![]() Duran with Gotham FC in 2025 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Kayla Jennifer Duran [1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | September 29, 1999||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [3] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Gotham FC | ||
Number | 19 | ||
Youth career | |||
FC Stars | |||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2018–2019 | Boston College Eagles | 20 | (1) |
2020–2022 | Brown Bears | 33 | (2) |
2023 | USC Trojans | 19 | (1) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2025– | Gotham FC | 1 | (0) |
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:14, August 9, 2025 (UTC) |
Kayla Jennifer Duran (born September 29, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Boston College Eagles, Brown Bears, and USC Trojans.
A native of Woburn, Massachusetts, [4] Duran played soccer for local club FC Stars. [5] She contributed to two ECNL final four appearances and also won the 2018 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year award. [4] [6] Duran was a dual-sport athlete at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, participating in both soccer and ice hockey. [7] With the soccer team, she totaled 63 goals and 44 assists across all 3 positional lines. She helped Buckingham Browne & Nichols win one league championship. She also received individual honors, landing a spot on the 2017 High School All-American East team and bagging one League MVP title. [4] [7]
Duran kicked off her college career with the Boston College Eagles. She started all 20 games of her freshman year [4] and was named to the 2018 ACC All-Freshman team. [8] She recorded 1827 minutes of play, reaching a single-game personal record of 110 minutes against Miami on October 13. [4] She scored her first college goal on September 20, 2018, picking off a rebound to help Boston College beat Syracuse, 3–0. [9] However, Duran picked up a season-ending injury in the build-up to her sophomore year. She was forced to miss the entire season and never appeared for the Eagles again. [10]
Duran transferred to Brown University in 2020, partially due to the school's open curriculum education program. [11] Her return to the field was later pushed back another year, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Ivy League to cancel the 2020 athletic season. During their time off the field, Duran and the Bears worked hard to prepare for the 2021 campaign. Their efforts proved to be successful, as Brown won their second Ivy League title in a row upon returning to the pitch. [12] Duran, who was originally brought in as a midfielder, [5] spent the majority of her time at Brown playing as a center back. [11] [13] Her positional move paid off, as she was named the Ivy League defensive player of the year and was named first-team All-Ivy and All-Region. [12] She also scored a goal for Brown on October 9, 2021, heading in a Sheyenne Allen corner kick to beat Princeton by a 3–1 scoreline. [14]
In her second year at Brown, Duran was named one of three team captains. [15] She led the team to their third consecutive Ivy League title and played in every match of the year. [16] [17] She was also named to the All-American third team and maintained her spot on the All-Ivy and All-Region first teams. [17] In her two active seasons of play with Brown, Duran started every single available match. [17]
In 2023, Duran entered the NCAA transfer portal for the second time. [3] She went on to play one year with the USC Trojans as a graduate student. [18] She started all 17 of the Trojans' Pac-12 games and synergized with USC's defensive unit to post 9 shutouts. [19] She also participated in both of the team's NCAA tournament games as they were eliminated in the second round by BYU. [19] [20] On November 3, 2023, Duran scored her only goal with USC and also tallied an assist as rivals UCLA beat the Trojans, 4–2. [21] At the end of the season, Duran was named to the All Pac-12 first team. [19]
Duran signed her first professional deal, a national team replacement contract, with Gotham FC on July 14, 2025. [22] On August 8, she extended her contract with Gotham through February 2026. [23] Duran made her professional debut the very next day, coming in as a substitute for Jess Carter in a scoreless draw with the Washington Spirit. [24] On August 20, she made her first start for Gotham, playing the entirety of Gotham's 2025–26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup opener against Monterrey. [25] In Gotham's next CONCACAF fixture, a match against Salvadoran club Alianza, Duran once again played all 90 minutes; she also scored her first professional goal in the game, scoring a header in stoppage-time to help Gotham secure a 2–0 victory. [26]
As a high school sophomore, Duran received a call-up to the United States national under-17 team. [7]
Duran's brother, Riley Duran, is a professional ice hockey player who was selected by the Boston Bruins in the 2020 NHL entry draft. [27] Both of Duran's parents were former collegiate athletes; her father played ice hockey for the SUNY Plattsburgh Cardinals while her mother played soccer, softball, and basketball for the Utica Pioneers. [17]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Playoffs | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Gotham FC | 2025 | NWSL | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
Career total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |