Jennifer Michele Vasconcelos (; born May 11, 1994) 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 most recently played 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 ...

for the

Utah Royals The Utah Royals (formerly Utah Royals FC) are an American professional soccer team based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion team, ...

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

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 C ...

and was drafted 11th overall by 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 ...

in the

2017 NWSL College Draft The 2017 NWSL College Draft was the fifth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 12, 2017 at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention in ...

. She has also played for

Kansas City NWSL The Kansas City Current are an American professional soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded as an expansion team in 2021. The team plays its home games at CPKC Sta ...

Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...

, and Spanish club

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

Early life and college career

Vasconcelos played high school soccer at Alta High School in

Sandy, Utah Sandy is a city in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population was 96,904 according to the 2020 United States census. Sandy is home to the Shops at South Town shopping mall; the Jord ...

, which won three state championships during her career. She scored a total of 37 goals and recorded 22 assists at Alta High. Vasconcelos also played youth soccer for Sandy-based club Olympique Montreux.

BYU Cougars

Vasconcelos played

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 ...

soccer at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, where she scored 30 goals and 27 assists in her career as an attacking

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and was named

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

player of the year in 2016.

Club career

Real Salt Lake Women, 2016

Vasconcelos played for Real Salt Lake Women in the

United Women's Soccer United Women's Soccer (UWS) is a national pro-am Women's association football, women's Association football, soccer league in the United States. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the Women's ...

league during the 2016 season.

Chicago Red Stars, 2018–2020

team

selected Vasconcelos with the 11th pick in the

. She missed the entire 2017 NWSL season as she was pregnant with her first child. On March 25, 2018, Vasconcelos debuted for

in a 1–1 draw against

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 ...

. She appeared in 20 games for the Red Stars in 2018. In 2019, Vasconcelos appeared in 11 games and scored two goals before tearing her left anterior cruciate ligament in a match on July 6, 2019, against

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 ...

. She missed the remainder of the 2019 season. Vasconcelos appeared in six matches as a substitute for the Red Stars at the

2020 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was a tournament during the 2020 National Women's Soccer League season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first professional team sports event to return to play in United States ...

Utah Royals FC, 2020

On September 10, 2020,

acquired Vasconcelos from the Red Stars in exchange for $55,000 in allocation money. Vasconcelos requested the trade to be closer to her family.

Kansas City NWSL, 2020–2021

On December 7, 2020, ownership of Utah Royals FC was transferred to a group in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

. The team was subsequently relaunched as an expansion team and temporarily renamed

, and the league transferred all of Royals FC's roster rights to the new club, including Vasconcelos's contract. On April 26, 2021, Vasconcelos scored the expansion Kansas City team's first home goal at

Children's Mercy Park Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the team home for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandot ...

in the 77th minute of a 1-3 loss to

in a

2021 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup was a league cup tournament that took place during the 2021 National Women's Soccer League season. It began on April 9 and ended May 8, one week before the start of the regular season. It was the second iteration of th ...

match.

Sevilla FC, 2021–2022

On September 1, 2021, Kansas City loaned Vasconcelos to

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

of the Spanish Primera División Femenina for one season.

Portland Thorns FC, 2022–2023

On July 1, 2022, following Vasconcelos's loan to Sevilla FC, Kansas City waived her NWSL playing rights. Two weeks later,

announced that the club had signed Vasconcelos as a national team replacement player. She debuted for Portland on July 16, 2022, as a 78th-minute substitute in a 5–0 win against

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 ...

. On July 29, 2022, Thorns FC extended Vasconcelos's contract to the end of the 2022 season, giving her the opportunity to make three more appearances for Portland. On January 27, 2023, Thorns FC announced that it had re-signed Vasconcelos to a one-year contract with an option for an additional year. On March 26, 2023, she scored her first goal for Thorns FC in the 76th minute of a 4–0 win against

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 ...

Utah Royals, 2024–

On November 21, 2023,

announced that they had signed Vasconcelos. During the

NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup The NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup () is a women's soccer competition between clubs from the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) of the United States and Liga MX Femenil of Mexico. The first edition took place in 2024, at venues in the Uni ...

, she scored a goal against her former club Portland in a 3–1 victory. After making 13 appearances in her second stint with Utah, Vasconcelos was released on January 13, 2025.

International career

Vasconcelos received a call-up to the United States Under-23 Women's National Team for a training camp in November 2017.

Personal life

Vasconcelos is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. She married Pedro Vasconcelos in 2014. He was a member of the

BYU Cougars men's soccer BYU Cougars men's soccer is an American soccer team based in Provo, Utah, United States. The club has won eleven NIRSA national championships, and it is the only university sponsored soccer program to have ever purchased a franchise, competing i ...

team. She gave birth to their daughter, Scarlett, in 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasconcelos, Michele 1994 births Living people American women's soccer players BYU Cougars women's soccer players Chicago Red Stars draft picks National Women's Soccer League players Chicago Red Stars players Utah Royals players Kansas City Current players Sevilla FC (women) players Portland Thorns FC players Soccer players from Utah Sportspeople from Sandy, Utah Women's association football forwards Latter Day Saints from Utah 21st-century American sportswomen