There’s no one clear-cut route to the pros, but being a U.S. college soccer player doesn’t hurt. Socceristas come from all over the world, and some have come here to play college ball. So let’s see which U.S. college soccer alumni are currently shining in the FA WSL.
Kaylan Marckese
Born and raised in Florida, Marckese was a collegiate Florida Gator, playing keeper for the University of Florida from 2015-2018. So far, Marckese has only spent one-year stateside since going pro.
Starting off with Gotham FC–Sky Blue FC at the time–she then spent a few years in the Icelandic league before finding her current home at Arsenal.
Katie Stengel
Stengel has played all over the world for a ton of teams, but she was raised and educated in the States. Born in Florida and a proud alumna of Wake Forest in North Carolina, Stengel has played all over this country, in Germany, Australia, Norway, and now England.
Stengel has only been playing forward in the WSL since 2022, but as she has a history of only playing for one season anywhere, it looks like Liverpool might stick!
Vicky Bruce
A former Davidson Wildcat, Bruce has been defending abroad her entire professional career—Scotland, Iceland, Cyprus, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and now Bristol City in England.
Globe-trotting Bruce joined the Vixens in 2022 and will be her seventh team since 2016.
Brooke Hendrix
Currently playing defense for Reading, Hendrix played college ball not too far from her home state of Georgia. She attended Southern Miss and was a Golden Eagle from 2011-2014.
Reading is the second WSL team Hendrix has played for as she began her English soccer journey with West Ham back in 2018.
Alessia Russo
Russo is an English player currently playing for Manchester United, but she was college educated stateside. Before heading back across the pond, Russo was a dedicated Tar Heel for the University of North Carolina, where she made 57 appearances and 28 goals.
Russo actually left the WSL, Chelsea to be specific, to come to play for North Carolina.
Zoe Morse
From a childhood in Michigan to college in Virginia, Morse has now found herself in England playing for Brighton & Hove Albion. A highly decorated collegiate athlete for the Virginia Cavaliers, Morse spent a few years with the Chicago Red Stars before shipping off to the WSL this year.
She is still a very fresh face to Brighton & Hove, but we’ve seen her shine stateside as a goal scorer, and we know she will be abroad.
Brianna Visalli
Visalli was a starter at midfield for all four of her years at Pepperdine University in California, and now she’s at Brighton & Hove along with Morse. Not her first time to the WSL, Visalli played a season for both West Ham and Birmingham City before coming back to the state for two seasons with Houston Dash.
Visalli has yet to make waves abroad, but we have every confidence that Brighton & Hove will be her place to shine.
Lotte Wubben-Moy
Wubben-Moy is a young name that everyone should know. A former Tar Heel but English at heart, Wubben-Moy’s collegiate career was sandwiched between stints at Arsenal. An Arsenal defender from 2015-2017, Wubben-Moy came to North Carolina for college from 2017-2019 and then headed right back to Arsenal’s back line.
That’s team loyalty that can’t be beaten!
Featured image via Getty Images
_
GIRLS SOCCER NETWORK: YOUR SOURCE FOR GIRLS SOCCER NEWS