Aubrey Renee Kingsbury (; born November 20, 1991) is an American 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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for the

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� ...

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 ...

and the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

. A two-time

NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year The NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year award is presented annually to the best goalkeeper in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Nicole Barnhart (2013) won the first Goalkeeper of the Year award in the NWSL's inaugural season. The most recent wi ...

, she was named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

of the Spirit's victory in the

2021 NWSL Championship The 2021 National Women's Soccer League season was the ninth 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 Soccer (2 ...

Early life

Kingsbury was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

to Paul and Char Bledsoe. She attended Merwin Elementary, Amelia Middle School, and then St. Ursula Academy where she was a member of the state championship soccer team in 2007 and 2008.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Kingsbury graduated from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

with a degree in health and exercise science and minors in chemistry and biology. She started all her games during her four seasons with the Demon Deacons and was named co-captain during her senior year. She holds the Wake Forest career record for shutouts (33), goals against average (0.91), games played and started (94), and minutes played in goal (8,692). She is also one of three Demon Deacons to be named an All-American three times, earning third-team honors from the NSCAA in 2011 and 2012 and second-team honors in 2013.

Club career

Los Angeles Blues, 2014

In January 2014, Kingsbury signed for

USL W-League USL W-League may refer to: * USL W League * USL W-League (1995–2015) The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...

side,

Los Angeles Blues Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier ...

(previously known as "

Pali Blues Pali Blues was an American women's soccer team, which played from 2008 to 2014. 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 played in the Western ...

") in preparation for exploring opportunities in Europe.

IK Grand Bodø, 2014

After her stint in LA, Kingsbury secured a move to

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 ...

to play for

Toppserien The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984. History Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in ...

club,

IK Grand Bodø Idrettsklubben Grand Bodø is a Norwegian association football club from Bodø, Nordland. It was founded on 12 April 1917. Football Former Liverpool and England international full-back Chris Lawler was player-coach for the club in 1981. Its ...

. She made 11 appearances for Bodø.

Sky Blue, 2015

In October 2014, Kingsbury signed with

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 ...

as a discovery player. The 2015 season, Kingsbury backed up starting keeper,

Brittany Cameron Brittany Taylor Cameron (born December 3, 1986) is an American soccer goalkeeper who currently employed by Wake Forest as women's soccer associate head soccer coach. Early life Cameron grew up in Dublin, California and attended Dublin High Sc ...

, limiting her to just a single appearance for Sky Blue.

Fortuna Hjørring, 2015–2016

At the conclusion of the 2015 season, Kingsbury secured an off-season loan to Danish club

Fortuna Hjørring Fortuna Hjørring is a women's association football team from Hjørring, Denmark. The club was formed in 1966 and play in green and white. Their biggest achievement in European football was reaching the 2002–03 UEFA Women's Cup final where the ...

of the

Elitedivisionen The Danish Women's League () is a professional top-flight league for women's football in Denmark. It is organised by the Danish Football Association (DBU) as part of the nation-wide Danmarksturneringen i kvindefodbold (Kvinde-DM) and is placed a ...

along with teammate

Nadia Nadim Nadia Nadim (; born 2 January 1988) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for the Damallsvenskan club Hammarby Fotboll (women), Hammarby, on loan from Italian Serie A (women's f ...

. Competing in the

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...

, Kingsbury made 4 appearances (2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss), earning two clean sheets.

Orlando Pride, 2016–2017

On November 2, 2015, Kingsbury was selected by

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Pride began play in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season, 2016 ...

as their 10th pick in the

NWSL expansion The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Super League). The league comprises 14 teams (16 in 2026). It is owned by the ...

draft. She joined the Pride at the conclusion of her loan spell at Fortuna. Deputising for

Ashlyn Harris Ashlyn Michelle Harris (born October 19, 1985) is an American former Association football, soccer player. She represented the United States women's national soccer team, making her debut for the senior national team on March 11, 2013, and was ...

, Kingsbury made a single appearance during the 2016 season. When Harris got injured during the 2017 season, Kingsbury made a string of starts for the Pride, registering 11 appearances, earning 5 wins and 2 clean sheets.

Sydney FC (loan)

On November 28, 2017, Kingsbury joined

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

for the remainder of the

2017–18 W-League The 2017–18 W-League season was the tenth 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 The f ...

Washington Spirit, 2018–present

In January 2018, Orlando traded Kingsbury and a 2019 first round draft pick to

in exchange for

Canadian national The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

defender, Shelina Zadorsky. On June 19, 2018, Kingsbury was named Player of the Week by the NWSL Media Association for Weeks 11 and 12. Kingsbury led the Spirit to back-to-back shutouts, and saved a

Megan Rapinoe Megan Anna Rapinoe (; born July 5, 1985) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. She spent most of her career playing for Seattle Reign FC, OL Reign of the National Wom ...

penalty kick during those weeks. She went on to break the NWSL league leading save record, surpassing the previous record held by

Alyssa Naeher Alyssa Michele Naeher ( ; born April 20, 1988) is an American professional association football, soccer player who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Chicago Stars FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Naeh ...

. She was one of three nominees for

for the 2018 season. Kingsbury re-signed for the Washington Spirit's 2019 season in September 2018. In Week 4 of the

2019 NWSL season The 2019 National Women's Soccer League season was the seventh 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 Soccer ...

Kingsbury won both NWSL Player and Save of the Week. She led the NWSL with 86 saves and was voted the

for the 2019 season. 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 ...

, the NWSL organized a closed-door

NWSL Challenge Cup The NWSL Challenge Cup is an annual supercup competition organized by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), a division 1 women's league in the United States soccer league system. The current (2025) cup holder is the Washington Spirit, who ...

in the summer, which was followed by the NWSL Fall Series. Kingsbury started in all five of the Spirit's games during the Challenge Cup. During the quarterfinals, the Spirit played to a scoreless draw against

. In the ensuing penalty kick shootout, Kingsbury made a save against Domi Richardson, but ultimately the Spirit only converted three of their five penalty kicks and the team fell to Sky Blue. Kingsbury played every minute of the Spirit's four games in NWSL Fall Series. Against 16 total shots, she made 12 saves and conceded 4 goals. In the 87th of Washington's game against the Chicago Red Stars, Kingsbury, on the ground, kicked

Dani Rhodes Dani Marie Watt (''née'' Rhodes; born April 8, 1998) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. She played college soccer for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Early life Rhodes attended Waukesha West High ...

' rebound away to prevent Chicago from the taking the lead. Washington ultimately won the game thanks to Jessie Scarpa's 92nd-minute goal. Additionally, Kingsbury led the Spirit to a clean sheet against Sky Blue. Kingsbury was voted Goalkeeper of the Year for a second time following the 2021 season. She was voted

of the 2021 championship game in which the Spirit defeated the

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 ...

2–1 in overtime. Kingsbury was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in second-half stoppage time of the opening matchday against the

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 ...

on March 21, 2024; however, the call was later rescinded by the NWSL. Except for the last moments of that game, she played every minute of the season as the Spirit finished in second place. On November 16, 2024, after the Spirit drew

NJ/NY Gotham FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional Association football, 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 Sk ...

1–1 in the NWSL semifinals, Kingsbury saved all three penalty attempts she faced to help send the Spirit to the final. Kingsbury made one penalty save in the

2025 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup, known as the Unwell Hydration x 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the sixth edition of the NWSL Challenge Cup, a women's soccer competition organized by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Th ...

, helping Washington avenge their championship loss to the Orlando Pride in a shootout, 4–2. She was named MVP of the season-opening match.

Sydney FC (loan)

In September 2018, Kingsbury re-signed 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 where she helped Sydney reach its second straight Grand Final. Kingsbury and Sydney FC won the 2019 Grand Final. She was subsequently named the 2018–19 W-League Goalkeeper of the Year.

International career

Kingsbury received her first senior call-up to the

on October 31, 2019. In November 2020, Kingsbury was named to the national team's training camp roster ahead of its November 27 game against the Netherlands. Andonovski also named Kingsbury to the senior team roster ahead of their matches on January 18, 2021, and January 22, 2021. On January 12, 2022, Kingsbury was named in the national team camp for January ahead of the

2022 SheBelieves Cup The 2022 SheBelieves Cup, named the 2022 SheBelieves Cup Presented by Visa for sponsorship reasons, was the seventh edition of the SheBelieves Cup, an invitational Women's association football, women's soccer tournament held in the United States. ...

in February.

Personal life

Kingsbury is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Her twin sister, Amber Bledsoe, is also a goalkeeper who attended

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. In December 2021, she married Matt Kingsbury and began playing under her married name in January 2022.

Career statistics

International

Honors

Sydney FC * W-League Championship: 2018–19 Washington Spirit *

NWSL Championship The NWSL Championship is the annual championship game of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top-flight women's soccer league in the United States. It is the culmination of the NWSL playoffs, which is contested by the teams with the ...

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 ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

United States *

CONCACAF Women's 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 ...

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 ...

SheBelieves Cup The SheBelieves Cup is an invitational women's association football, women's soccer tournament held in different cities in the United States in late February or early March. In its first three years (2016, 2017, and 2018), it was contested by t ...

Individual *

: 2019, 2021 * NWSL First XI: 2019 *

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 ...

: 2019 (Week 4 and Week 7) *

NWSL Team of the Month The National Women's Soccer League Team of the Month, also called the Best XI of the Month since 2022, is a monthly women's soccer award given to individual players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Selection This award began in 20 ...

: 2019 (May, June, and August) *

NWSL Championship MVP The NWSL Championship Most Valuable Player award is presented to the best player in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) Championship Game. Tobin Heath received the first NWSL championship MVP award in 2013; she scored the opening goal of P ...

: 2021 *NWSL Challenge Cup MVP: 2025

References

External links

* *
Aubrey Kingsbury
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsbury, Aubrey 1991 births Living people American women's soccer players United States women's international soccer players Soccer players from Cincinnati Women's association football goalkeepers Gotham FC players Wake Forest Demon Deacons women's soccer players Fortuna Hjørring players Orlando Pride players Sydney FC (women) players Washington Spirit players Expatriate women's footballers in Denmark USL W-League (1995–2015) players National Women's Soccer League players American twins American expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate women's footballers in Norway 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players 21st-century American sportswomen United States women's youth international soccer players