Adriana Kristina Leon (born October 2, 1992) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

San Diego Wave FC San Diego Wave Fútbol Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team plays its home games at Snapdragon Stadium. Founded on June 8, 2021, the Wav ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL) and the Canada national team. She previously played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

programs

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

and

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

before playing professionally for the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's 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 defu ...

Chicago Red Stars Chicago Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Chicago metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league as the Chic ...

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American women's soccer club based in Elma, New York, that most recently competed in the United Women's Soccer league in 2018. They won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-Leag ...

Sky Blue FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 un ...

Seattle Reign Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

and

Portland Thorns Portland Thorns FC is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL, which received supp ...

in the NWSL, Swiss club

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

in the Nationalliga A, and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

of the English

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

. Leon made her senior international debut in 2012, and has represented Canada at two

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

tournaments and won Olympic gold at

Tokyo 2020 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Early life

Born in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

, Ontario, Leon was raised in

Maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

and moved with her family to King City in 2010 at the age of 16. Her extended family holds a controlling share of Canadian furniture store Leon's. Leon began

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

before taking up

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

at the age of 10, playing seven seasons of minor hockey up to Midget AA level. In her final season she won both the Provincial Women's Hockey League title and a gold medal at the Ontario Women's Hockey Association provincial championships with a Toronto Jr. Aeros team that also consisted of future Canada ice hockey internationals

Jill Saulnier Jillian Pauline Saulnier (born March 7, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey forward for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is a two-time Olympian for Canada, winning a gold medal in 2022 and a silver medal in 2018. ...

and

Erin Ambrose Erin Ambrose (born April 30, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Montreal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and member of the Canada women's national ice hockey team. She made her debut with the Cana ...

. While at

The Country Day School The Country Day School (CDS) is an Independent school, independent, non-profit, College-preparatory school, preparatory, co-educational day school in King City, Ontario, King City, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1972. CDS is a member of Can ...

, Leon played soccer,

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

, earning the rugby team's MVP honour in 2009. She played youth soccer for Vaughan SC, Brams United and Mississauga Falcons. In 2009, Leon was part of the Team Ontario squad that won bronze at the Canada Summer Games and finished as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals in five matches having scored in every game.

College career

Leon accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

and played for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's soccer The Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's soccer team represents the University of Notre Dame in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women's soccer. The team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and is currently coached by Nat ...

team in 2010 and 2011. As a freshman she made 23 appearances and scored four goals. In the 2010 College Cup final she came off the bench to score the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

and was named to the All-Tournament Team. As a sophomore, she was joint-second for the team lead with six goals in 20 appearances. After two seasons with the Irish, Leon transferred to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, where she played for coach

Becky Burleigh Rebecca Lund 'Becky' Burleigh (born October 13, 1967) is an American soccer coach. She is currently a special advisor for Sporting Club Jacksonville of the United Soccer League. Formerly also a college soccer player, she is best known for her 2 ...

in 2012. She made 22 appearances, playing in every available match after missing the first three matches while touring Japan with the Canadian national U-20 team. Leon scored five goals including four game-winners for the Gators and helped the team to

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

regular season and tournament titles.

Club career

Boston Breakers (2013)

Ahead of the inaugural

2013 NWSL season The 2013 National Women's Soccer League season was the inaugural 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 Socc ...

, Leon was named as one of 16 players subsidized by the Canadian federations as part of the initial

NWSL Player Allocation The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) federation players were players whose salaries for playing in the National Women's Soccer League were paid for by their respective national federations from 2013 to 2021. American federation players were co ...

. She was allocated to the

. Having been an unused substitute in the team's opening match, Leon made her professional debut on April 27, 2013 as an 84th-minute substitute for

Sydney Leroux Sydney Rae Leroux (; born May 7, 1990) is a Canadian-born American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in Canada to a Canadian mother (Sandi Leroux) and an Am ...

as part of a 2–1 win away at

. She scored her first goal in a 5–1 loss against

on June 1, 2013.

Chicago Red Stars

On June 29, 2013, the Boston Breakers traded Leon to the

in exchange for

Carmelina Moscato Carmelina Moscato (born May 2, 1984) is a Canadian soccer coach and former professional player who is currently an assistant coach for Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played as a defender for UPC Tavagnac ...

. She made 35 appearances in three seasons with Chicago, scoring one goal in each of the three seasons. Adriana Leon

Western New York Flash

In November 2015,

acquired Leon along with

Abby Erceg Abby May Erceg (born 20 November 1989) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga MX Femenil club Toluca. She formerly played for the New Zealand national team, where she became the first player (male or femal ...

and the No. 9 overall pick in the

2016 NWSL College Draft The 2016 NWSL College Draft was the fourth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 15, 2016, at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention ...

from Chicago in exchange for

Whitney Engen Whitney Elizabeth Engen (born November 28, 1987) is an American former soccer player and FIFA Women's World Cup champion. She played as a defender for the United States women's national soccer team as well as the Boston Breakers of the Nationa ...

and a fourth-round pick in the

2017 NWSL College Draft The 2017 NWSL College Draft was the fifth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 12, 2017 at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention in ...

. She made 10 appearances during the 2016 season including three starts without scoring before departing in August 2016.

FC Zürich

On August 30, 2016, Leon transferred to

of the Swiss Nationalliga A for an undisclosed fee. She made five league appearances without scoring but had some standout performances in other competitions. She registered a goal and three assists in a 5–0 win over

FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (). It is best known for its professional association football, football team, which plays in the Swiss Super League, Super League, the top tier of the ...

in the second round of the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

before scoring again in the next round as Zürich beat FC Walperswil 8–1. On October 5, 2016, Leon starred in a UEFA Champions League round of 32 victory over Austrian side

SK Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian professional association football club, based in Graz, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austr ...

, scoring a hattrick and registering a further three assists in a 6–0 victory. On December 1, 2016, it was announced that Leon and the club had mutually agreed to terminate her contract so that she could return to North America.

Boston Breakers (2017)

On January 30, 2017, it was announced that Leon had rejoined the

ahead of the 2017 season. She was named

NWSL Player of the Week The National Women's Soccer League Player of the Week was a weekly soccer award given to individual players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) from 2013 to 2023. The honor was awarded by popular social media vote to the player deemed to ...

twice during the season: once for week three for her performance against

, scoring one goal and registering two assists as part of a 3–0 victory, and again in week 21 for a one goal and one assist performance in a 3–0 win over

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the USL W-League (1995� ...

. Leon appeared in all 24 Boston Breakers matches in 2017, scoring a total of six goals.

Sky Blue FC

The Breakers ceased operations prior to the start of the 2018 season and the players were redistributed within the league via the 2018 NWSL Dispersal Draft. Leon was selected in the second round by

. She made two substitute appearances for the team before being traded.

Seattle Reign

On June 12, 2018, Leon was traded to the

Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the

2019 NWSL College Draft The 2019 NWSL College Draft was the seventh annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select newly eligible college players for the 2019 NWSL season. It was held on January 10, 2019, in conjunction with the United S ...

. Leon made six appearances for Seattle in 2018 including one start before the club opted not to retain her NWSL rights ahead of the 2019 season.

West Ham United

On January 12, 2019, Leon signed for

midway through the team's debut

season. The move reunited Leon with

Matt Beard Matthew Beard (born 9 January 1978) is an English professional football manager, who was most recently head coach of FA Women's Super League club Liverpool F.C. Women. He has previously managed West Ham, Chelsea, Boston Breakers, Millwall an ...

who had been her head coach in Boston. In her debut campaign she made 10 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals including two in a 3–1 win over

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in the fourth round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. West Ham reached the FA Cup final for the first time in the club's history in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

before losing the final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

3–0 to

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

with Leon playing the full 90 minutes. The following season Leon was West Ham's top league goalscorer with five prior to the WSL season being curtailed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On June 29, 2022, West Ham announced Leon had decided to leave the club upon the expiration of her contract that summer after three and a half seasons. She made a total of 59 appearances in all competitions and scored 12 goals.

Manchester United

On July 4, 2022, Leon signed a two-year contract with

. She made her debut for the club on September 17, 2022, as a 64th-minute substitute for Lucía García in the opening game of the season, a 4–0 win at home to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and scored her first goal in gameweek three on October 16 in a 4–0 win at home to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. Leon saw her playing time limited nine appearances in all competitions, including five in the WSL all as a substitute, scoring three goals. She was reportedly the subject of a loan move from

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

in January and then later offered to several WSL clubs but United stalled and none of these deals could be completed in time. Head coach

Marc Skinner Marc Skinner (born 23 March 1983) is an English professional football coach who is the head coach of Manchester United Women in the FA Women's Super League. Having been involved with their youth set-up, Skinner went on to manage the Birmingh ...

confirmed he had been leaving her out of the squad because she needed to improve to earn a spot in a "really competitive squad" and put on extra training sessions for her.

Loan to Portland Thorns

On April 13, 2023, still searching for playing time having made two appearances since the turn of the year, Leon joined

club

on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 WSL season, until June 30, 2023. She made five league and two cup appearances for the club before the loan expired.

Aston Villa

On September 11, 2023,

announced the signing of Leon on a two-year contract. She scored her first goal for the club in November 2023, helping Aston Villa secure victory over her Leon's former club, West Ham United. After playing in 18 matches and scoring 5 times in her first season with Aston Villa, she found herself struggling to earn playing time under coach Robert de Pauw. However, following De Pauw's departure, Leon found greater success and scored a brace in only her second start of the year.

San Diego Wave

On February 24, 2025, it was announced that Leon had joined

San Diego Wave San Diego Wave Fútbol Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team plays its home games at Snapdragon Stadium. Founded on June 8, 2021, the Wav ...

on a two-year deal with a mutual option from Aston Villa in exchange for an undisclosed fee. She made her club debut in the Wave's season opener, coming on as a second-half substitute for Kyra Carusa in a 1–1 draw with

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The formation of the team was announced on July 21, 2020; it beg ...

. During the following match, a win over the

Utah Royals The Utah Royals (formerly Utah Royals FC) are an American professional soccer team based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion team, ...

, Leon registered her first start and first goal with the Wave. On April 26, sherecorded her first NWSL assist, helping teammate Kimmi Ascanio notch her first professional goal. At the end of May, she scored a brace in a 5–2 win over the

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...

, helping San Diego set a new club record for goals scored in a single match and extend their unbeaten streak to six games. Her performance in the match was subsequently rewarded by

and Goal of the Week honors. On June 13, Leon played in her 100th NWSL regular season match, a road game versus the

Houston Dash The Houston Dash are an American professional soccer team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Dash began play in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium. His ...

. She scored a goal in the 3–2 victory, becoming the 11th player in the league to have done so in their 100th game.

International career

Youth

Leon represented Canada at under-20 level at the

2010 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2010 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the fifth edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship. The tournament was hosted by Guatemala, and all matches were played at the Estadio Cementos Progreso. The United States were the defending ...

, starting all three group games and scoring twice in wins over

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

as Canada topped the group. However, a 1–0 semifinal defeat to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in extra-time and a further 1–0 defeat to Costa Rica in the third-place playoff meant Canada failed to qualify for the

2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 5th edition of the tournament. It was held in Germany, who also hosted the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup a year later, from 13 July to 1 August 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all si ...

. In 2012, Leon was not included in the final squad for the

2012 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2012 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the sixth edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Panama from 1 to 11 March 2012. All matches were played at the Estadio Rommel Fernández. The top three ...

. Canada's second-place finish qualified the team for the

2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 6th edition of the tournament. The tournament was played in Japan from 19 August to 8 September with sixteen national football teams and marked the first hosting of a FIFA women's tournament in the co ...

and Leon was recalled to the squad for the tournament in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. She scored a first-half hattrick as Canada opened the group stage with a 6–0 win over

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

but defeats against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

eliminated the team at the group stage.

Senior

In January 2013, Leon earned her first call-up to the senior Canada national team for the friendly 2013 Four Nations Tournament. She made her senior international debut against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

on January 12, 2013, playing the full 90 minutes and scoring the only goal in a 1–0 victory. She played the full 90 minutes of all three games. She appeared in 16 of the 17 matches Canada played in 2013, scoring three goals. In 2015, Leon was named to her first major international tournament as part of 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 f ...

hosted by Canada. She made her World Cup debut on June 6, 2015 as a 77th-minute substitute against China in the opening match of the tournament. Leon was fouled in the penalty area by Zhao Rong in stoppage time, earning Canada a penalty which was scored by

Christine Sinclair Christine Margaret Sinclair (born June 12, 1983) is a retired Canadian professional Association football, soccer player who most recently played as a Forward (association football), forward for the Portland Thorns FC, Portland Thorns of the ...

to win 1–0. She played in four of the five games as Canada were eliminated by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the

quarterfinal A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

stage. Having struggled for form and game time at club level,

John Herdman John Herdman (born 19 July 1975) is an English professional football manager widely recognized for his contributions to Canadian soccer. He is the only coach to have led both a women’s and men’s national team from the same country to a FIF ...

dropped Leon from international contention in 2016, first omitting her from the

2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship The 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the 4th edition of the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the quadrennial international football tournament organized by CONCACAF to determine which women's national tea ...

and then the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

themselves where Canada won the bronze medal match against host nation

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. She returned to the NWSL in 2017 and her performances with Boston earned her a recall to the national setup. She scored in three of her six appearances for Canada in 2017. At the

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

Leon scored six goals (including four in a game against

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

) and finished second in tournament's golden boot race, one goal behind

Alex Morgan Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American former professional association football, soccer player.She co-captained the United States women's national soccer team, United States national team with ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. On May 25, 2019, she was named to the roster 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, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...

. She made three substitute appearances in France for a combined 58 minutes as Canada were eliminated at the

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Having been left out of the squad for the previous Olympics, Leon was named to the delayed

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

squad in August 2021. She appeared in five of six games, scoring in a 1–1 group stage draw with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. Having successfully converted a penalty in the

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

victory over Brazil in the quarterfinals, Leon stepped up to take another penalty in the

gold medal match Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal, a group 11 ...

but scuffed her kick low to

Hedvig Lindahl Rut Hedvig Lindahl (born 29 April 1983) is a retired Swedish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. She played club football in Sweden for Damallsvenskan clubs including Malmö FF, Linköpings FC, Kristianstads DFF, Kopparbergs/G� ...

's right. Despite this, Canada won the shootout 3–2. In 2022, Leon appeared in all five matches at the

2022 CONCACAF W Championship The 2022 CONCACAF W Championship was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF W Championship, the quadrennial international Women's association football, women's football championship contested by the senior List of women's national association football t ...

including one start, and scored during a 3–0 semifinal win over

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. Canada lost the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

1–0 to the

with Leon appearing as a 67th-minute substitute. Leon also played a crucial role in Canada's two September friendly matches against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, held in anticipation of the following year's World Cup that the latter would co-host. She scored all three Canadian goals in 1–0 and 2–1 victories over the Australians. After what was widely deemed a difficult club season with limited playing time, there were questions about Leon's form going into the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

. In the team's second group match against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, Leon scored the game-winning goal, her first at a World Cup. This proved to be the only goal scored by a Canadian in the team's three matches in the tournament, Canada's only other goal being an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

credited to Irish midfielder Megan Connolly. Following the team's disappointment at the World Cup, Leon made her 100th international appearance in the first match of the two-part CONCACAF Olympic qualification playoff against

. She scored her 30th international goal in stoppage time, helping Canada to a 2–0 victory. Opening 2024 at the inaugural edition of the

CONCACAF W Gold Cup The CONCACAF W Gold Cup is an international women's football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. ...

, Leon scored a brace in Canada's opening group stage game against

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, and then a hat trick against

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

in the next game. Canada reached the semi-final against the United States, and with less than a minute remaining in extra time with the Americans up 2–1, Leon was tasked with taking a penalty. She scored her sixth of the tournament, sending the game to a penalty shootout, but failed to score there, with Canada ultimately losing 3–1. She won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer and was named to the Gold Cup Best XI. Media commentary subsequently remarked that Leon had "staked a claim" to the team's starting striker role following the retirement of Christine Sinclair. Leon was called up to the Canada squad for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Career statistics

Club summary

International summary

International goals

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Leon goal.''

Honours

Notre Dame Fighting Irish * NCAA Women's Soccer Championship:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Florida Gators *

regular season: 2012 *

SEC Women's Soccer Tournament The SEC women's soccer tournament is the conference championship tournament in College soccer in the United States, college soccer for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The tournament has been held every year since 1993. It is a single-eliminati ...

: 2012 West Ham United *

Women's FA Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup, and now Women's FA Cup (currently known as the Adobe Women's FA Cup for sponso ...

runner-up:

Canada *

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

CONCACAF W Championship The CONCACAF W Championship is a women's association football competition for national teams organized by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) that often serves as the qualifying competition ...

runner-up:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual *

Golden Boot:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* CONCACAF W Gold Cup Best XI: 2024

References

External links

* * *
Boston Breakers player profile

Florida player profile

Top Drawer Soccer player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Adriana 1992 births Living people USL W-League (1995–2015) players National Women's Soccer League players Boston Breakers players Chicago Red Stars players Canada women's international soccer players Canadian women's soccer players Canadian expatriate women's soccer players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's soccer players Florida Gators women's soccer players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Soccer players from Mississauga Western New York Flash players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's footballers in Switzerland FC Zürich Frauen players Gotham FC players Women's association football midfielders Women's Super League players Expatriate women's footballers in England Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England West Ham United F.C. Women players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic soccer players for Canada Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Canada Manchester United W.F.C. players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Portland Thorns FC players Aston Villa W.F.C. players San Diego Wave FC players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players FIFA Women's Century Club Toronto Jr. Aeros players Footballers at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Canadian sportswomen