Amy Rodriguez

Amy Joy Rodriguez Shilling (; born February 17, 1987) is an American retired professional soccer player who last played as a forward for North Carolina Courage in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for NWSL teams Utah Royals FC, FC Kansas City, and Boston Breakers, as well as Philadelphia Independence of the WPS. A former member of the United States women's national soccer team, Rodriguez was a world champion in 2015. Currently, Rodriguez is an assistant coach at the University of Southern California’s women’s soccer team.

Early life

Born in Lake Forest, California, to parents John and Lori, She grew up in Lake Forest, California and attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, where she was a ''Parade'' All-American in 2003 and 2004 and the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2005. Her paternal grandparents were from Cuba and immigrated to the United States in the 1950s. She has a sister named Lauren and brother named Adam. Her paternal uncle is Francis Rodriguez and former wide receiver for the USC Trojans 1982-83.

In 2005, Rodriguez was considered the nation's top recruit and was named National Player of the Year by Parade Magazine, EA Sports and NSCAA after scoring 17 goals in 15 games for Santa Margarita Catholic during her senior year. She earned local honors as the '' Orange County Register'' Player of the Year and Girls Soccer Player of the Year, as well as the ''Los Angeles Times'' Girls' Soccer Player of the Year. She was a four-time all-league selection and All-CIF honoree.

University of Southern California

Rodriguez was recruited by and eventually attended the University of Southern California. She played for the Trojans women's soccer team from 2005 through 2008. She finished her career at USC as the number four all-time scorer and was considered a cornerstone in the team's first-ever NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. Rodriguez holds the school's second career game-winning goal record with 12, is number four all-time in career points with 79, and is ranked sixth in career assists with 17.

During her freshman year, Rodriguez led the team with nine goals, 25 points and four game-winners. She was named Pac-10 Player of the Week and to the Soccer America National Team of the Week after scoring back-to-back game-winning goals in 1–0 wins over Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. She was named the 2005 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, a member of the Soccer Times All-America Third Team, and was selected to the All-Pac-10 First Team and Pac-10 All-Freshman Team. She was also named a SoccerBuzz Freshman All-American first-teamer and SoccerBuzz All-West Region first-teamer the same year.

In 2006, Rodriguez missed USC's first four games while competing with the United States under-20 national team at the U-20 World Championships. After returning, she started 14 of 16 games and scored the game-winning goal in USC's NCAA first-round upset of Santa Clara. She finished the season with four goals and three assists.

Rodriguez appeared in all 25 games as a junior in 2007, starting in 21 matches on her way to leading the Trojans in scoring and to the national championship. She finished with a team-high of 10 goals along with three assists for 23 points on the year and had three game-winning goals. Her first career two-goal game occurred in the NCAA Semifinals, where she scored twice in the second half to help USC to a 2–1 win and help earn herself honors as the NCAA College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player. The same year, she was named Umbro/Soccer News Net Player of the Year and was named to the All-Pac-10 Second Team. She also earned SoccerBuzz Second Team All-West Region and NSCAA/adidas Second Team All-West Region honors. Rodriguez was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week on October 2 after notching the game-winner against then number two Portland. She finished the season ranked sixth in all-time in career points (59), seventh in goals (23), sixth in assists (13) and fourth in game-winning goals (9).

During her senior year in 2008, Rodriguez missed the first three games of the season due to competing with the United States women's national soccer team at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she won a gold medal. She was USC's top scorer with eight goals (including three game-winning goals) during the season, provided four assists finishing with 20 points. Rodriguez was named a Preseason All-American and was on the watch list for the Hermann Trophy. She was selected to the All-Pac-10 First Team and was an NSCAA All-American Third Team pick.

Club career

Amy Rodriguez played for the Los Angeles Strikers as her club team.

West Coast FC, 2008

Rodriguez signed to play with West Coast FC of Women's Premier Soccer League in 2008. However, an injury to Abby Wambach propelled Rodriguez to the United States women's national team to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She never appeared for West Coast FC.

Boston Breakers, 2009

Upon her return from the 2008 Summer Olympics, the new top-tier women's soccer league in the United States, Women's Professional Soccer, made Rodriguez the first overall pick in the 2009 WPS Draft. Her playing rights were assigned to the Boston Breakers. During the inaugural season, Rodriguez appeared in 17 matches (11 starts, 982 minutes) and scored one goal. The Breakers finished the season in fifth place with a 7–9–4 record.

Philadelphia Independence, 2009–2011

On September 29, 2009, Rodriguez was traded with Boston's first round selection in the 2010 WPS Draft, in exchange for Philadelphia's first two selections in the 2010 WPS Draft

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