Emily Colton

Last updated

Emily Colton
FSU at Wake 2024 - 050 (Colton).jpg
Colton with Wake Forest in 2024
Personal information
Full name Emily Margaret Colton [1]
Date of birth (2003-06-23) June 23, 2003 (age 22)
Place of birth Carlsbad, California, U.S. [2]
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
DC Power FC
Number 5
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021–2023 North Carolina Tar Heels 67 (10)
2024 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 24 (7)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2025– DC Power FC 15 (1)
International career
2019 United States U-17 1 (0)
2022 United States U-20 9 (3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of August 30, 2025

Emily Margaret Colton (born June 23, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for USL Super League team DC Power FC. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, helping both teams to national title game appearances.

Contents

Early life

Colton grew up in Carlsbad, California, the daughter of Jeffery and Debra Colton, and has two sisters. [3] She and her twin sister, Abbie, began playing soccer when they were five years old. [3] Colton played club soccer for City SC in San Diego for twelve years before moving to LA Galaxy San Diego. [4] [5] She attended La Costa Canyon High School, where she played basketball. [4] Coming out of high school, she was ranked by IMG Academy as the fifth-best player of the 2021 class. [5]

College career

North Carolina Tar Heels

Colton played three seasons for the North Carolina Tar Heels and started all 67 games for the team, scoring 10 goals and providing 8 assists. [4] In her freshman season in 2021, she led the Tar Heels in scoring with 7 goals in 18 games and named to the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI second team. [4] [6] In her sophomore season in 2022, she helped North Carolina to the finals of both the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. In the national title game, she assisted Avery Patterson's second goal in a loss to UCLA. [4] Her junior season in 2023 ended in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. [4]

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Colton transferred to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons for her fourth and final season in 2024, joining her sister Abbie. [7] [8] She started all 24 games and scored 7 goals with 7 assists—both marks tied with or behind only Caiya Hanks and Emily Murphy. [9] Her assist against No. 2–ranked Virginia and her lone goal against No. 1 Stanford made Wake Forest the first team to defeat the top two ranked teams consecutively. She also helped defeat defending national champions Florida State 4–1, ending their 32–game unbeaten streak. [7] [10] She ranked second in the nation in TopDrawerSoccer's midseason player rankings. [11] In the NCAA tournament, she helped lead Wake Forest to its first national title game in program history, beating Stanford 1–0 in the semifinals before losing 1–0 to her former team North Carolina in the final. [7] [12] She was named second-team All-ACC, third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American, and second-team TopDrawerSoccer All-American at the end of the season. [7] [13]

Club career

USL Super League club DC Power FC announced on January 31, 2025, that the club had signed Colton to her first professional contract on a two-year deal. [14] She made her professional debut on February 23, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–3 draw with the Carolina Ascent. [15] She recorded her first professional assist on April 26, setting up Gianna Gourley in a 1–0 win against Brooklyn FC. [16]

On August 30, 2025, Colton scored her first professional goal for DC, opening a 2–2 draw against the Spokane Zephyr. [17]

International career

Colton was called into training camps with the United States under-15 team in 2018 and the under-17 team in 2019. [18] [19] With the under-20 team, she won the 2022 Sud Ladies Cup and the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, which qualified the team for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. In the qualifiers, she scored 3 goals and led the United States with 5 assists in 7 games and was named to the all-tournament team. [4] [20]

Honors

United States U-20

References

  1. "Wake Forest University Commencement Ceremony 2025 Program" (PDF). Wake Forest University. p. 25. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  2. "Emily Colton". DC Power FC . Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Sullivan, Cooper (October 19, 2023). "'It's a full circle moment:' Colton sisters face off during Wake Forest-UNC soccer match". Old Gold & Black . Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Emily Colton". North Carolina Tar Heels . Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Clark, Travis (August 18, 2021). "Final 2021 Women's DI Recruiting Rankings". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  6. "2021 Women's DI Postseason awards". TopDrawerSoccer . December 14, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Emily Colton". Wake Forest Demon Deacons . Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  8. "Abbie Colton". Wake Forest Demon Deacons . Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  9. "2024 Women's Soccer Cumulative Statistics". Wake Forest Demon Deacons . Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  10. Olorunfemi, Victor (December 3, 2024). "Wake Forest's Path to Women's College Cup". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  11. "Women's Midseason Top 100 Players". TopDrawerSoccer . October 9, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  12. Olorunfemi, Victor (December 9, 2024). "College Cup: Women's Final Preview". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  13. "2024 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women's All-America Teams Announced". United Soccer Coaches. December 6, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
    "2024 Women's DI Postseason Awards". TopDrawerSoccer . December 18, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  14. "DC Power Football Club Signs Wake Forest University Midfielder Emily Colton". DC Power FC. January 31, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  15. "Post-Match Facts: Power FC Opens Spring Schedule with 3-3 Draw against Carolina Ascent FC". DC Power FC. February 24, 2025. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  16. "Playoff race heats up with three spots remaining | News & Notes Week 31". USL Super League. May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  17. "Post-Match Facts: Power FC Opens 2025/26 Home Slate with 2-2 Draw Against Spokane Zephyr FC". DC Power FC. August 31, 2025. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  18. "U15 GNT heads to Norco for training camp". United States Soccer Federation. March 1, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2025 via TopDrawerSoccer .
  19. "U17 WNT roster for California Camp". United States Soccer Federation. June 12, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2025 via TopDrawerSoccer .
  20. Emily Colton at Soccerway OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg