Laney Rouse

Last updated

Laney Rouse
Stanford vs Virginia (2025 ACC tournament) 33 (cropped).jpg
Rouse with Virginia in 2025
Personal information
Full name Elaine Marie Rouse [1]
Date of birth (2002-08-31) August 31, 2002 (age 23)
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position Right back
Team information
Current team
 Kansas City Current
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2020–2025 Virginia Cavaliers 97 (2)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2026– Kansas City Current 0 (0)
International career
2018 United States U-16
2018 United States U-19 1 (0)
2022 United States U-20 10 (0)
2023 United States U-23 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Elaine Marie Rouse (born August 31, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right back for the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Virginia Cavaliers, earning fourth-team All-American honors in 2025. She represented the United States at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Contents

Early life

Rouse grew up in Cary, North Carolina, the daughter of Cheryl and Granville Rouse, and has two older brothers. [2] She began playing soccer when she was four as she took after one of her brothers, Jordan, who later played college soccer for the St. John's Red Storm. [3] She played club soccer for the North Carolina Courage Academy. [2] She committed to Virginia before her sophomore year at Cary Academy. [4] She was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the 26th-best prospect of the 2020 class, part of Virginia's second-ranked recruiting class. [5]

College career

Rouse played in 12 games and started 3 for the Virginia Cavaliers as a freshman in 2020, helping reach both the ACC and NCAA tournament semifinals. [2] She played in all 23 games and started 13 as a sophomore in 2021, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular-season title. [2] She started all five postseason games as the Cavaliers lost the ACC tournament final to Florida State and earned a one seed in the NCAA tournament, making the third round. [2] She played in 20 games with 18 starts in her junior year in 2022, scoring one goal in the NCAA tournament as the Cavaliers made the quarterfinals. [2] In 2023, she injured the Achilles tendon in her left ankle in the opening game and missed the rest of the season. [6]

Rouse returned to start all 19 games for the Cavaliers in 2024, [2] helping the team back into the NCAA tournament after missing it the year prior. [7] She had a "sixth-year Renaissance" in her last college season in 2025, [8] starting all 22 games, scoring a goal against Duke, and adding a career-high three assists. [2] Virginia made the ACC tournament semifinals and earned a one seed in the NCAA tournament, losing in the third round on penalties. [9] She was named second-team All-ACC and tabbed fourth-team All-American by United Soccer Coaches. [10]

Club career

The Kansas City Current announced on December 19, 2025, that they had signed Rouse to her first professional contract on a one-year deal. [11]

International career

Rouse began training with the United States youth national team at the under-14 level in 2016. [12] In 2018, she helped the under-16s win the Torneo delle Nazioni friendly tournament in Italy. [13] She helped the under-20s win the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, starting in the 2–0 win over Mexico in the final. [14] She then made the roster for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, playing and starting in two games and earning an assist to future Kansas City teammate Michelle Cooper in the opening 3–0 win over Ghana, but the United States failed to make it out of the group stage. [11] She played friendlies for the under-23s in 2023. [15]

Honors and awards

Virginia Cavaliers

United States U-20

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022 – Squad List: USA" (PDF). FIFA. August 18, 2022. p. 16. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Laney Rouse". Virginia Cavaliers . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  3. ↑ Blankenship, Maddie (September 22, 2022). "Virginia Star Laney Rouse Finds, Gives Inspiration Through Soccer" . TheSabre.com. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  4. ↑ Clark, Travis (August 10, 2017). "No. 62 recruit makes ACC choice for 2020". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  5. ↑ Clark, Travis (August 24, 2020). "Final 2020 DI Women's Recruiting Rankings". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  6. ↑ Prochaska, Val (August 17, 2023). "UVA Women's Soccer Thumps Nevada in Season Opener". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
    "Three MPH Students Achieving Goals on and off the Soccer Field". University of Virginia. November 25, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  7. ↑ Prochaska, Val (November 22, 2024). "The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women's Soccer Crashes out of NCAAs". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  8. ↑ Joffer, Prince Akeem (October 22, 2025). "FSU soccer vs. UVA Q&A: Let's meet the Cavaliers". Tomahawk Nation. SB Nation . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  9. ↑ "No. 1 Seed Virginia Drops Shootout With No. 4 seed Washington". Virginia Cavaliers. November 23, 2025. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Godfrey, Rouse Earn All-America Honors". Virginia Cavaliers . December 5, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Standout Collegiate Defender Laney Rouse Signs With Kansas City Current Through 2026". Kansas City Current. December 19, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  12. ↑ "U.S. U14 GNT Oct. Camp roster released". United States Soccer Federation. September 30, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2025– via TopDrawerSoccer .
  13. ↑ "U.S. U-16 Girls National Team wins Torneo delle Nazioni title". SoccerWire. May 1, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  14. ↑ Clark, Travis (March 12, 2022). "USA wins Concacaf U20 Championship". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  15. ↑ Clark, Travis (February 17, 2023). "U.S. U23 WNT Defeats France 2-0". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
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