Mia Renee Fishel (born April 30, 2001) 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 forward for

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 ...

club Chelsea and

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 ...

. Fishel played college soccer for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, winning two

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

titles before being drafted fifth overall in the

2022 NWSL Draft The 2022 NWSL Draft was the 10th annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on December 18, 2021, and hosted remotely by CBS Sports. Format * All 12 teams of the National ...

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 ...

. However, she instead chose to sign with Mexican club

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

and was the leading scorer in

Liga MX Femenil Liga MX Femenil, also known as Liga BBVA MX Femenil for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in Mexico. Supervised by the Mexican Football Federation, Federación Mexicana d ...

. Internationally, Fishel represented the United States at under-15, under-17 and under-20 level, winning

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

tournaments with each. She debuted for the senior national team in 2023.

Early life

Born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Fishel attended Patrick Henry High School and played two years of high school soccer as well as

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. She was first-team All-CIF in soccer as a sophomore. Fishel played club soccer with ECNL team San Diego Surf SC.

UCLA Bruins

Fishel played three seasons of

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 the

at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

between 2019 and 2021 while majoring in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. As a freshman, Fishel appeared in all 24 games and led the Bruins in scoring with 14 goals including five in the postseason as UCLA reached the College Cup semi-finals before losing to

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. She ranked third among freshman in the nation in goals scored and earned

All-Freshman Team and All-Pac-12 third-team honors. In 2020, Fishel ranked second in goals for the Bruins with six and tied for the team lead with six assists as the Bruins won the Pac-12 title for the first time since 2014. Fishel earned All-Pacific Region first-team and All-American second-team selections by the

United Soccer Coaches The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

as well as All-Pac-12 first-team honors. Ahead of her junior year, Fishel announced she would be declaring early for the

at the end of the season. UCLA went unbeaten on the season, retaining the Pac-12 championship before the team's 26-match unbeaten streak was ended by a 1–0 defeat in an upset to unranked

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

in the first round of the NCAA Tournament having been ranked #3 nationally. Fishel led the team in goals with 12 in her final season and earned her second consecutive

All-America honor, being selected to the third-team. She was also first-team All-Pacific Region and All-Pac-12 for the second time.

Club career

Tigres UANL (2022–2023)

On December 18, 2021, Fishel was selected in the first round (5th overall) of the

having opted to declare early and forgo her senior year. Her head coach at UCLA, Amanda Cromwell, had been appointed Orlando head coach earlier that month. However, on January 14, 2022, she instead opted to sign outside of the NWSL with Mexican

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

team

. Critical of the draft system, she stated she had turned down Orlando because she did not want to be part of a rebuilding team and Tigres offered the chance of championships. She made her debut on January 31 as a 65th-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw with

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

during the 2022 Clausura. Four days later she made her first start and scored twice in a 4–2 win away to

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican list of states of Mexico, state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding , known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast across from th ...

. Fishel scored 17 goals in 17 appearances during the 2022 Apertura, becoming the first foreign player to win the Liga MX Femenil golden boot. She beat Christina Burkenroad by one goal.

Chelsea (2023–present)

On August 4, 2023, English

club Chelsea announced the signing of Fishel from Tigres on a three-year contract. Chelsea reportedly paid a $250,000 transfer fee. On October 1, 2023, Fishel made her Chelsea debut in a Women's Super League match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

and scored her first goal for the club in the 28th minute in a 2–1 victory. After suffering an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

while on international duty in February 2024, Fishel made her return to the pitch as a substitute in Chelsea's 2–1 victory against

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 ...

on March 23, 2025.

International career

Youth

Fishel has represented the United States at under-15, under-17 and under-20 level. In 2016, Fishel was part of the winning team at the 2016 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship and was individually named player of the tournament having scored seven goals. In 2018, she was part of the squad that won the

2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship The 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organized by CONCACAF for the women's under-17 national teams of the North, Central ...

, scoring in a group stage victory over Bermuda and again in the semi-final against Haiti. The result qualified the team for the

2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the sixth edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its i ...

where Fishel scored the opening goal in a group stage win over Cameroon, the United States' only win as the team was eliminated as bottom of the group. In 2020, Fishel won her third regional youth title as part of the winning squad at the

2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth association football, football championship organized by CONCACAF for the women's under-20 national teams ...

. She scored a new all-ages national-record 13 goals including two in a 4–1 win over Mexico in the final but finished second in the golden boot race by one goal behind Haiti's

Melchie Dumornay Melchie Daëlle Dumornay (born 17 August 2003), also known as Corventina, is a Haitian professional women's association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Première Ligue club Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, Lyon and the Haiti women ...

. She was, however, voted player of the tournament. She was a finalist for U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year 2020 alongside

Trinity Rodman Trinity Rain Moyer-Rodman (born May 20, 2002) is an American professional association football, soccer player who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the U ...

and eventual winner Naomi Girma.

Senior

In October 2020, Fishel received her first

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 ...

senior call-up by

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 ...

for a 27-player 11 day training camp in

Commerce City, Colorado Commerce City is a home rule municipality located in Adams County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 62,418 at the 2020 United States census, a 35.95% increase since the 2010 United States census. Commerce City is the 18th mo ...

. The camp was the first in seven months as a result of 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 ...

and included four college players with Fishel being the youngest. Fishel received her second call-up for the senior team in September 2023 for a set of friendlies against South Africa and subsequently made her senior team debut in the second match against South Africa on September 24, 2023. On October 29, 2023, in her hometown of San Diego, Fishel scored her first goal for the national team in her second appearance, a friendly against Colombia which finished 3–0. On February 19, 2024, Fishel tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee while training 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 ...

Personal life

Fishel's uncles,

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

and David Bascome, both played international soccer for the Bermuda national team. Andrew's daughter, Druw Bascome, is Fishel's cousin. The two played against each other when the United States met Bermuda at the

Career statistics

College

Club

International

International goals

: ''United States score listed first, score column indicates score after each Fishel goal.''

Honours

UCLA Bruins *

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

regular season: 2020, 2021 Tigres UANL *

: 2022 Apertura *Campeón de Campeones:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Chelsea *

: 2023–24, 2024–25 *

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 ...

: 2024–25 *

FA Women's League Cup The Women's League Cup, also known as the Subway Women's League Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since t ...

: 2024–25 International *

CONCACAF Girls' Under-15 Championship CONCACAF Girls' Under-15 Championship is a CONCACAF football competition. The competition took place for the first time in 2014, with subsequent tournaments being held every two years. Results Successful teams Awards Golden Boot Golden B ...

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 ...

CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship The CONCACAF Women's Under-17 tournament is a football (soccer) competition for women's national teams under 17 years of age in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean region and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-17 Women's ...

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 Women's U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship is an association football competition for women's national under-20 teams in the North America, Central America and Caribbean region. It serves as the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 Women's ...

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 ...

Individual *

Golden Ball:

Best XI:

Golden Ball:

Golden Boot: 2022 Apertura

References

External links

*
Mia Fishel
at

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fishel, Mia Living people 2001 births American expatriate sportspeople in Mexico American expatriate sportspeople in England American expatriate women's soccer players American women's soccer players Women's association football forwards Expatriate women's footballers in Mexico Expatriate women's footballers in England Tigres UANL (women) footballers UCLA Bruins women's soccer players Liga MX Femenil players Soccer players from San Diego American people of Bermudian descent Orlando Pride draft picks United States women's international soccer players United States women's youth international soccer players United States women's under-20 international soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen