Lilly Reale

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Lilly Reale
Lilly Reale during Gotham Angel City Sep 7 25-023 (cropped).jpg
Reale with Gotham FC in 2025
Personal information
Full name Lilly Ann Reale [1]
Date of birth (2003-08-12) August 12, 2003 (age 22) [1]
Place of birth Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Left back, center back
Team information
Current team
 Gotham FC
Number 4
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021–2024 UCLA Bruins 83 (3)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2025– Gotham FC 26 (1)
International career‡
2019 United States U-17 3 (0)
2022 United States U-20 9 (1)
2023– United States U-23 3 (1)
2025– United States 4 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of November 2, 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of October 29, 2025

Lilly Ann Reale (born August 12, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team.

Contents

Reale played college soccer for the UCLA Bruins and helped lead the team to the 2022 national championship. She earned first-team All-American honors twice and was named the Pac-12 or Big Ten Defender of the Year three times. She began her professional career with Gotham in 2025, winning NWSL Rookie of the Year.

Reale represented the United States at the youth international level, appearing at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, before making her senior debut in 2025.

Early life

Reale was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Melissa and Jeff Reale, and has two younger siblings. Her sister, Sophie, played with her at UCLA for one season. [2] [3] Reale was raised in Hingham and started playing soccer at three or four. [4] She played club soccer for South Shore Select alongside Ally Sentnor. [5] She played both forward and center back at Hingham High School, scoring 15 goals as a freshman and 21 as a sophomore before dedicating herself to defense. [2] [6] She initially committed to play college soccer at Boston College, but after its head coach left, she changed her commitment to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). [7] [8]

College career

Reale was a four-year starter for the UCLA Bruins, making 83 appearances. [2] In her freshman season in 2021, she contributed to the team posting an eight-game shutout streak during the regular season. [9] [10] She received All-Pac-12 Conference first-team and TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI honors. [2] [11] UCLA went undefeated to win the Pac-12 conference title but were upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament. [4] In her sophomore season in 2022, Reale was named the Pac-12 Defender of the Year and second-team All-American by United Soccer Coaches. [12] In the 2022 national title game, UCLA went down 2–0 to North Carolina but recovered late to win 3–2 in overtime. Reale played every minute of the NCAA tournament and was named its Most Outstanding Defensive Player. [13] [14] After the season, she was awarded the Honda Sports Award as the best player in college soccer. [15]

Reale led the Bruins to her second Pac-12 championship in her junior season in 2023. She was named first-team All-American and became the only player to win consecutive Pac-12 Defender of the Year awards (and second to win twice overall after Naomi Girma). [2] [16] With the program's move to the Big Ten Conference in her senior season in 2024, Reale helped UCLA win the Big Ten tournament without conceding in three tournament games. She was named the Big Ten Defender of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten, and first-team All-American. [17] [18]

Club career

Reale playing for Gotham in 2025 Lilly Reale Gotham.Louisville.19.Oct.2025-096 (cropped).jpg
Reale playing for Gotham in 2025

Gotham FC announced on January 3, 2025, that they had signed Reale to her first professional contract on a three-year deal. [19] Previously a center back in college, she was moved to the left back position by head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. [20] She made her professional debut on March 15 as a substitute after Mandy Freeman was ejected late on the opening matchday against the Seattle Reign. [21] The following week, she scored an own goal two minutes into her first professional start, a 2–0 defeat to the Orlando Pride. [22] Despite the error, Amorós said she "was outstanding" over the rest of the game. [23] She scored her first goal for Gotham on April 13, heading in the third in a 3–1 win over the North Carolina Courage. [20] On May 25, she started in the 2025 CONCACAF W Champions Cup final against Tigres and played the entire match as Gotham won 1–0 to become the inaugural winners of the competition. [24]

Reale played in all 26 league games, starting 21, as Gotham placed eighth in the standings. [25] She had one goal and logged over 1,900 minutes in the regular season, with only Emily Sonnett playing more for the team as a defender. [25] She was named the NWSL Rookie of the Year. [26]

International career

Reale was first called into training camp with the United States national under-15 team in 2017. [2] [27] She played international friendly matches for the under-15 and under-16 teams in 2018 and the under-17 team the following year. [28] While in college, Reale started for the under-20s at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, winning the United States won. [29] She competed with the team at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, where they did not advance out of the group stage. [30] She played friendlies for the under-23 team in 2023. [31] She was called up by Emma Hayes into Futures Camp, practicing alongside the senior national team, in January 2025. [32] In May 2025, Reale was called up to the under-23 team for a set of friendlies against Germany, scoring in the first game. [33]

Hayes gave Reale her first senior national team call-up in June 2025. [34] She made her senior debut in the June 26 friendly against the Republic of Ireland, playing the full match and assisting Alyssa Thompson in the 4–0 win. [35]

Career statistics

As of November 9, 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeaguePlayoffsContinental [a] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Gotham FC 2025 NWSL 2611020291
Career total2611020291

International

As of match played October 29, 2025
National TeamYearAppsGoals
United States 2025 40
Total40

Honors and awards

UCLA Bruins

Gotham FC

United States U-20

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "Squad List: FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022" (PDF). FIFA. August 3, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lilly Reale – Women's Soccer". UCLA Bruins . Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  3. ↑ Abrishamchian, Ava (June 10, 2024). "Lilly and Sophie Reale provide support to each other as sisters, teammates". Daily Bruin . Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Whitaker, Grace (October 24, 2023). "Lilly Reale: The 'coach on the field' and voice that guides UCLA women's soccer". Daily Bruin . Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  5. ↑ Sigal, Jonathan (April 30, 2019). "Reale, Sentnor called into US U-17s for new cycle" . New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  6. ↑ Dudek, Greg (September 15, 2018). "Corner Kicks: Sophomore the (Lilly) Reale deal in Hingham". Boston Herald . Archived from the original on June 25, 2024.
  7. ↑ Sigal, Jonathan (August 11, 2020). "Lilly Reale verbally commits to UCLA for Class of 2021". New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  8. ↑ Wolcott Jr., David (February 18, 2021). "Hingham's Lilly Reale has a place set aside in UCLA's women's soccer program". Wicked Local . Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  9. ↑ Dudek, Greg (September 21, 2021). "Hingham sisters Lilly and Sophie Reale starring on soccer pitch on opposite coasts". The Patriot Ledger . Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  10. ↑ Fenn, Jay (October 1, 2021). "UCLA women's soccer concedes goal, maintains their undefeated streak". Daily Bruin . Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  11. ↑ Clark, Travis (December 31, 2021). "Top young U.S. players in 2021". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Lilly Reale Earns All-America Honors". UCLA Bruins. December 2, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  13. ↑ Wolcott Jr., David (December 9, 2022). "Hingham's Reale sisters pull off unreal pair of championship victories". Wicked Local . Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  14. ↑ Doherty, Matt (December 9, 2022). "For Hingham's Lilly Reale, a dramatic comeback was the perfect way to win the NCAA women's soccer title". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on June 25, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Lilly Reale Wins Honda Sport Award for Soccer". UCLA Bruins. December 19, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Pac-12 announces 2023 women's soccer All-Conference honors". Pac-12 Conference. November 7, 2023. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  17. ↑ "UCLA Captures First-Ever Big Ten Title". UCLA Bruins. November 10, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Big Ten Conference Announces 2024 Women's Soccer Postseason Honors". Big Ten Conference. November 1, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Gotham FC Signs UCLA Defender Lilly Reale to Multi-Year Contract". Gotham FC. January 3, 2025. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  20. 1 2 McHugh, Erin (April 30, 2025). "'A piece of home': Hingham's Lilly Reale leans on family as she kicks off pro soccer career". The Patriot Ledger . Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  21. ↑ Cardamone, Michael (March 16, 2025). "Gotham FC opened the season with a 1-1 draw away to Seattle Reign FC". Skyscraper Blues. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Match Report: Orlando Pride defeats NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-0 to earn first road win of the season". Orlando Pride. March 23, 2025. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
  23. ↑ Tonelli, Jenna (March 24, 2025). "Despite Own Goal, Lilly Reale Shines in Gotham FC Home Opener". Jenna's Sources. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  24. 1 2 "Gotham FC Crowned Champions of Inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup". Gotham FC . Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  25. 1 2 "2025 Gotham FC Stats". FBref.com . Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  26. ↑ Henderson, Cydney (November 19, 2025). "2025 NWSL Awards live updates: Full list of winners, highlights". USA Today . Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  27. ↑ "U15 GNT heads to Texas for second 2017 camp". United States Soccer Federation. April 18, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2024– via TopDrawerSoccer .
  28. ↑ "U16 GNT heads to Torneo Delle Nazioni". United States Soccer Federation. April 16, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2024– via TopDrawerSoccer .
    "U15 GNT heads to Holland for two matches". United States Soccer Federation. May 25, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2024– via TopDrawerSoccer .
    "US U17 WNT roster for tournament in Sweden". United States Soccer Federation. August 21, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2024– via TopDrawerSoccer .
  29. ↑ "U23 WNT heading to Austin for training camp". United States Soccer Federation. January 13, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2024– via TopDrawerSoccer .
    Clark, Travis (March 12, 2022). "USA wins Concacaf U20 Championship". TopDrawerSoccer . Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  30. ↑ "USA Bows Out Of FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup With 3–1 Loss To Japan". United States Soccer Federation. August 17, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  31. ↑ "U.S. U23 WNT Defeats France 2–0". United States Soccer Federation. February 17, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2024– via TopDrawerSoccer .
  32. ↑ "Emma Hayes Names 24 Players to the 2025 Futures Camp Which Will Run Concurrently With USWNT Training Camp in Los Angeles". United States Soccer Federation. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  33. ↑ "U.S. Under-23 Women's National Team Defeats Germany, 2-1, on Late Goal from Evelyn Shores". United States Soccer Federation. March 2, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Hayes Names 25-player USWNT Training Camp Roster for Matches against Republic of Ireland and Canada". United States Soccer Federation. June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  35. ↑ Anderson, Jason (June 26, 2025). "USWNT vs. Republic of Ireland: Live updates, lineups, highlights". USA Today . Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  36. ↑ "USA Wins Concacaf Women's U-20 Championship With 2-0 Victory Over Mexico". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
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