| Paulson with Bay FC in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Catherine Pauline Paulson [1] | ||
| Date of birth | November 5, 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Mountain View, California, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2023 | Stanford Cardinal | 47 | (4) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024–2025 | Bay FC | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of November 9, 2025 | |||
Catherine Pauline Paulson (born November 5, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder. She played college soccer for the Stanford Cardinal.
Paulson was born in Mountain View and raised in Los Altos, California. [2] She played basketball and danced in addition to playing soccer growing up. [3] She joined MVLA Soccer Club when she was eight. [3] She played two seasons of soccer at Saint Francis High School. [2] She and her twin sister committed to play college soccer at Stanford when they were sophomores. [4]
Paulson's freshman season with the Stanford Cardinal was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She scored one goal in the 12 games she played in the spring, starting 6. [2] [3] She missed her entire sophomore season due to injury. [2] In her redshirt sophomore season in 2022, she helped the Cardinal win the Pac-12 Conference, scoring 3 goals in 21 appearances exclusively as a substitute. [2] She started the first 2 games and made 14 appearances in 2023. Stanford went undefeated all the way to the final of the NCAA tournament, losing to Florida State. [2] [5] She graduated the following spring, receiving her bachelor's degree in science, technology, and society. [1]
Bay FC head coach Albertin Montoya, who previously coached at Paulson's youth club MVLA, invited her to join the expansion side as a training player after she graduated from college. [3] On August 27, 2024, Bay announced she had signed with the team on a national team replacement contract while Savy King was on international duty at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. [6] She made debuted for Bay the same day in their club friendly against Barcelona at PayPal Park. [3] On October 11, she signed a second contract with Bay for the remainder of the season. [7]
Paulson returned to Bay as a non-roster invitee in the 2025 preseason. [8] On March 10, she signed a short-term contract through June. [9] When it expired, she was re-signed until the end of the season. [10] On August 10, she made her NWSL debut as a late substitute for Penelope Hocking in a 1–1 draw against the Chicago Stars. [11] She made her first start in her sixth NWSL appearance in a 4–1 loss to the North Carolina Courage on October 17. [12]
Paulson is the daughter of Jen and Greg Paulson. [2] She has three siblings including a twin sister, Sarah, who played with her at Stanford. [13] Three generations of her family played college sports at Santa Clara University. [2]
Stanford Cardinal