Courtney Lynn Petersen (born October 28, 1997) 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 defender for

Racing Louisville FC Racing Louisville Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Louisville, Kentucky, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It began playing in 2021 at Lynn Family Stadium. The team i ...

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). She played college soccer for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

. She was selected by the

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 ...

in the first round of the 2020 NWSL draft.

Early life

Growing up in

Canton, Michigan Canton Township (commonly known simply as Canton) is a charter township in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Canton is located roughly west of downtown Detroit, and e ...

, Petersen played youth soccer as a midfielder for Michigan Hawks ECNL and was voted to numerous ECNL Top-11 squads. In 2014 she was named as an NSCAA Youth All-American. Coming out of high school, Petersen ranked as the No. 23 recruit in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Virginia Cavaliers

In October 2013, Petersen committed to playing college soccer at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. She played four seasons for the

between 2015 and 2019, sitting out the 2016 season to focus fully on national team duty for the

2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 8th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international Women's association football, women's youth association football, football championship contested by the under-20 national te ...

. Predominantly a left-sided full-back, Petersen proved to be a versatile player during her collegiate career, also playing in midfield. As a freshman she scored a career-high three goals and added another three assists in 22 appearances, ending the year as an ACC All-Freshman team selection. In her senior year, Petersen was an All-Region First Team selection by United Soccer Coaches, a TopDrawerSoccer Best XI Second Team selection and an All-ACC Second Team selection. In the 2018 and 2019 offseasons, Petersen played with hometown WPSL side Motor City FC.

Professional career

Orlando Pride, 2020–2022

Petersen was selected in the first round (7th overall) of the

2020 NWSL College Draft The 2020 NWSL College Draft was the eighth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select newly eligible college players for the 2020 NWSL season. It was held on January 16, 2020, in conjunction with the United So ...

. She signed with the team in March but with the season disrupted by 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 ...

, was unable to make her debut until September 19, 2020, in the first Fall Series match, starting in a 0–0 draw with

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 ...

. She appeared in all four Fall Series matches, playing the full 90 minutes in each.

Houston Dash, 2023–2024

Petersen had a contract offer extended to her by Orlando at the end of the 2022 season but in February 2023, the club agreed to trade her rights to

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 ...

along with a natural third-round pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft in exchange for $65,000 in allocation money plus an additional $25,000, pending conditions met.

Racing Louisville, 2024–

On August 31, 2024, Petersen was traded from the Houston Dash to

in exchange for $45,000 in league allocation money.

International career

Petersen has represented 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 ...

at under-14, under-15, under-17 and under-20 levels, mainly playing as a midfielder. In 2016, Petersen competed at the

, playing two games as the team finished fourth.

Career statistics

College

Club

References

External links

*
Virginia profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Courtney 1997 births Living people American women's soccer players Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer players Orlando Pride draft picks Orlando Pride players Women's Premier Soccer League players National Women's Soccer League players Sportspeople from Canton, Michigan Soccer players from Wayne County, Michigan Women's association football defenders Women's association football midfielders United States women's under-20 international soccer players United States women's youth international soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen Racing Louisville FC players