Angela Khalia Hucles Mangano (; born July 5, 1978) is an American sports executive and former 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. Hucles Mangano is currently the vice president of player development and operations at

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 ...

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 Federati ...

(NWSL), of which she is also a minority owner. As a player, Hucles Mangano played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and was a member of 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 soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles ( 1991, 1999, 2015, an ...

Early life

Hucles attended Norfolk Academy where she was a ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

'' and

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 3 ...

All-American selection in 1995. She was twice named an All-State and All-Region selection in 1994 and 1995. She graduated in 1996 as Norfolk Academy's all-time leading scorer with 204 goals and 106 assists.

University of Virginia

Hucles played college soccer at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, where she was a four-year all- ACC player and tallied 59 goals, including a record 19 game-winners. She is still Virginia's career women's leader in goals, game-winning goals, and total points.

Playing career

Club

After graduating from Virginia in 2000, Hucles played for

Hampton Roads Piranhas Hampton Roads Piranhas was an American women's soccer team, founded in 1995. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Atlantic Division ...

of the W-League. She led the league in assists with seven, playing in 14 games and scoring six goals. Hucles was then drafted in the 2001 WUSA Inaugural Draft in the 12th round (93rd overall) by the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

of the newly formed

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...

. She went on to make 57 total appearances for the club, scoring six goals. She scored the first goal in the history of the organization on March 6, 2001, in a preseason exhibition against the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

. In her first season, Hucles appeared in 21 games, starting 19 of them, and finished with two goals and no assists. In 2002, Hucles appeared in 19 games, starting 17, and finished with three goals and four assists. In 2003, Hucles appeared in 17 games, all starts, and scored one goal and assisted on four more. After the 2003 season, the WUSA ceased operations. Hucles returned to a club in 2005 when she turned out for the

Boston Renegades Boston Renegades was an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2003. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the Northeast Divisio ...

. She only appeared in five games in 2005 but notched three goals and an assist. In 2006, Hucles had a much more productive season, appearing in 11 games and tallying 10 goals and two assists. In 2008,

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 ...

was established. Hucles, along with US National Team players

Kristine Lilly Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey (; born July 22, 1971) is an American retired soccer player. She was a member of the United States women's national team for 23 years and is the most-capped football player in the history of the sport (men's or wome ...

and

Heather Mitts Heather Mitts Feeley (born Heather Blaine Mitts; June 9, 1978) is an American former professional soccer defender. Mitts played college soccer for the University of Florida, and thereafter, she played professionally in the Women's Profession ...

, were allocated to the new

on September 16, 2006. The league kicked off in 2009, which saw Hucles appear in 19 games, all starts, and score two goals and an assist. Following the conclusion of the season, on October 16, 2009, Hucles abruptly announced her retirement from both club and international soccer.

International

With the United States Women's National Team, Hucles won two

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medals and finished third in two World Cups. She made her first appearance for the United States on April 27, 2002, against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. She went on to appear in 109 total matches for the United States, with her last appearance on July 22, 2009, against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. Hucles was a member of the U.S. squad at the

2003 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September 20 to October 12, 2003, at ...

but did not play in the tournament due to a shin injury. She was a member of the gold medal-winning United States team for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, appearing in two games in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. 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 ...

, she was a member of the USA squad but did not get any playing time. However, her biggest role with the United States came in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. Hucles was expected to play a backup role with the squad, but an injury to

Abby Wambach Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American retired soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on the U.S. women's nati ...

forced Hucles into a starting position. She responded by scoring four goals, including two against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

in the semi-finals. Her efforts helped the United States to the gold medal, and she finished second only to Cristiane in goals scored. On October 16, 2009, Hucles announced her retirement from both club and international soccer.

Sports and diplomacy

In April 2014, Hucles traveled to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

as a SportsUnited Sports Envoy for the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

. In this function, she worked with

Lesle Gallimore Lesle D. Gallimore (born October 17, 1963) is an American soccer coach and sports administrator who is currently the commissioner of the Girls Academy League. She most recently coached the women's soccer program at the University of Washington ...

and

Marian Dalmy Marian Antal Dougherty (; born November 25, 1984) is an American retired professional soccer defender. She last played for Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League and had previously played for the United States women's natio ...

to conduct soccer clinics and events for 104 youth from under-served areas. In so doing, Hucles helped contribute to SportsUnited's mission to promote greater international understanding and inclusion through sport. Hucles served as the Women's Sports Foundation President, effective January 1, 2015 to January 2017. She has become a regular speaker on topics of sports leadership, equality, inclusion and safe spaces, anti-bullying, and the power of sport and its impact on personal growth and development. She is a member of the advisory board for

You Can Play You Can Play is a social activism campaign dedicated to the eradication of homophobia in sports, centered on the slogan, "If you can play, you can play." The campaign was launched on March 4, 2012, by its three co-founders: Patrick Burke (a scou ...

, a campaign dedicated to fighting homophobia in sports.

References

External links

* * * * * * * *
WUSA player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hucles, Angela 1978 births Living people American women's soccer players African-American women's soccer players Women's association football midfielders Boston Breakers (WUSA) players Boston Breakers (WPS) players Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer players Washington Freedom players USL W-League (1995–2015) players United States women's international soccer players Women's Olympic soccer players of the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in soccer Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players FIFA Century Club Women's Sports Foundation executives Sportspeople from Virginia Beach, Virginia Soccer players from Virginia Beach 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women Hampton Roads Piranhas players Women's Professional Soccer players