Lia Godfrey

Last updated

Lia Godfrey
UNC vs UVA (Sep 2024) 04 (cropped).jpg
Godfrey with Virginia in 2024
Personal information
Full name Lia Eugenia Godfrey [1]
Date of birth (2001-11-08) November 8, 2001 (age 23) [1]
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Virginia Cavaliers
Number 22
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2020– Virginia Cavaliers 103 (27)
International career
2016 United States U-15
2016 United States U-16
2016–2018 United States U-17 8 (4)
2020 United States U-19 3 (0)
2019 United States U-20 3 (0)
2023 United States U-23

Lia Eugenia Godfrey (born November 8, 2001) is an American college soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the Virginia Cavaliers. She has earned All-American honors three times and was named the ACC Midfielder of the Year in 2025. She represented the United States at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

Contents

Early life

Godfrey grew up in Fleming Island, Florida, the daughter of Tim and Stefannie Godfrey, and has a twin brother and older sister. Her father ran track at South Florida. She is of Italian descent on her mother's side. [2] [3] Godfrey joined Clay County Soccer Club at age five, and her club coach tabbed her as "the next Morgan Brian" at an early age. [4] She played DA club soccer for Clay County (which later became United Soccer Alliance) and ECNL soccer for Jacksonville FC. [2] She was twice named United Soccer Coaches All-American, and TopDrawerSoccer ranked her as the tenth-best recruit of the 2020 class. She graduated from Fleming Island High School. [2]

College career

Godfrey started all but her first game with the Virginia Cavaliers as a freshman in 2020, a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She scored 4 goals and led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 9 assists in 21 games, helping Virginia to the semifinals of both the ACC and NCAA tournaments. She was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, TopDrawerSoccer National Freshman of the Year, second-team All-ACC, second-team United Soccer Coaches All-American, and first-team TopDrawerSoccer Best XI. [2] [5] In her sophomore season in 2021, scored 3 goals and added a team-high 12 assists, earning first-team All-ACC and second-team All-American honors. Virginia went undefeated in conference play to claim the ACC regular-season title, before losing to Florida State in the ACC tournament final and BYU in the third round of the NCAA tournament. [2] [6]

Godfrey scored a career-high 8 goals with 5 assists in 23 games in her junior season in 2022, being named first-team All-ACC and first-team All-American. She scored a brace against Xavier in the NCAA tournament as Virginia made the quarterfinals. [2] She missed the entire 2023 season after suffering a knee injury in the spring. [3] She came back the following year, re-entering the starting lineup by the sixth game of the 2024 season. She ended the season with 2 goals and 3 assists and helped Virginia return to the NCAA tournament, which they had missed the year prior. [2] [7] She returned to form in her sixth and final season in 2025, being named the first-team All-ACC and the ACC Midfielder of the Year. [8]

International career

Godfrey received her first youth national team call-up at the under-15 level in 2015. The following year, at age 14, she played for the under-17 team and was the United States's youngest player at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. [4] [9] She missed the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup due to an ACL tear. [10] She later appeared in friendlies at the under-19, under-20, and under-23 levels. [11]

Honors and awards

Virginia Cavaliers

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016 – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. September 24, 2016. Archived from the original (pdf) on November 4, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Lia Godfrey". Virginia Cavaliers . Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Godfrey's Return Buoys Hoos". Virginia Cavaliers. August 15, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Eskilson, J.R. (September 26, 2016). "Meet the 2016 U.S. U17 World Cup squad". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  5. ↑ "2020–21 Women's DI Postseason awards". TopDrawerSoccer . May 24, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  6. ↑ Wieland, Ben (June 28, 2022). "State of the program: Virginia women's soccer". Streaking the Lawn. SB Nation . Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  7. ↑ Prochaska, Val (November 22, 2024). "The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women's Soccer Crashes out of NCAAs". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  8. ↑ "2025 All-ACC Women's Soccer Awards Announced". Atlantic Coast Conference . Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  9. ↑ Lefko, Randy (September 21, 2016). "Godfrey gets international soccer nod". Clay Today. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  10. ↑ "U.S. U17 WNT World Cup Roster". United States Soccer Federation. October 22, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2024– via TopDrawerSoccer .
  11. ↑ "Lia Godfrey". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved December 29, 2024.
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