Olivia Lynn Moultrie (born September 17, 2005) is an American professional soccer player for

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2019, she became the youngest American women's soccer player to turn professional, at age 13, and in 2021, she became the youngest player to play an NWSL regular-season game, at age 15. She was also the youngest player to commit to a college team and accept a scholarship offer, which she ultimately gave up, at age 11. She became the youngest player in NWSL regular-season history to score a goal at age 16 against Houston Dash on June 12, 2022.

Early life

Moultrie was born in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

to K.C. and Jessica Moultrie, and was raised in the

Canyon Country Canyon Country is a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of Santa Clarita, California, Santa Clarita, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies along the Santa Clara River (California), Santa Clara River betwee ...

district of Santa Clarita, California. She started training in soccer when she was four years old. By fifth grade, she was homeschooled so that she could focus on soccer and became the first girl on a boys' club team to play in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy system. At 11, she accepted a full scholarship offer to play soccer for the University of North Carolina when she reached college age, becoming the youngest girls' soccer player to publicly accept a college offer at the time. She moved from California upon joining

in 2019, and now resides in

Wilsonville, Oregon Wilsonville is a city primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A portion of the northern section of the city is in Washington County. It was founded as Boones Landing because of the Boones Ferry which crossed the Willamette River at ...

Club career

Portland Thorns

In February 2019, Moultrie announced that she was turning professional, having signed a representation deal with the Wasserman Media Group. She signed with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

to a multi-year endorsement arrangement, giving up her college eligibility in the process, and joined the

academy. Although she trained with the Thorns' senior team and appeared in exhibition matches, she had been prevented from signing a professional contract with the club, as the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) prohibited players under age 18, while FIFA, soccer's international governing body, generally prohibits minors from playing overseas. She made her first appearance for the senior team in an exhibition match on March 27, 2019, against the United States under-23 team. On May 4, 2021, she filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWSL in the

United States District Court for the District of Oregon The United States District Court for the District of Oregon (in case citations, D. Ore. or D. Or.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Oregon. It was created in 1859 when the state was admitted to the Union ...

, alleging that the league, as the "only acquirer of talent in the market", violated the

Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. ...

with its age limit. The suit asked for immediate action from the court by granting a temporary restraining order against the age rule so that Moultrie can play in regular-season games during the 2021 season. On May 24, 2021, United States District Judge Karin Immergut granted a temporary restraining order, ordering the league to lift its age limit and allow Moultrie to compete for a roster spot on the Thorns, writing, the league had not "presented any compelling procompetitive reasons to justify this anticompetitive policy, nor have they shown that eliminating the Age Rule will cause any non-speculative injury to the NWSL." In June 2021, the league informed all member teams of a discovery process for Moultrie, ultimately awarding the rights to

OL Reign 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, ...

, who subsequently traded her to the Thorns for a third-round

draft pick A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selec ...

. On June 30, 2021, Moultrie signed a three-year contract with the Thorns, becoming the youngest player to sign a contract with an NWSL team. Moultrie made her professional debut on July 3, 2021, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute in a 2–0 win against Racing Louisville. She made her first start and recorded her first assist on August 7 against

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and cont ...

. On August 19, 2021, Moultrie scored her first professional goal, a 57th-minute direct free kick against

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 ...

, in the semifinal of the

International Champions Cup The International Champions Cup (ICC) was an annual club association football exhibition competition. In 2020, it was abolished due to COVID-19 pandemic. Format The format has changed in each competition. Subsequent tournaments have had diffe ...

. On June 12, 2022 Moultrie scored her first NWSL league goal becoming the youngest player to do so. On October 29, 2022 Moultrie came on as a substitute in the 2022 NWSL Championship game. The Thorns won the match earning Moultrie her first NWSL Championship.

International career

On February 15, 2022, Moultrie was included in the U.S. under-20 squad for the

2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the 11th 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 ...

In popular culture

In 2019, shortly after turning pro, Moultrie had a small role in Nike's all-women "Dream Crazier" commercial that debuted during the

92nd Academy Awards The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 p ...

broadcast and was narrated by

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

Honors and awards

Portland Thorns FC *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

NWSL Championship The National Women's Soccer League Playoffs (or NWSL Playoffs) are a single elimination tournament among six teams in the National Women's Soccer League of the United States, deciding the winner of the NWSL Championship. Since playoff games can ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

United States U20 *

CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship is an association football competition for women's national under-20 teams in the North America, Central America and Caribbean region. It serves as the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 Women's ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moultrie, Olivia 2005 births Living people Soccer players from Utah Soccer players from California People from Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California Sportspeople from Santa Clarita, California Soccer players from Oregon People from Wilsonville, Oregon American women's soccer players Women's association football midfielders Portland Thorns FC players National Women's Soccer League players 21st-century American women United States women's under-20 international soccer players