Carolyn Calzada

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Carolyn Calzada
Notre Dame vs Duke (2025 ACC tournament) 26 (Calzada).jpg
Calzada with Notre Dame in 2025
Personal information
Full name Carolyn Lisette Calzada [1]
Date of birth (2003-03-06) March 6, 2003 (age 22) [2]
Place of birth Sugar Hill, Georgia, U.S. [2]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [3]
Position Center back
Team information
Current team
 Portland Thorns
Number 4
Youth career
2006–2012 United Fútbol Academy
2012–2015 Concord Fire
2016–2022 Tophat SC
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022–2024 Texas A&M Aggies 54 (0)
2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 18 (0)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2026– Portland Thorns 0 (0)
International career‡
2019 United States U17 3 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 00:53, January 25, 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 00:53, January 25, 2026 (UTC)

Carolyn Lisette Calzada (born March 6, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Texas A&M Aggies and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Contents

Early life

Calzada grew up in Sugar Hill, Georgia. [3] She played a variety of sports as a child before focusing completely on soccer. [4] She joined club team Tophat SC in 2016, where she contributed to three regional championship titles and one second place national finish. Calzada played one season of varsity soccer for Buford High School as captain. She led the team to its best record in program history, not conceding a single goal and advancing to the Georgia state semifinals. Calzada, who registered 15 goals and 12 assists, was named regional player of the year and received all-state honors. [4] [5] She also ran cross country, qualifying for a state meet in 2019. [3]

College career

Texas A&M Aggies

Calzada graduated early from high school in order to enroll early at Texas A&M University. [4] In her first season with the Aggies soccer team, she started in each of her 17 appearances. [3] She was named the team's 2022 Newcomer of the Year and earned a slot on the SEC All-Freshman team. [6] She also recorded two assists, both of which occurred less than a week apart from each other. [3]

As a sophomore, Calzada was named team defensive MVP after she helped Texas A&M register nine shutouts on the year. [3] [7] She was also recognized on the All-SEC first team, the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region team, and the SEC All-tournament team; TopDrawerSoccer ranked her as among one of the best 100 college players in the nation. [3] [6] [8] Calzada's junior year was her last as an Aggie. She was one of the team's co-captains and received All-SEC second team honors. [3] She left the program having made 54 appearances, all of which were as a starter. [9]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

On December 12, 2024, Calzada transferred to the University of Notre Dame as a graduate student; [9] she also received her bachelor's degree in allied health from Texas A&M on the same day. [3] [1] She participated in 18 matches for the Fighting Irish in 2025. [10] Her efforts helped the team reach second place in the 2025 ACC tournament and the second round of the NCAA tournament. [7]

Club career

NWSL club Portland Thorns FC announced that they had signed Calzada to her first professional contract, a two-year deal with a mutual option for a third year, on January 22, 2026. [11] [10]

International career

In 2019, Calzada was called up to the United States under-17 national team ahead of the UEFA Development Tournament. [4] She participated in all three of the team's matches as the United States won the tournament, picking up victories against the Czech Republic, Belgium, and the Republic of Ireland. [5] [12] On April 21, 2021, Calzada was announced as one of the players invited to the under-19 national team's virtual training camp, lead by Laura Harvey. [13]

Personal life

Calzada's brother, Zach Calzada, played three seasons of college football at Texas A&M University; [14] the siblings' Aggies sports career did not overlap, with Zach transferring to Auburn University ahead of Carolyn's first collegiate season. [15] She is of Cuban descent through her paternal grandparents. [16]

Honors and awards

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "Thursday, December 2024 TAMU Commencement Program" (PDF). Texas A&M University. p. 37. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Carolyn Calzada". Portland Thorns FC . Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Carolyn Calzada". Texas A&M Aggies . Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Butler, Isaiah (December 27, 2021). "Buford soccer star Carolyn Calzada aims to continue dominance with Aggies". BVM Sports. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Five Newcomers Begin Their Texas A&M Academic Careers". KBTX. January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Buford grad Carolyn Calzada named All-SEC first team in women's soccer". Gwinnett Daily Post. January 24, 2026. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Portland Thorns sign 22-year-old Notre Dame starting defender". KPTV. January 22, 2026. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ Stoner, Kylie (October 30, 2023). "Four postseason accolades awarded to Aggie soccer players". The Battalion. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Women's Soccer Adds Grad Transfer Carolyn Calzada". Notre Dame Fighting Irish . December 12, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  10. 1 2 Nguyen, Phuoc (January 22, 2026). "Portland Thorns sign former Notre Dame and Texas A&M defender Carolyn Calzada". All For XI. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Portland Thorns Sign Defender Carolyn Calzada". Portland Thorns FC. January 22, 2026. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  12. ↑ "U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team Heads To Czech Republic For Three Matches". US Soccer . Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  13. ↑ "U18/U19 WNT Virtual Camp Roster". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ "A&M QB Calzada's younger sister commits to Aggies". 247Sports. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ Jeyarajah, Shehan (December 13, 2021). "Texas A&M QB Zach Calzada enters transfer portal after starting 10 games, leading Alabama upset in 2021 season". CBS Sports . Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  16. ↑ https://fanbuzz.com/college-football/sec/zach-calzada-texas-am/
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