External links
- Abi Brighton at Soccerway.com
Juventus FC (women) – current squad | |
|---|---|
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abigail Crosby Brighton [1] | ||
| Date of birth | March 29, 2002 [2] | ||
| Place of birth | Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S. | ||
| Position(s) | Center midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Juventus | ||
| Number | 33 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2024 | Vanderbilt Commodores | 93 | (10) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Juventus | 8 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of March 30, 2025 | |||
Abigail Crosby Brighton (born March 29, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Serie A Femminile club Juventus. She played college soccer for the Vanderbilt Commodores, earning All-American honors.
Brighton was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, to John and Stephanie Brighton, and raised in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. [2] She has an older brother, James, who played college soccer for Clemson. Brighton attended Heritage Academy in Hilton Head, where she captained the soccer team from 2012 to 2018. [3] She played club soccer for Tormenta FC. [4]
Brighton was a five-year starter for the Vanderbilt Commodores, scoring 10 goals and making 15 assists in 93 appearances (92 starts). In her freshman season in 2020, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped lead Vanderbilt to their first SEC tournament title since 1994. In the opening round, she scored and assisted in a 4–2 win against Mississippi State (her rocket against Mississippi State made SportsCenter 's top 10 plays), and she scored the last goal in a 3–1 victory over Arkansas in the final. Vanderbilt lost to Penn State in their opening game in the NCAA tournament. She finished the season with 3 goals and 2 assists in 16 games and was named to the SEC all-freshman team. [2] [5]
Brighton made a career-high five assists in 21 games in her junior season in 2022, including the tying assist in a 1–1 draw against Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament, before making her penalty kick as they advanced in a shootout. In the NCAA tournament, she assisted the only goal in a 1–0 win against Clemson in the first round before losing to Northwestern in the next game. She became team captain of the Commodores in her senior year. She returned for a fifth and final season (granted to college athletes because of the pandemic) in 2024. In her last NCAA tournament, she led Vanderbilt to an upset win against top-seeded defending champions Florida State in the second round, assisting on the second goal in a 3–3 draw and making the winning penalty kick in the ensuing shootout. Vanderbilt lost to Penn State in the next round. [2] [6] Described as "arguably the spine of the team" for her facilitating play, Brighton was named to the All-SEC second team in her last two seasons and third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American in her last season. [2] [7]
Italian club Juventus announced on January 8, 2025, that they had signed Brighton to her first professional contract on a two-and-a-half-year deal. [8] She made her professional debut three days later, substituting for Eva Schatzer in a 3–0 win against Sampdoria. [9]
Brighton was called into United States national under-14 team training camp in 2016 and later invited to virtual camp at the under-20 level in 2021. [10] [11] She was called into training camp with the United States under-23 team, practicing alongside the senior national team, in March 2025. [12]
Vanderbilt Commodores
Individual