Michelle Olivia Cruz (born May 14, 1992) is a Puerto Rican-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 ...

defender who most recently played for

Seattle 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, ...

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 ...

. She previously played for

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC ( el, Απόλλων Λεμεσού, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Divisi ...

in Cyprus.

Early life

Born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, Cruz attended

Thousand Oaks High School Thousand Oaks High School (TOHS) is a high school in Thousand Oaks, California, United States. Established in 1962, it is part of the Conejo Valley Unified School District. It has a suburban campus with one story buildings primarily accessed by co ...

where she was a four-year varsity player. Cruz helped lead the team to three consecutive league titles from 2007 to 2009. During her senior year in 2010, she was named Parade Magazine High School All-American, ESPN Rise Winter All-American and was ranked by TopDrawer Soccer as one of the top 100 high school players in the nation. In 2004, she was on the Jetix Kids Cup championship team in Paris that was televised on ABC Family. Cruz was a member of the Cal South Olympic Development Pool from 2006 to 2007 and won the Region IV Championship. In 2008, she was named to the NSCAA/Adidas Youth Girls All-Region IV team and was an Adidas Elite Soccer Program national selection.

Playing career

Club

Played for Real So Cal (2004–07, 2009), winning multiple championships in 2006: Gothia Cup Youth World Cup, Surf Cup, and Manchester United Premier Cup ... also led Real So Cal to titles at the San Diego Surf Girls Cup (2007), San Diego Surf Cup XXIX (2009), and Fall Far West Regional League Championships (2009) ... played one year for Slammer FC (2008), winning the U17 Premier Championships.

Collegiate

University of Portland Pilots, 2010–2013

Cruz attended the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

from 2010 to 2013 where she was a four-year starting defender for the

Portland Pilots The Portland Pilots is the nickname for athletics at the University of Portland. The Pilots compete in the West Coast Conference (WCC) at the NCAA Division I level. History The Pilots started to gain attention when Clive Charles began coach ...

. Following her freshman season in 2010, Cruz earned an All-West Coast Conference (WCC) Honorable Mention. Her performance during the 2011 season earned her Academic All-Region Second Team and WCC All Academic Honorable mention honors. In 2012, she ranked second on the team in assists (6) and points (16). Her five goals ranked third.

Apollon Limassol, 2014

Cruz signed with Apollon Limossol in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

for the 2014 season. She made five appearances for the club during the

2014–15 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2014–15 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 14th edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA. The final was played on 14 May 2015 at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, Berlin, Germany. Unlike recent year ...

before the team was eliminated in the Round of 32.

Seattle Reign FC, 2015–16

In November 2014, it was announced that Cruz had signed with

for the 2015 season of the

. Of her 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, "Michelle was someone we looked at towards the end of last season and felt could benefit our group. Having gained experience playing overseas, we are pleased she has decided to come to the NWSL." Cruz was waived by the team after the 2016 season.

International

Cruz has represented the United States on the under-15 and under-18 national teams. She played for the Puerto Rico under-17 national football team at the

2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2008 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the 4th edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by CONCACAF for the women's under-20 national teams of the North, Central A ...

in Trinidad.

References

External links

*
Portland Pilots player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Michelle 1992 births Living people American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent American women's soccer players Puerto Rican women's footballers OL Reign players Apollon Ladies F.C. players Expatriate women's footballers in Cyprus National Women's Soccer League players Soccer players from California Portland Pilots women's soccer players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' soccer) Women's association football defenders