Toni Deion Pressley (born February 19, 1990) is an American professional soccer defender. She previously played for the

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the US, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to the ...

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American soccer club based in Elma, New York that competed in the United Women's Soccer league. They have won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-League in 2010, Women's Profes ...

and

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and con ...

of the NWSL, Ryazan VDV in the

Russian Women's Football Championship The Russian Women's Football Championship (russian: Чемпионат России по футболу среди женщин), also known as the Top Division and the Women's Football League, is the highest professional women's football league ...

league, the top division of women's soccer in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. Pressley played for various United States national youth teams and was a member of the United States women's national under-23 soccer team.

Early life

Toni attended

West Shore Junior – Senior High School West Shore Junior – Senior High School, more often called West Shore, is a secondary school located at 250 Wildcat Alley in Melbourne, Florida. West Shore enrolls students from grades seven through twelve. It is part of the Brevard Public Scho ...

where she was team captain as a senior, leading the team to the Class 3A Regional finals. In 2007, she earned a spot on the NSCAA/adidas Youth All-America Team and received first team All-Space Coast honors. As a senior in 2008, she was named Parade All-American and a top 50 recruit by Soccer Buzz. Pressley also competed on the track and field team at West Shore, winning a district and regional championship in 2005 as a member of 4 × 100 m relay as well as the 2007 district championship in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. Pressley was also an Olympic Development Program Region III pool member for three years from 2006 to 2008 and was the leading scorer in the Region III league in 2006 and 2007. She was a member of the Florida Olympic Development Program team in 2006 and 2007. Pressley also played for local club team, Space Coast United.

Florida State University, 2008–2011

Pressley attended Florida State University majoring in criminology and playing defender and forward for the

Seminoles The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

from 2008 to 2011. She finished her collegiate career tied for third in game appearances with 96. As a freshman, she was named to the All-ACC Second Team. She was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week after "game-winning heroics" in a match against University of Florida. Pressley was a

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

Watch List candidate in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, she was named Soccer America MVP: First-Team All-American, TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Season – Third Team, NSCAA All-American Fourth Team, and All-ACC First Team. She also earned NSCAA Southeast Region First Team honors and was ranked number 41 on the Top Drawer National Top 100 Women the same year. In 2011, she was named to the NSCAA All-American Third Team and ACC All-Tournament Team.

Club career

W-League: Boston Renegades and Washington Freedom Futures, 2008–2011

Pressley played with the

Boston Renegades Boston Renegades was an American women’s soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular ...

of the W-League during the summer of 2008. She made five appearances with the team for a total of 167 minutes. Pressley played for the Washington Freedom Futures of the W-League from 2009 to 2010. She made eight appearances for a total of 693 minutes and provided one assist.

Drafted to Philadelphia Independence, 2012

Pressley was selected in the second round (13th overall) of the 2012 WPS Draft by the

Philadelphia Independence The Philadelphia Independence was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010 and played its home games at West ...

; however, the league folded before the season began.

Western New York Flash, 2012

In 2012, she played for

in the WPSL Elite, as center-back. Pressley helped the Flash win the league championship after scoring an equalizer in the last minute of stoppage time. Teammate Angela Salem scored the deciding penalty kick to give Western New York the WPSL Elite championship, defeating the

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) ...

4–2 on penalty kicks after the teams finished tied 1–1 at the end of 120 minutes.

Ryazan VDV, 2012–2013

Pressley played for Ryazan VDV in

during the 2012–2013 season.

Washington Spirit, 2013–2014

Pressley signed with the

in the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...

in June 2013. She made her debut for the club on June 15, 2013, during a match against her former club, the

Western New York Flash and Houston Dash, 2015

In February 2015, it was announced that Pressley had been traded to the

for the 2015 season. In April, she started and played a full ninety minutes during the team's season opener against the

Seattle Reign FC OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

which resulted in a 5–1 defeat. The following month, she was traded to the

Houston Dash The Houston Dash is a professional Women's association football, women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 National Women's Soccer League season, 2014 season, and is affiliated w ...

in exchange for midfielder Ashley Nick.

Orlando Pride, 2016–2022

On November 2, 2015, Pressley was selected by Orlando Pride in the 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft. On October 12, 2019, after undergoing surgery for breast cancer in August, Pressley appeared in the Pride's final game of the season. She signed a one-year contract extension with an option for an additional year in January 2021. At the end of the 2022 season, Pressley was extended a new contract offer but did not appear on the team's opening preseason roster.

Loan to Canberra United, 2017–2018

In October 2017, Pressley joined Australian club Canberra United for the

2017–18 W-League The 2017–18 W-League season was the tenth season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. Clubs Stadia and locations Personnel and kits Managerial changes Transfers Foreign players The ...

season.

International career

Pressley has represented the United States on various youth national youth teams including the under-17, under-18, under-20, and under-23 teams. Pressley was a member of the under-20 team that captured gold at the CONCACAF Qualifier thus earning an automatic berth in the FIFA World Cup. She played every minute of every game in the tournament as a member of the team's defensive line and tallied an assist in a 5–0 victory over Switzerland. The United States reached the quarter-finals of the

2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 5th edition of the tournament. It was held in Germany, who will also host the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup a year later from 13 July to 1 August 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from al ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. In June 2011, Pressley participated with the U-23 team at the Three Nations Tournament in Falun, Sweden, from June 12–22, 2011. Pressley competed for the United States women's national under-23 soccer team and won the Four Nations tournament in

La Manga Club La Manga Club is a sports and leisure resort located in the south-eastern region of Spain, Murcia, south of La Manga, and bordered by the Mar Menor and Calblanque Regional Park. The resort complex opened in 1972 and covers an area of 1,400 ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Personal life

Pressley is a vegan and self-described animal lover. She says veganism has helped her become a better athlete. In August 2019, Pressley began treatment for

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

. In January 2021, Pressley announced her engagement to

teammate

Marta Vieira da Silva Marta Vieira da Silva (born 19 February 1986), known mononymously as Marta (), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Brazil national team. Mar ...

References

External links

* *
US Soccer player profile

Washington Spirit player profile

An Interview With Toni Pressley – AllWhiteKit.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pressley, Toni American women's soccer players 1990 births Living people African-American women's soccer players Florida State Seminoles women's soccer players Expatriate women's footballers in Russia Ryazan-VDV players Western New York Flash players Women's Premier Soccer League Elite players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' soccer) West Shore Junior – Senior High School alumni National Women's Soccer League players A-League Women players Washington Spirit players Houston Dash players Women's association football defenders Soccer players from Florida People from Melbourne, Florida Orlando Pride players Canberra United FC players United States women's under-20 international soccer players American LGBT sportspeople American LGBT soccer players LGBT people from Florida 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women Association footballers' wives and girlfriends Expatriate sportspeople in Australia Boston Renegades players USL W-League (1995–2015) players