Michelle Cooper (soccer)

Last updated

Michelle Cooper
Michelle Cooper 2023-01 (cropped).jpg
Cooper with the Kansas City Current in 2023
Personal information
Full name Michelle Ivory Cooper [1]
Date of birth (2002-12-04) December 4, 2002 (age 22) [2]
Place of birth Detroit, Michigan, United States
Height 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) [3]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Kansas City Current
Number 17
Youth career
2019–2021 IMG Academy
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021–2022 Duke Blue Devils 40 (31)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2023– Kansas City Current 42 (6)
International career
2022 United States U20 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 4, 2023

Michelle Ivory Cooper (born December 4, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played two years of college soccer for the Duke Blue Devils, winning the Hermann Trophy as a sophomore, and was picked second overall by the Current in the 2023 NWSL Draft. She represented the United States at the youth international level.

Contents

Early life and college career

Cooper was born in Detroit and raised in Clarkston, Michigan. She attended IMG Academy in Florida, captaining the soccer team in her junior and senior seasons. She was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the 18th-best recruit of the 2021 class. [3]

Duke Blue Devils

Cooper led the Duke Blue Devils with 12 goals (the most by a freshman in program history) and added 5 assists in 18 games in her freshman season in 2021. In the NCAA tournament, she scored two goals in a 7–1 win against St. John's in the third round as Duke reached the national quarterfinals. She was named the TopDrawerSoccer National Freshman of the Year, first-team All-American, first-team All-ACC, and the ACC Freshman of the Year. [3] In her sophomore season, she had an even better year with 19 goals (second in the nation) and 11 assists. She scored the first goal in a 2–1 win against Virginia as Duke made the semifinals of the ACC tournament. In the NCAA tournament, she scored a tournament-joint-high 6 goals through three braces, including in a 3–2 quarterfinal loss to Alabama. She was recognized as first-team All-American, first-team All-ACC, and the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, and became the first Duke Blue Devil to receive the Hermann Trophy as the best player in college soccer. [3] After two seasons in Durham, she registered for the 2023 NWSL Draft, giving up remaining college eligibility. [4]

Club career

Kansas City Current

Kansas City Current drafted Cooper with the second-overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. [5] The Current had traded Lynn Williams to NJ/NY Gotham FC to acquire the pick. Cooper was signed a three-year contract. [6] She debuted on March 25, playing the full match in a 1–0 loss to the North Carolina Courage on opening day. [7] On May 17, she scored her first professional goal in a 3–2 loss to Racing Louisville FC in the NWSL Challenge Cup group stage. [8] On June 18, she scored the fastest goal from kickoff in NWSL history in the 22nd second of the Current's 3–2 loss to the Washington Spirit. [9] She finished her rookie regular season with 3 goals and 1 assist in 21 games (17 starts) as the Current placed 11th of 12 teams. [10] She also had 1 goals and 1 assist in 5 starts in the Challenge Cup, helping the Current reach the semifinals. [11]

Cooper scored 1 goal and started all 5 games in the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, helping the Current go undefeated to win the tournament. [12] She finished the 2024 regular season with 3 goals and 2 assists in 21 games (15 starts) as Kansas City placed fourth in the league. [13] She started both playoff games for the Current, assisting Debinha in a 3–2 loss to the Orlando Pride in the semifinals. [14]

International career

Cooper played for the United States youth national team at the under-16, under-18, under-19, and under-20 levels. [3] She led the United States to victory at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, earning the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards [15] and making the Best XI team. [16] She was called up by Emma Hayes into Futures Camp, practicing alongside the senior national team, in January 2025. [17]

Career statistics

As of match played November 3, 2024. [18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCup [a] Playoffs [b] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kansas City Current 2023 NWSL 21361—274
2024 213——213
Career total4266100487

Honors and awards

Kansas City Current

United States U20

Individual

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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. ↑ "#17 Michelle Cooper". National Women's Soccer League . Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Michelle Cooper". Duke Blue Devils . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  4. ↑ "'A gut feeling': Michelle Cooper's big decision leads to Kansas City". Just Women's Sports. January 13, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  5. ↑ "NWSL Draft" . Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  6. ↑ Palmer, Tod (February 2, 2023). "Current signs No. 2 overall pick F Michelle Cooper to 3-year deal". KSHB 41 Kansas City News . Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ Herrera, Sandra (March 25, 2023). "Kansas City Current's rookies were thrown into the fire in opening day loss against North Carolina Courage". CBS Sports . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  8. ↑ Sperry, Daniel (May 17, 2023). "Kansas City Current fall to Racing Louisville in NWSL Challenge Cup match on the road". The Kansas City Star . Yahoo Sports . Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  9. ↑ Sperry, Daniel (June 18, 2023). "Kansas City Current squander late lead, lose to Washington Spirit in NWSL home match". The Kansas City Star .
  10. ↑ "2023 Kansas City Current Stats (NWSL)". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  11. ↑ "2023 Kansas City Current Stats (NWSL Challenge Cup)". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  12. ↑ Michelle Cooper at Soccerway OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  13. ↑ "2024 Kansas City Current Stats". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Michelle Cooper 2024 Match Logs". FBref.com . Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Cooper earns Best Player, Top Scorer honors at CWU20" (Press release). Concacaf. March 13, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  16. ↑ @ConcacafW (March 15, 2022). "The Concacaf W U-20 Championship Best XI is here" (Tweet). Retrieved March 15, 2022– via Twitter.
  17. ↑ "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.
  18. ↑ "Stats". National Women's Soccer League . Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Match Report: Kansas City Current win NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup with 2-0 victory over NJ/NY Gotham FC". Kansas City Current. October 25, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  20. ↑ "USA Wins Concacaf Women's U-20 Championship With 2-0 Victory Over Mexico". US Soccer. March 12, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
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