Sofia Christine Huerta (born December 14, 1992) is an American professional

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 ...

player who plays as a right back for OL Reign 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

U.S. women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, an ...

. Huerta played collegiately 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 ...

from 2011 to 2014, before beginning her professional career with the Chicago Red Stars. She was traded to Houston Dash in 2018 and to OL Reign in 2020. Having represented

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

internationally, Huerta filed a one-time switch and debuted with the

on September 15, 2017. After facing her former national team on April 8, 2018, she became the first female player to play both for and against the U.S. national team and the

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 ...

Early life

The daughter of

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

native Mauricio Huerta, an electrical engineer, and Jody Jensen Huerta, Huerta attended Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho. She played soccer, basketball, and ran track. She was named Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year twice in soccer, playing for FC NOVA, All-Idaho First Team Basketball selection (2011), and set high-school records for fastest time running the 100 and 300-meter hurdle races (2011). She was also named to several All-Academic teams (2007–2011).

Santa Clara Broncos, 2011–2014

Huerta was a four-year starter as a forward for Santa Clara University in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

. As a freshman, she was All-West Coast Conference, scoring eight goals and two assists. As a sophomore, she was again All-West Coast Conference and NCAA Division 1 Women All-West Region Second Team. She scored six goals and six assists. As a junior in 2013, she was again First Team All-WCC, scoring 16 goals and with 8 assists, leading her team in goals scored and tying for the lead in assists. She was a third-team All-American selection. In her senior year in 2014 she scored 17 goals with 3 assists and was again a third-team All-American selection and co-player of the year in the West Coast Conference.

Club career

Chicago Red Stars, 2015–2018

Huerta was drafted to play for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League in the college draft on January 16, 2015. She was the eleventh player selected overall. On May 9, 2015, with teammate and United States international forward Christen Press away at World Cup training camp, Huerta scored her first 2 professional goals in a 3–0 win against Boston Breakers to place the Red Stars at the top of the NWSL league. She was subsequently named NWSL Player of the Week for week five. In week six of NWSL season Huerta scored 2 goals against the Houston Dash to level the score and tie the match, and was named Player of the Week for week 6. On June 3, 2015, Huerta was voted NWSL Player of the Month for the month of May by the media. On September 9, 2015, the NWSL announced that Huerta was selected as a finalist for the NWSL Rookie of the Year Award for the 2015 season, along with

Sam Mewis Samantha June Mewis (born October 9, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States national team. She played college ...

and the eventual winner, fellow Red Star

Danielle Colaprico Danielle Jessica Colaprico (born May 6, 1993) is an American soccer player who currently plays for San Diego Wave FC of the NWSL. She previously played for NWSL rivals Chicago Red Stars as well as Adelaide United and Sydney FC in the Australia ...

. Huerta was on the Second XI of the NWSL in 2015 as a forward and in 2017 as a midfielder. On April 24, 2018, she was named player of the week by the NWSL. The NWSL Media Association named Huerta player of the month for April, On June 16, 2018, it was announced that Huerta would be unavailable for Chicago's match that night against the Portland Thorns due to a pending trade. On June 18, 2018, Huerta and Taylor Comeau were traded to the Houston Dash as part of a three team trade which also included the Utah Royals. Huerta had requested the trade in hopes of getting more playing time as an outside back, which is the position where USWNT coach Jill Ellis had Huerta playing for the United States.

Loan to Adelaide United

In October 2016, Huerta was loaned to Australian W-League club Adelaide United along with her Red Stars teammates Katie Naughton and

. Playing in the midfield, Huerta scored 8 goals and had 5 assists in a 12-match season. She was named Professional Footballers Australia Player of the Month for the W-League in January 2017. Huerta was awarded Adelaide United's W-League Player of the Year at the club's annual award ceremony. Huerta came in 3rd in the race for the Julie Dolan Medal receiving 17 votes.

Houston Dash, 2018–2019

After being acquired by the Dash on June 18, she starred in Houston's next game on June 22, where Huerta scored the Dash's only goal in a 3–1 loss to Portland. Huerta played primarily as a midfielder and forward for Houston, even though she wanted to play outside back. She appeared in 12 games and scored 5 goals. Huerta was named to the NWSL Second XI.

Loan to Sydney FC

It was announced on September 28, 2018, that Huerta would be joining

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

in the W-League for the

2018–19 W-League The 2018–19 W-League season was the eleventh season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. Clubs Stadia and locations Personnel and kits Managerial changes Transfers Foreign players Th ...

season. She was one of four American players joining the club, alongside former Red Stars teammate

, Aubrey Bledsoe of the Washington Spirit and

Savannah McCaskill Savannah Elizabeth McCaskill (born July 31, 1996) is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. Early life McCaskill was raised in Cha ...

of Sky Blue FC. When Huerta signed with Sydney they agreed to play her at outside back, as she hopes to get called back in to the USWNT. Huerta played in every minute of every game in the 2018–19 season for Sydney. She scored a goal in Sydney's semi–final match against

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, which Sydney won 2–1. Huerta scored again in the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

, helping Sydney to a 4–2 victory over

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, winning the

Championship.

OL Reign, 2020

On February 3, 2020, OL Reign acquired Huerta and

Amber Brooks Amber Jean Brooks (born January 23, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She has previously played for Adelaide United, Houston Dash, OL Re ...

from Houston in exchange for

Shea Groom Shea Ellese Groom (born March 4, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League. Groom played collegiate soccer for Texas A&M Aggies before starting her professional ...

Megan Oyster Megan Leigh Montefusco (; born September 3, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League. She has been capped internationally at senior level by the United States. Montefusco ...

, and a conditional draft pick.

International career

Huerta was not selected by the United States team for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan in August 2012; she was elected for the Mexico team, for which she qualified to play for though her father. Playing with a broken elbow, she scored three of Mexico's seven goals in its two win and two loss performance. In December 2012, Huerta played for the

at the City of São Paulo International Women's Football Tournament, scoring two goals. Huerta was a second-half substitute for Mexico in its September 4, 2013 match with the United States. In December 2014, Huerta announced that she was not going to continue to play with the Mexico national team, but would attempt to become a member of the U.S. national team. The

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

announced in July 2017 that they were submitting a request to FIFA to change Huerta's affiliation to the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

. The change was approved on September 14, 2017. Huerta earned her first cap for the United States versus

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

two days later (September 16, 2017), coming on as a substitute in the 51st minute. She also was credited with her first assist for the United States for her pass to Alex Morgan in the 79th minute of her debut game. Huerta thus became the first female player to play both for the United States national team and against the United States national team (as a member of the Mexico national team). Huerta was on the provisional roster for the

2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship The 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women's Championship (also known as the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup or the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament), the quadrennial international football champio ...

but was not named to the final 20 player roster. For several years, she did not receive a call-up to the USWNT after June 2018, after being called in to every camp in the past year; because of this Huerta has sought out club opportunities to play outside back in hopes of getting back on the roster. In 2022, Huerta was called back up by the USWNT to play in the

2022 CONCACAF Women's Championship The 2022 CONCACAF W Championship was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF W Championship, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the senior women's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF, the regional ...

qualifiers. Huerta along with Veronica Zepeda are to date the only two women who have represented both the United States and Mexico women's national teams.

Career statistics

College

Club

International

Honors

Sydney FC * W-League Championship: 2018–19 ; OL Reign *

NWSL Shield The NWSL Shield is an annual award given to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team with the best regular season record as determined by the NWSL points system. The NWSL Shield has been awarded annually since 2013 and is recognized as a ...

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

The Women's Cup The Women's Cup is an annual club women's soccer invitational tournament hosted by Racing Louisville FC in the United States. History Launched by OnSide Entertainment, FXE Futbol, and Agrinzonis Management Group in 2021, it currently features si ...

United States *

CONCACAF Women's Championship The CONCACAF W Championship (previously known as the CONCACAF Women's Championship, CONCACAF Women's Invitational Tournament, CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup and CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying) is a football competition organized by the Confede ...

* SheBelieves Cup:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

;

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Individual * NWSL Best XI:

* NWSL Second XI:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Notes

References

External links

* *
Chicago Red Stars player profile

Santa Clara player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huerta, Sofia 1992 births Living people Women's association football forwards Women's association football fullbacks American women's soccer players Soccer players from Idaho Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho American sportspeople of Mexican descent United States women's international soccer players Santa Clara Broncos women's soccer players Chicago Red Stars draft picks National Women's Soccer League players Chicago Red Stars players Houston Dash players A-League Women players Adelaide United FC (A-League Women) players Sydney FC (A-League Women) players OL Reign players American expatriate women's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia Dual internationalists (women's football) Mexican women's footballers Mexico women's international footballers Mexican people of American descent Mexican expatriate women's footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Australia Citizens of Mexico through descent