Casey Marie Krueger ( ; ; born August 23, 1990) 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

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

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 ...

(NWSL) 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 ...

. Krueger played collegiate soccer for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

and was the fifth overall pick in the

2013 NWSL College Draft The 2013 NWSL College Draft was the first annual college draft held by the National Women's Soccer League to assign the NWSL rights of college players to the eight NWSL teams. It took place on January 18, 2013 at the National Soccer Coaches Ass ...

. She was named to two

NWSL Best XI NWSL Best XI and Second XI are annual awards presented to the best and second-best eleven players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). the teams of the season awards are voted on by players (40%), owners/general managers/coaches (25%), ...

and one Second XI during her eight seasons with 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 ...

. Krueger made her senior international debut for the United States in 2016. She has won two Olympic medals with the team, bronze at the

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 ...

and gold at Paris 2024.

Early life and education

Raised in the Chicago suburb of

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

by her parents Kerrwin and LeeShelle Short, Krueger attended

Naperville Central High School Naperville Central High School (Naperville Central or NCHS) is a four-year state school, public high school located in Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The school, which enrolls students in grades nine through twelve, is a par ...

, where she earned 4.0 honor roll recognition and was named an Illinois State Scholar. She was named PARADE All-American in 2008 and was twice named NSCAA/adidas Youth All-American in 2016 and 2017. Krueger helped Naperville to four Illinois state cup championships. In 2008, she was ranked a top-rated soccer recruit by the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

''. Krueger also ran track and won three state championships: two in the 800m run and one in the 400m dash. She was the first girl in Illinois history to win both runs Class AA track in the same year. She was named Chicago Tribune Toyota Athlete of the Week in May 2007. Krueger played club soccer for the Chicago Magic. In 2009, she played for the Chicago Red Eleven of the

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 ...

Florida State Seminoles, 2008–2012

Krueger attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, where she played for the

Florida State Seminoles women's soccer The Florida State Seminoles women's soccer team represents Florida State University (FSU) in collegiate soccer. Competing at the NCAA Division I, Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA Division I, (NCAA), the team ...

team, earned her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

with a minor in

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, and was a six-time member of the Dean's list. She also earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Sports Management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiza ...

. During Krueger's freshman season, she was a starting player in 18 of the 23 games in which she played, scored two goals and provided six assists. Her six assists tied for third on the team and she ranked fifth in shots with 39. Krueger was one of two freshman to play in every game of the season. During the team's season opener against the University of Central Florida, Krueger scored a brace in the team's 5–0 win. Krueger played in all four games of the 2008 NCAA College Cup before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Notre Dame. As a sophomore in 2009, Krueger ranked sixth in assists in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) despite missing the first six games of the season due to injury. She was a starting player in 7 of the 13 games she played. Her eighth career assist in just 13 ACC career games, made her Florida State's all-time leader for assists in ACC play. In 2010, Krueger finished her junior season ranked fourth on the team in assists with three. She ranked third on the team in goals with five. She was one of six players on the team to start every game during the regular season and during the NCAA College Cup. Krueger was named to the All-ACC Second Team. In 2011, Krueger suffered a season-ending injury and red-shirted the season. During her final season with the Seminoles in 2012, Krueger transitioned into playing as an outside back and was a key part defensive line that set multiple school records, including shutouts (17), GAA (0.62) and fewest goals allowed in ACC play (4). She helped set a new NCAA record for the 13th longest streak of shutouts (9). Krueger started in all of the team's five games at the 2012 NCAA College Cup and notched two assists. She was named to the NSCAA Southeast All-Region First Team, NSCAA Scholar All-American Second Team, NSCAA South Scholar All-Region First Team, Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District IV First Team, All-ACC Second Team. Krueger earned ACC Academic Honor Roll four times and was named to FSU's President's List twice. Her 11 career assists tied the school record in assists in ACC games.

Club career

Avaldsnes Football Club, 2015

Due to two season-ending injuries Krueger did not play in the

during the league's initial two seasons despite being selected by 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 ...

as the fifth overall pick in the

. In 2015, Krueger played successfully for

Avaldsnes IL Avaldsnes Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from Avaldsnes, Karmøy, Rogaland. It was founded on 16 June 1937. The club has sections for football and handball. Women's football The women's team began play in 1989, winning the 1st Division o ...

of the Norwegian

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 ...

league and was honored as one of the Top XI in the Toppserien at the 2015 NISO Awards.

Chicago Red Stars, 2016–2023

Krueger was the fifth overall pick at the

by the

but did not compete due during the 2013 season due to knee injury. She was acquired by the

ahead of the 2014 season. Krueger suffered another season-ending injury before the 2014 season started. After a successful stint in 2015 with Avaldsnes in Norway, Chicago Red Stars signed Krueger to compete in 2016 NWSL season. Krueger was a starting defender in every match of the 2016 season and scored two goals. She was named to the league's Second XI team for the season. In 2017, Krueger competed in 22 regular season games for the Red Stars. She was named to the NWSL Team of the Month for May, June and July. At the end of the season, she was named to the 2017 NWSL Best XI and nominated for Defender of the Year. Krueger missed the first 10 games of the

2018 NWSL season The 2018 National Women's Soccer League season was the sixth 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 ...

after sustaining an ankle injury while playing for the national team in the

2018 SheBelieves Cup The 2018 SheBelieves Cup was the third edition of the SheBelieves Cup, an invitational women's soccer tournament held in the United States. Featuring national teams from Germany, England, France, and hosts United States, it began on March 1 and en ...

. Krueger was nominated for Defender of the Year for a second time in the 2019 season.

Washington Spirit, 2024–

Krueger left the Red Stars, signing a three-year deal with the

, in January 2024.

International career

Krueger has represented the United States on the senior national team as well as numerous youth national teams, including: under-16, under-17, under-20 and under-23. She competed with the United States under-20 team at 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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Krueger received her first international call up to the senior team on October 6, 2016, by head coach

Jill Ellis Jillian Anne Ellis (born 6 September 1966) is an English-American football manager and executive who is the Chief Football Officer of FIFA and will serve as part of the world governing body's executive management team, driving the development an ...

. She made her senior international debut on October 19, 2016, playing all 90 minutes against

Switzerland women's national football team The Switzerland women's national football team represents Switzerland in international Women's association football, women's football. Playing their first match in 1972, Switzerland did not enter their first major tournament until 2015 FIFA Wom ...

. Four days later, she played another 90 minutes against Switzerland in the same series of friendly matches. In 2018, Krueger competed with the national team at the

Tournament of Nations The Tournament of Nations was a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer in non-World Cup and non-Olympic years hosted by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in several American cities. The inaugural tournamen ...

, where she played in eight matches, starting two. She played in two games during 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 ...

and served one assist, helping the U.S. qualify 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 ...

in France. In May 2019, Krueger was surprisingly not included on the 23-player roster for the World Cup. Following the US World Cup win in August, Short was named to the roster for Victory Tour games against Portugal. After

Vlatko Andonovski Vlatko Andonovski (; born 14 September 1976) is a Macedonian-American association football manager and former player who is the head coach and sporting director of the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League. He was the head c ...

was named head coach of the national team in October 2019, Krueger was named to his first training camp roster and first friendly matches against Sweden and Portugal. During the Sweden match on November 8, Krueger was a starting outside back and played for the full length of the 3–2 win. Six minutes into the game, her pass to Christen Press resulted in the game-opening goal. In February 2020, Krueger was named to the roster for the

2020 SheBelieves Cup The 2020 SheBelieves Cup was the fifth edition of the SheBelieves Cup, an invitational women's soccer tournament held in the United States. Featuring national teams from Spain, England, Japan, and hosts United States, it began on March 5 and ende ...

. During the U.S.' final match against Japan, Krueger was a substitute in the 61st minute and helped the team win 3–1. On June 23, 2021, Krueger was included on the roster for the senior national team at the

2020 Tokyo 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 ...

. On February 7, 2024, Kruger was selected for the roster for the

2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup The 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup was the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup, an international women's soccer competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF. The tournament was contested b ...

and appeared in three of the six matches including 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 ...

against

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 ...

as the U.S. won the inaugural edition of the competition. Casey Krueger earned a spot on the 2024 U.S Women’s Soccer National Team competing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. She appeared as a substitute in the gold medal game against

, which the United States won 1–0 on a goal from Mallory Swanson.

Personal life

In May 2020, Krueger announced her engagement to her long-term boyfriend and emergency medicine physician, Cody Krueger. They married on December 5, 2020. In December 2021, Krueger announced she was pregnant with their first child. Krueger gave birth in July 2022 to a son, named Caleb.

Career statistics

International

Honors

Washington Spirit *

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 ...

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 *

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, ...

Gold Medal:

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 ...

Bronze Medal:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* CONCACAF Women's Championship:

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 ...

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. ...

* SheBelieves Cup:

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 ...

Individual * Toppserien Best XI: 2015 * NWSL Best XI:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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 ...

* NWSL Second XI:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

* NWSL Team of the Month: April 2019, June 2019

References

External links

*
Casey Krueger
at

Casey Short
at

(archived)
Casey Short
at

(archived) *
archive
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krueger, Casey 1990 births Living people American women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players Chicago Red Stars players Washington Spirit players Women's association football defenders Women's association football fullbacks Florida State Seminoles women's soccer players Soccer players from Naperville, Illinois American expatriate sportspeople in Norway American expatriate women's soccer players Expatriate women's footballers in Norway Toppserien players United States women's international soccer players Boston Breakers draft picks United States women's under-20 international soccer players African-American soccer players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' soccer) Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in soccer Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century American sportswomen 21st-century African-American sportswomen United States women's youth international soccer players Footballers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in soccer