goal tally first.''

Honors and awards

*2005 Trinidad and Tobago Female Footballer of the Year *2010 Trinidad and Tobago Female Footballer of the Year

References

External links