María Sánchez (footballer)
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María Guadalupe Sánchez Morales (born 20 February 1996) is a 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 the
San Diego Wave 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 ...
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). Born in the United States, she represents Mexico at international level. Sánchez played American collegiate soccer at Idaho State University before leaving in April 2016. She subsequently concluded her collegiate career at
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 ...
in 2018. Sánchez began her professional career with American club Chicago Red Stars, who selected Sánchez with the fifteenth overall pick in the
2019 NWSL College Draft The 2019 NWSL College Draft was the seventh annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select newly eligible college players for the 2019 NWSL season. It was held on January 10, 2019 in conjunction with the United Socc ...
. After the
2019 NWSL season The 2019 National Women's Soccer League season was the seventh 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 Soccer ...
, Sánchez signed with
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
of the Liga MX Femenil for 2020. In 2021, she moved to Tigres UANL and won the 2021 Clausura title. In the summer of 2021, Sánchez had a month-long loan to NWSL club Houston Dash, who later signed her permanently. In 2024, she signed with the San Diego Wave. A senior and former youth Mexican international, Sánchez played at the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
and the
2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 8th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tourname ...
.


Early life and high school

Sánchez is the daughter of Mexican-born Roberto Sánchez and Irene Morales, who as of 2015 were employed at a potato processing plant in American Falls, Idaho, United States. No club team was locally available, nor could her parents afford the costs of enrolling her on an elite club team, so Sánchez played only high school soccer. Sánchez was a four-year letter-winner at American Falls High School. She was the scoring leader in the state of Idaho in all four years, scoring 26, 34, 50, and 78 goals in her freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years, respectively. Her number was later retired by American Falls High School.


College career


Idaho State University

Despite her high school record, Idaho State Bengals was the only collegiate program that offered Sánchez a scholarship because she did not play elite club soccer. Sánchez played for Idaho State in 2014 and 2015. As a freshman in 2014, Sánchez scored seven goals and led the team and conference with 8 assists. She was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team. In her sophomore year, for a team that had a record of one win, one tie, and 15 losses, Sánchez scored 15 goals and had 4 assists in 17 games. She was named to the All-Conference team.


Controversy

In April 2016, Sánchez announced she was leaving Idaho State University to seek a more "competitive environment." Idaho State denied her permission to contact other universities and alleged that a third party was assisting her contrary to NCAA rules. About 50 university teams had expressed interest in her, but Idaho State denied her request to communicate with five universities, all major women's soccer powers. Idaho State further alleged that those five schools had communicated with Sánchez without permission. Sánchez denied the allegations and responded that Idaho State was blocking her soccer career. Idaho State subsequently granted her request to contact
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 ...
and University of South Florida.


Santa Clara University

Sánchez enrolled at Santa Clara in January 2017 and began playing for the
Santa Clara Broncos The Santa Clara Broncos are athletic teams that represent Santa Clara University. The school colors are red and white. The nicknames for teams is The Broncos and the student fans are referred to as the "Ruff Riders". The Broncos compete in the NC ...
. She appeared in all 23 games in 2017, scored five goals, and tied for the
West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...
lead with six assists. In 2018, Sánchez appeared in 19 games and scored eight goals. She had 16 assists, first among players in all NCAA Division I programs.


Club career


Chicago Red Stars

On January 11, 2019, Sánchez was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars 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 made seven appearances with the club in 2019.


Guadalajara

On 13 December 2019, Sánchez was announced by Liga MX Femenil club CD Guadalajara as their next signing on loan for the Clausura 2020. She wore number 7 for Chivas. At the end of the Apertura 2020, it was announced that Sánchez was one of several players who would leave the club.


Tigres UANL

Sánchez signed with Tigres UANL for 2021 and helped the team win the Clausura 2021. After a loan to the Houston Dash for June, Sánchez returned for the Apertura 2020 in which UANL reached the final and lost in a shootout. The club posted a farewell video on December 22, and Sánchez replied with gratitude for her to fulfill her "dreams."


Houston Dash


2021 (loan)

In March 2021, Houston Dash acquired Sánchez's NWSL rights from Chicago in exchange for Houston's second-round pick in the
2022 NWSL Draft The 2022 NWSL Draft was the 10th annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on December 18, 2021, and hosted remotely by CBS Sports. Format * All 12 teams of the National ...
. She signed for a month-long loan from Tigres in June 2021 and scored her first goal in the league in a 2–1 victory over the Orlando Pride. Although her loan ended, Houston retained her NWSL rights.


2022 season

Before 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 ...
, the Dash released a list of nine protected players that included "a contracted international player who has not yet been announced." The NWSL released the same list but named Sánchez as that player, although her contract signing would not be officially announced until 2022. On 6 January 2022, the Dash announced that Sánchez had been signed to a two-year contact. “Joining the Dash is such a privilege for me,” Sánchez said. “It’s getting another shot at my dream, and I couldn’t be more excited to do it with a team and coaching staff that I have tremendous respect for!”


2023 season

In December 2023, Sánchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash reportedly worth almost , the richest contract in NWSL history.


San Diego Wave

The Dash went 1–2–1 to start the 2024 season. ESPN reported on 14 April 2024 that Sánchez wanted to be immediately traded from the Dash, which she confirmed on social media on 18 April. The Dash traded Sánchez to
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, San Diego, California. The team is owned by Ron Burkle. The team is the San Diego area's first women's professional soc ...
on 20 April for $300,000 in intra-league transfer funds, $200,000 in allocation money, and an international slot for 2024 and 2025.


International career

Sánchez was eligible to represent Mexico and the United States at the international level. In 2015, Sánchez's coach at Idaho State told her about a tryout for the
Mexico women's national under-20 football team The Mexico U-20 women's national football team is the national women's under-20 football team of Mexico and is managed by the Mexican Football Federation. Maribel Dominguez, a former national senior team player, was named head coach on January 19 ...
. She made the team and, after good performances, was named to join the senior
Mexico women's national football team The Mexico women's national football team represents Mexico on the international stage. The squad is governed by the Mexican Football Federation and competes within CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Associatio ...
for the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
. She was the second youngest player on the World Cup team. Sánchez played as a midfielder in one match, a loss to England, in the World Cup. Sánchez was selected to represent Mexico at the
2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2023, links=no), officially the XIX Pan American Games and commonly known as Santiago 2023, is a forthcoming international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, s ...
held in Santiago, Chile, where the Mexican squad went undefeated to won the gold medal for the first time in their history at the Pan American Games, defeating Chile 1–0.


Career statistics


Club


International goals

:''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sánchez goal.''


References


External links

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Profile
at Mexican Football Federation * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Maria 1996 births Living people Mexican women's footballers Women's association football midfielders Tigres UANL (women) footballers Liga MX Femenil players Mexico women's international footballers 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Pan American Games competitors for Mexico Footballers at the 2015 Pan American Games Footballers at the 2019 Pan American Games Footballers at the 2023 Pan American Games People from Nampa, Idaho People from American Falls, Idaho Soccer players from Idaho American women's soccer players Idaho State Bengals women's soccer players Santa Clara Broncos women's soccer players Chicago Red Stars draft picks Chicago Red Stars players Houston Dash players National Women's Soccer League players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in football Mexico women's youth international footballers C.D. Guadalajara (women) footballers San Diego Wave FC players