Mary Alice Vignola (born February 11, 1998) 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

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 ...

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 ...

Early life

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 ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, Vignola was adopted at birth. She is a biracial

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, and her adoptive parents are white. She has an older brother who is also adopted. Vignola began playing soccer recreationally when she was five years old. She played youth soccer for Ohio Elite, competing in the

Elite Clubs National League The Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) is a national youth soccer developmental league in the United States. It was founded in 2009 as a girls' league and added a boys' league in 2017. Competition format The ECNL is divided by age groups from U- ...

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 ...

. She also played high school soccer for St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, scoring 35 goals and being credited with 26 assists in her high school career.

College career

Vignola played in

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 ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers women's soccer The Tennessee Lady Volunteers soccer team represents the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA Division I women's soccer competition as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Along with all other UT women's sport ...

team. During her sophomore season, she switched positions from forward to outside back. In 2019, the

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 ...

named her to the All-SEC first team.

Club career

Vignola declined to register for 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 ...

and sought playing opportunities overseas.

Þróttur, 2020

In 2020, Vignola signed with Icelandic club

Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur (, ), also referred to as Þróttur Reykjavík or Throttur, is a professional sports club from Reykjavík in Iceland. The club runs a association football, football department as well as Team handball, handball, vo ...

, competing in the Úrvalsdeild kvenna, where she scored six goals in 12 appearances. She scored her first professional goal on June 23, 2020, a long-range equalizing goal during second-half stoppage time in a 2–2 draw against

Fylkir Íþróttafélagið Fylkir (, ) is a multi-sport club in Árbær, in the eastern part of Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland. It features departments in football, handball, volleyball, gymnastics and karate. Kit The Fylkir official home kit is ...

Valur, 2021

In 2021, Vignola transferred to Icelandic competitors Valur. She tore her right

acetabular labrum The acetabular labrum (glenoidal labrum of the hip joint or cotyloid ligament in older texts) is a fibrocartilaginous ring which surrounds the circumference of the acetabulum of the hip, deepening the acetabulum. The labrum is attached onto the bo ...

in her first match with the club but continued playing through the injury, scoring two goals in 18 appearances and winning the Úrvalsdeild kvenna. After winning the league, Vignola competed in the

2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 21st edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA, and the 13th edition since being rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League. It was the first edition to fe ...

with Valur.

Angel City FC, 2022–

NWSL expansion club Angel City FC recruited Vignola and signed her on December 5, 2021, making her the team's second-ever player signing after

Christen Press Christen Annemarie Press (born December 29, 1988) is an American professional Women's association football, soccer player, entrepreneur, and sports journalist. She plays for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Unit ...

. The team was required to negotiate a trade of $30,000 in

NWSL allocation money In Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and ...

and protection in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft with 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� ...

, which had acquired the rights to sign Vignola through the league's discovery process. The club provided rehabilitation services for her hip injury, and she debuted late in her rookie season on September 5, 2022, as an 80th-minute substitute for

Madison Hammond Madison Guadalupe Hammond (born November 15, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Early life Hammond was born in Phoenix, Arizona, bu ...

in the 2022 Copa Angelina against the

Mexico women's national football team The Mexico women's national football team (Spanish: ''Selección Nacional de México Femenil'') represents Mexico in international Women's association football, women's football. The team is governed by the Mexican Football Federation and compe ...

. Vignola made her first start for Angel City on April 15, 2023, against

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 ...

. On June 10, 2023, she scored her first goal for Angel City in a 1–2 loss against

. A week later, she scored the match-winning goal against rivals

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 ...

. Vignola was named to the NWSL 2023 Best XI Second team at the conclusion of the 2023 season, contributing 3 goals and 1 assist in Angel City's first run to the playoffs. Vignola dealt with injuries during the 2024 season but managed to contribute 1 goal and 2 assists with her limited playing time, including the match winner against

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 ...

on September 1, 2024. After the conclusion of the season, on December 16, 2024, Angel City announced they had signed a new two-year contract with Vignola, keeping her with Angel City until 2026.

International career

Vignola earned her first United States youth camp call-up when she was 14 years old. She played for the

United States women's national under-17 soccer team The United States U-17 women's national soccer team is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior national team. The team's most recent major to ...

in a match against

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 ...

. Vignola earned a senior national team call-up in September 2023. She made her international debut in her hometown of

Cincinnati, OH 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 and Ohio rivers, the latter of whic ...

on September 21, 2023, during a match against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Valur * Úrvalsdeild kvenna:

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 * All-SEC second team: 2018 * All-SEC first team: 2019 *

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 ...

: June 2023, September/October 2023 * NWSL Best XI Second Team: 2023

References

External links

*
M.A. Vignola
at

archive

MA Vignola
at

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

Mary Alice Vignola – Knattspyrnusamband Íslands (Football Association of Iceland)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vignola, M.A. 1998 births Living people American women's soccer players African-American soccer players Women's association football defenders Soccer players from Cincinnati Tennessee Volunteers women's soccer players Angel City FC players Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur players Valur (women's football) players Besta deild kvenna players National Women's Soccer League players American expatriate women's soccer players Expatriate women's footballers in Iceland American expatriate sportspeople in Iceland United States women's international soccer players United States women's youth international soccer players African American adoptees 21st-century African-American sportswomen American adoptees 21st-century American sportswomen