Michelle Chinwendu Alozie (born 28 April 1997) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays 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

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 ...

club

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 ...

. Born in the United States, she represents

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

at international level.

Early life

Alozie was born in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

, to Nigerian parents from

Imo State Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

, Nigeria. She was raised in Apple Valley and attended the Granite Hills High School in her hometown.

College career

Alozie attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and played soccer for the

Yale Bulldogs The Yale Bulldogs are the college sports teams that represent Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA national championships ...

from 2015 to 2018. She suffered a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

in her senior season. Alozie transferred as a graduate to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

to continue playing for the

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 ...

Club career

Alozie registered for the 2019 National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) College Draft but was not selected.

BIIK Kazygurt

In January 2020, Alozie signed a contract with

BIIK Kazygurt BIIK Shymkent () is a women's association football, women's football club based in Shymkent, Kazakhstan competing in the Kazakhstan women's football championship, Kazakhstan Championship. Formerly established in Almaty as Alma-KTZh, the team won ...

, the defending champions of the

Kazakhstani women's football championship The Kazakhstani women's football championship is contested in the top level women's football league in Kazakhstan. Before 1991, some Kazakh women's clubs had competed in the Soviet Union women's league system, but after the collapse of the Soviet ...

. She trained with the team for three months before

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

ended the season, and she returned to California.

Houston Dash

Alozie joined the Houston Dash, where Alozie's childhood friend Ally Prisock was playing, as a preseason trialist without a contract in 2021. Dash assistant

Twila Kilgore Twila Argo Kilgore (; born January 18, 1980) is an American soccer coach and former player. She was appointed as assistant coach for the United States women's national team, initially under Vlatko Andonovski, and later got promoted as interim h ...

had previously recruited Alozie when Kilgore was head coach of the

Pepperdine Waves The Pepperdine Waves are the athletics teams of Pepperdine University, located outside the city of Malibu, California. They compete at the NCAA Division I, Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. The school is a me ...

. Alozie signed a national team replacement contract during the

2021 Houston Dash season The 2021 Houston Dash season was the team's eighth season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The 2021 NWSL season returned as a full league season after COVID-19 caused the 2020 NWSL se ...

, then signed a full contract for the remainder of the season in August 2021. In the 2022 season, Alozie made her first postseason start in the Dash's

NWSL Playoffs The National Women's Soccer League playoffs (or NWSL playoffs) are a single-elimination tournament among eight teams in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) of the United States. The final round of the playoffs is the NWSL Championship. Si ...

appearance. In December 2022, Alozie signed a two-year contract extension with the Dash.

International career

Alozie made her international debut for

on 10 June 2021 as a 65th-minute substitution in a 0–1 friendly loss to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. The game was part of the 2021 US Summer Series taking place in Houston where Alozie was training with the Dash. She was named to Nigeria's roster by national team manager

Randy Waldrum Randy Marlon Waldrum (born September 25, 1956) is an American former professional soccer player, current head coach of University of Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team, and was the head coach of the Nigeria women's national team. Coachi ...

after one training session with the team the day prior. In Nigeria's second game of the series against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, Alozie scored her first goal for Nigeria in an enthralling 3-3 draw. On 16 June 2023, Alozie was named to the 23-player Nigerian squad for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

. She played every minute of the tournament for the Super Falcons with Nigeria eventually losing to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on penalties after a 0–0 draw in the Round of 16. In the 87th minute of that game, Alozie was involved in an infamous incident that went viral. She had successfully won the ball off England forward

Lauren James Lauren Elizabeth James (born 29 September 2001) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Women's Super League (WSL) club Chelsea F.C. Women, Chelsea and the England wo ...

but was fouled and stamped on by James, who was subsequently sent off for violent conduct after a VAR intervention, receiving a two-game ban. In December 2023, Alozie was named to the

CAF CAF or caf may refer to: Armed forces *Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy *Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force *Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...

Women's Africa Best XI as one of the world's best African players. Alozie was called up to the Nigeria squad for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. she was part of the Nigerian women national team squad that won the 2025

Women's Africa Cup of Nations The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations and formerly the African Women's Championship, is a biennial international women's football tournament organized by ...

and was awarded the national honour Officer of the Order of the Niger , a hundred thousand dollars and a three-bedroom apartments at the renewed hope estate in Abuja

Off-field medical career

Alozie obtained a Bachelors Degree in Molecular Biology from

. She works part-time as a cancer research technician at the

Texas Children's Hospital Texas Children's Hospital is an acute care women's and children's hospital located in Houston, Texas. With 973 beds, it is the primary pediatric teaching hospital affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and is located within the Texas Medical ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Personal life

In 2024, Alozie appeared in the first season of ''

The Offseason ''The Offseason'' is an American reality television miniseries created by Midge Purce that follows a group of soccer players in the offseason of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It premiered on Twitter on October 18, 2024. Overview ...

'', a reality television series following a group of NWSL players training before the new season.

Honours

Nigeria *

Africa Women Cup of Nations The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations and formerly the African Women's Championship, is a biennial international women's football tournament organized by ...

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 ...

Orders *

Order_of_the_Niger_civil_division_ribbon

Officer of the

Order of the Niger The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second highest Award, national award in Nigeria. It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic, the highest order of merit in the country. Award The two highest honours, the Gr ...

References

External links

*
Houston Dash player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alozie, Michelle 1997 births Living people Nigerian women's footballers 21st-century Nigerian sportswomen Women's association football forwards Nigeria women's international footballers Sportspeople from Apple Valley, California Soccer players from San Bernardino County, California American women's soccer players Yale Bulldogs women's soccer players Tennessee Volunteers women's soccer players BIIK Kazygurt players Houston Dash players National Women's Soccer League players African-American soccer players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen Expatriate women's footballers in Kazakhstan American expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan American expatriate women's soccer players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Nigeria 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations players