Alexandra Lowe Riley (born 30 October 1987) is an American-born New Zealand 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 ...

who plays as a defender for Angel City of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the New Zealand women's national football team. She captains both her club and national teams. As a collegiate athlete, she captained the Stanford soccer team to two NCAA semi-finals and one final.

Early life

Born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to parents John Graham Riley and Beverly Fong Lowe, Ali attended St. Matthew's Parish School in Pacific Palisades and

Harvard-Westlake School Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California, with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades seven through twelve. Its two predec ...

North Hollywood, California North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

. She was named captain of the soccer team during her senior season and was a two-time Mission League Offensive MVP as well as a two-time first-team San Fernando Valley selection. As a senior, she helped lead the Wolverines to the 2006 Southern Section Division I final and was named to the All-CIF Southern Section Division I first team. Riley also competed for local soccer clubs, LA Breakers FC (formerly Westside Breakers) and Real SoCal (formerly SoCal United).

Stanford University

Riley attended Stanford University and played for the Stanford Cardinal from 2006 to 2009. During her freshman year, she started in fifteen of the eighteen matches she played. She played forward and scored four goals with two assists. As a sophomore, she played sixteen games and started in fourteen of them. She scored two goals and had two assists. During her junior year, Riley converted from her position at forward to an outside back and she has played almost exclusively at left or right full-back ever since, As a senior, Riley started in each of the twenty-four games and scored one goal with one assist.

Club career

FC Gold Pride

In January 2010, Riley was selected as the tenth pick in the first round of the

2010 WPS Draft The 2010 WPS College Draft took place on January 15, 2010. It was the second college draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of college players to the American-based teams. Format FC Gold Pride FC Gold Pride was an American professional soccer club based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association as the top-le ...

. While she played on her natural right wing-back position for the NZ Women's National Team, she played professionally as a left wing-back and had three assists in the 2010 run to the WPS championship by

FC Gold Pride FC Gold Pride was an American professional soccer club based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association as the top-le ...

. Riley won the WPS Rookie of the Year award.

Western New York Flash

Riley signed for

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American soccer club based in Elma, New York that competed in the United Women's Soccer league. They have won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-League in 2010, Women's Pro ...

for the 2011 season becoming a free agent after FC Gold Pride failed to find financial backers. In the 2011 season Riley was a finalist for Defender of the year as the Flash swept both the league season title and then won the 2011 WPS Championship. In 2012, Riley re-signed with

for the 2012 season, however, the league folded before play began.

LdB FC Malmö/FC Rosengård

With the suspension of the WPS, she signed in 2012 with LdB FC Malmö, 2011 Swedish League Champions. In her first game, (the Super Cupen) she assisted on the winning goal. She played her first full season in the

Damallsvenskan The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ''ladies all-Swedish'' and also known as OBOS Damallsvenskan for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred to as the women's Allsvenskan. The term Allsvenskan ...

in 2013. With LdB FC Malmö she finished top of the table. In September 2013 Riley re-signed with LdB FC Malmö (since December 2013 renamed FC Rosengård) for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

FC Rosengård FC Rosengård, formerly Malmö FF Dam (1970–2007) and LdB FC Malmö (2007–2013), is a professional football club based in Malmö, Scania, Sweden. The team was established as Malmö FF Dam in 1970. It started out with playing 7 seasons in th ...

again won gold in the

. In March 2015 she played both at full-back and forward in her second Super Cupen victory with Rosengård. In September 2015 she re-signed with Rosengård. The team went on to win the Damallsvenskan for the third straight year earning Riley earned her fifth league championship in her eight-year career.

Chelsea

On 26 June 2018, it was announced that Riley would be leaving Rosengård in July to join

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the English

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...

Bayern Munich

On 18 July 2019, Riley moved to Bayern Munich of the Frauen-Bundesliga.

Orlando Pride

On 10 February 2020, Ali Riley returned to the US and signed a one-year contract with an option for an additional year for the

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the US, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to th ...

. The season was postponed due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

with the NWSL eventually scheduling a smaller schedule 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup tournament. However, on 22 June 2020, the team withdrew from the tournament following positive COVID-19 tests among both players and staff.

Loan to FC Rosengård

On 13 July 2020, having been unable to feature for the Pride, Riley returned to Sweden to be with her partner during the pandemic and rejoined

Rosengård Rosengård (literally "Rose Manor") was a city district ( sv, stadsdel) in the center of Malmö Municipality, Sweden. On 1 July 2013, it was merged with Husie, forming Öster. In 2012, Rosengård had a population of 23,563 of the municipality' ...

on loan.

Angel City FC

On 27 January 2022, Riley was traded to

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in Los Angeles, California, and was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Becky G, Natal ...

in exchange for $15,000 in allocation money and a third-round pick in the

2023 NWSL Draft The 2023 NWSL Draft presented by Ally was the eleventh annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select amateur players above the age of 18 playing in the United States who exhausted, lost, or renounced any remaining ...

. As a result of the trade, she was able to play in her hometown for the first time in her career.

International career

Riley represented New Zealand at the 2006 Women's U-20 World Cup finals. She made her senior debut in a 0–5 loss to Australia on 6 February 2007, and represented New Zealand at the

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but th ...

finals in China, where they lost to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

0–5,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(0–2) and China (0–2). Riley also played every minute for the New Zealand squad in the 2008 Summer Olympics where they drew with Japan (2–2) before losing to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

(0–1) and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(0–4). Riley's first international goal was scored in the final of the OFC Women's Nations Cup as New Zealand qualified for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup with an 11–0 win over

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. On 27 June 2011, Riley earned her 50th A-international cap in a 2–1 loss to Japan in New Zealand's opening group stage match at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. In the final seconds of extra time in the match v. Mexico she assisted on the tying goal that gave the Football Ferns their first point in a World Cup final. In the 2012 Olympics Riley played every minute of the Football Ferns' four games. In the preliminary round games the Ferns lost 0–1 to Great Britain and Brazil and beat Cameroon 3–1. This was the first victory by a NZ football team in the Olympics. With the victory the Ferns advanced to the second round based on goal differential. In the quarter-final the Ferns played the USA losing 0–2. In 2013 Riley started for New Zealand in a series of games establishing the Football Ferns as a growing force in international competition. The Ferns won the Vallais Cup beating #4 Brazil 1–0 and #16 China 4–0 and also had ties playing #10 Australia, #3 Japan and #1 USA. She featured in all New Zealand's three matches 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 ...

in Canada. In the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Riley played every minute of the Football Ferns' three games. The Ferns lost 0–2 to

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, 0–3 to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and beat Colombia 1–0. Riley has been the captain of the Football Ferns since the 2017 Cyprus Cup. In April 2019, Riley was named to the final 23-player squad for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. I ...

Media

2022 NWSL Championship 90 - Kelley O'Hara and Ali Riley

Riley hosts a Off the Ball show for sports website Just Women's Sports since 2021.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

: ''New Zealand score listed first, score column indicates score after each Riley goal.''

Honours

Club

FC Gold Pride *

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

(1): 2010 Western New York Flash *

(1): 2011 FC Rosengård (formerly LdB FC Malmö) *

(3):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, 2015 *

Svenska Supercupen Svenska Supercupen, ''Swedish Super Cup'', was a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture was played in November, after the Allsvenskan season. In the event of a ...

(3):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, 2015,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Svenska Cupen Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...

(3):

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 s ...

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 Unit ...

International

New Zealand *

OFC Women's Nations Cup The OFC Women's Nations Cup (previously known as the OFC Women's Championship) is a women's association football tournament for national teams who belong to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). It was held every three years from 1983 to 1989. ...

: 2010,

Individual

International *Nike Junior Women's Player of the Year 2006 *Nike National Women's Player of the Year 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 *Oceania Football Confederation Women's Player of the Year 2009, 2010 * FIFPRO World XI short-list (55 players): 2016, 2017 * IFFHS OFC Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020 Club *WPS Rookie of the Year: 2010 *WPS All Pro selection (First XI): 2010, 2011 *Damallsvenskan All Star Selection (First XI): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 College *All-Pac-10 freshman first team: 2006 * TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Season: 2009 *All-Pacific Region first team: 2009 *All-Pac-10 first team: 2009 *Pac-10 women's soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year: 2009 *Stanford University, Pat Strathairn Best Competitive Athlete Award: 2010

References

External links

* * * *
archive
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Ali 1987 births Living people New Zealand women's association footballers Olympic association footballers of New Zealand Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Stanford Cardinal women's soccer players FC Gold Pride players Pali Blues players Western New York Flash players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players USL W-League (1995–2015) players FC Rosengård players Damallsvenskan players Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Sweden New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England Chelsea F.C. Women players Women's Super League players Expatriate women's footballers in England Soccer players from Los Angeles Women's association football midfielders Women's association football defenders New Zealand women's international footballers FIFA Century Club Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics American people of New Zealand descent New Zealand people of American descent New Zealand people of Chinese descent American women's soccer players Harvard-Westlake School alumni 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players FC Bayern Munich (women) players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Germany Frauen-Bundesliga players Orlando Pride players Angel City FC players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics National Women's Soccer League players Women's Professional Soccer players New Zealand expatriate women's association footballers New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Expatriate women's footballers in Germany