Sarah L. Gorden (born September 13, 1992) 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

center back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

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), which she also captains. She previously played for 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 ...

. She has been named to the NWSL Best XI two times.

Early life

The adopted daughter of Jeff and Sue Gorden, Sarah Gorden began playing soccer at age four. When she began playing competitively, her speed on the pitch inspired her to join her high school track team. While attending

James B. Conant High School James B. Conant High School is a public four-year high school located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Township High School District 211, which also includes William Fremd ...

she played as a defender for the Eclipse Select Soccer Club.

DePaul Blue Demons

Gorden attended DePaul university from 2011 to 2015, following in the footsteps of her parents who were both student athletes at DePaul. Gorden majored in journalism and competed as a hurdler on the track team for her first two years of university in addition to playing soccer. She scored her first collegiate goal on September 11, 2011, against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Gorden did not compete in the 2013 season due to pregnancy. She returned to the Blue Demons in 2014 to lead the team's defense to a conference title and consecutive NCAA tournament appearances while allowing the fewest goals in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. In 2014, Gorden was named to the All-Big East second team. In 2014, Gorden also help set a school record with a 20-game undefeated streak that was tied with No. 1-ranked UCLA for longest in the nation. In 2015, Gorden was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week four times, and was named to the All-Big East first team.

Club career

Chicago Red Stars, 2016–2021

Gorden was drafted by

in the 3rd round, as the 22nd pick overall, during the

2016 NWSL College Draft The 2016 NWSL College Draft was the fourth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 15, 2016, at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Convention ...

. She became the first DePaul Women's Soccer player to be selected in the NWSL draft. She made her professional debut in the season opener against the

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 ...

, subbing in for Alyssa Mautz in the 83rd minute of play. In January 2021, Gorden was signed to a two-year contract renewal with Chicago Red Stars. On October 29, 2021, Gorden became Chicago's first Iron Woman by playing every minute of the 2021 NWSL season. She came second in voting for

NWSL Defender of the Year The NWSL Defender of the Year award is presented annually to the best defensive player in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Becky Sauerbrunn won the first three Defender of the Year awards from 2013 to 2015 and added her fourth in 2019 ...

behind

Caprice Dydasco Caprice Ka'anohikula Dydasco (born August 19, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right back for Bay FC of the National Women's Soccer League. She previously played for Pali Blues, the Washington Spirit, Newcastle J ...

Angel City FC, 2022–

On December 3, 2021, Gorden's rights were traded to

ahead of the upcoming expansion draft. After missing the entire 2022 season due to an ACL injury, Gorden went on to return and play every minute of the 2023 regular season, becoming an iron woman for the second time in her career in the team's run to their first playoff appearance. She also named in the NWSL Best XI and nominated for Defender of the Year at the conclusion of the season. On December 19, 2023, it was announced that Gorden has signed a new contract with Angel City which would keep her at the club until 2026 with a mutual option for 2027. Ahead of the 2024 season, Gorden was named as Vice Captain of the team, and would end up regularly captaining Angel City matches after captain

Ali Riley Alexandra Lowe Riley (born 30 October 1987) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Angel City FC, Angel City of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in ...

suffered a season-ending injury during the season. On April 21, 2024, Gorden made her 100th NWSL regular-season appearance as captain in Angel City's home match against

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 ...

which finished as a 2–1 victory. On August 9, 2024, Gorden was named to the July 2024 NWSL Team of the Month after recording four tackles won throughout the month and registering a passing accuracy of 79.34% in 360 minutes played. Gorden captained Angel City to the top of Group D and a spot in the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri. Gorden was named to the NWSL's Team of the Month for a second consecutive month for August 2024, after helping her club record one clean sheet in August while registering a passing accuracy of 83.2% in 270 minutes played.

International career

Gorden received her first call-up to the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...

in December 2019. In October 2020, Gorden was again called up to the United States national team.

Personal life

She gave birth to a son, Caiden, in 2014. In September 2020, Gorden launched a nonprofit organization, HoodSpace.

Career statistics

Club

Honors

Individual * NWSL Best XI:

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 ...

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 ...

* NWSL Team of the Month: 2019: July 2021: October 2023: July, September/October 2024: July, August

References

External links

*
Sarah Gorden
at

Sarah Gorden
at

(archived)
Sarah Gorden
at

DePaul Blue Demons The DePaul Blue Demons are the athletic teams that represent DePaul University, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Blue Demons participate in NCAA Division I and are a member of the Big East Conference. DePaul's Athletic Director is DeWayne Pe ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorden, Sarah 1992 births Living people American women's soccer players DePaul Blue Demons women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players Chicago Red Stars draft picks Chicago Red Stars players Angel City FC players People from Elk Grove Village, Illinois Soccer players from Cook County, Illinois Soccer players from DuPage County, Illinois Women's association football defenders James B. Conant High School alumni African-American soccer players 21st-century African-American sportswomen African American adoptees American adoptees 21st-century American sportswomen