Savannah Marie DeMelo (born March 26, 1998) is an American professional soccer midfielder who plays for

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

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 ...

and the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. She was the fourth 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 ...

College career

DeMelo played five years at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, making 75 appearances and tallying 17 goals and 28 assists for the Trojans. A regular starter over her college career, DeMelo was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection, including All-Freshman team honors in 2017. As a sophomore in 2018, DeMelo scored nine goals and assisted 10 others en route to United Soccer Coaches All-American honors. DeMelo missed her junior season because of a torn Achilles' tendon, but she successfully returned to action as a senior, starting all 14 games. USC reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the five years DeMelo played for the Trojans.

Club career

Racing Louisville selected DeMelo with the fourth pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, two spots after the club selected fellow midfielder

Jaelin Howell Jaelin Marie Howell (born November 21, 1999) is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Racing Louisville FC. She has represented the United States at under-17 and under-20 level. In March 2017, she was called up to the senior n ...

. DeMelo made her professional debut on March 25, playing 11 minutes off the bench against the

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 Racing's second game of the

2022 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup was a league cup competition that took place during the 2022 National Women's Soccer League season. It was the third iteration of the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament. Format The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup was a multi-sta ...

. She started for the first time on April 2 in a 3–0 win against the

Kansas City Current Kansas City Current is an American professional women's soccer team based in Kansas City, Kansas. It began play as an expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2021. History Establishment Kansas City last had an NWS ...

. DeMelo started every Racing match in the

2022 NWSL season The 2022 National Women's Soccer League season was the tenth 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 ( ...

, scoring four goals and assisting two while leading the league in scoring chances created and fouls won. DeMelo's first professional goal, a game-winning direct free kick against

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 May 18, 2022, was featured on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

Top 10. In 2023, DeMelo had 12 goal involvements across all competitions, scoring five and assisting two in league play. She was named to the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup All-Tournament Team and the NWSL Player of the Month for May. She twice made the league's Team of the Month.

International career

DeMelo delayed her start at USC to play for the United States in the 2016 U-20 Women's World Cup. She also played in the 2018 U-20 Women's World Cup, scoring four goals, and helped the U.S. win the

2015 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2015 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the 8th 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 Honduras. In September and October 2022, DeMelo received her first call-ups to the U.S. senior national team for friendlies against Nigeria, England, and Spain, but did not see any playing time. On June 21, 2023, DeMelo was named to the U.S. squad for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the women's national association football teams organised ...

in Australia and New Zealand, becoming the third player to ever make a U.S. World Cup roster without previously earning a cap. She received her first cap coming on as a second half sub during the team's send-off match against Wales. At the World Cup, DeMelo was in the starting lineup for the team's first two group stage matches, a 3–0 win against

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and a 1–1 tie to

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Career statistics

International

Honors

; Racing Louisville FC *

NWSL Best XI of the Month The National Women's Soccer League Team of the Month is a monthly soccer award given to individual players in the National Women's Soccer League. The NWSL Media Association, composed of journalists who regularly cover the league, select a Best XI ...

: May 2022 *

NWSL Rookie of the Month The National Women's Soccer League Rookie of the Month is a monthly soccer award given to individual players in the National Women's Soccer League who are participating in their first season as a professional. Players are voted by the NWSL Media As ...

: July 2022

References

External links

*
Savannah DeMelo
at

Savannah DeMelo
at

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeMelo, Savannah 1998 births Living people American women's soccer players United States women's under-20 international soccer players United States women's international soccer players National Women's Soccer League players Racing Louisville FC draft picks Racing Louisville FC players USC Trojans women's soccer players Women's association football midfielders 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players 21st-century American sportswomen Soccer players from California American people of Portuguese descent Sportspeople of Portuguese descent United States women's youth international soccer players