Olivia Wingate

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Olivia Wingate
2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final, 501 (cropped).jpg
Wingate with the North Carolina Courage in 2023
Personal information
Full name Olivia Ann Wingate [1]
Date of birth (2000-01-20) January 20, 2000 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) [3]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
North Carolina Courage
Number 9
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2018–2022 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 95 (26)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2023– North Carolina Courage 26 (2)
International career
2015–2016 United States U16 6 (2)
2017 United States U18 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 9, 2024

Olivia Ann Wingate (born January 20, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, earning third-team All-American honors, and was selected sixth overall by the Courage in the 2023 NWSL Draft.

Contents

Early life

Wingate was born in Medford, Massachusetts, the second of four children of Carol and Steven Wingate, and raised in nearby Wilmington. [4] [5] She started playing soccer at age four and played other sports growing up such as softball, basketball, and ice hockey. [6] [7] She played ECNL club soccer for FC Stars. [8] She played one season of ice hockey as a freshman at Wilmington High School, leading the team with about 20 goals as a forward. [4] [7]

Wingate played two seasons of high school soccer, scoring 12 goals in about 10 games as a sophomore in 2015 and recording 17 goals and 5 assists in 13 games as a junior in 2016. [4] [7] She helped lead the Wilmington Wildcats to undefeated regular-season records, but they made early departures from the state tournament both years. [4] [9] She was twice named the Middlesex League Player of the Year. [10] She committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as a sophomore in 2015. [11] In the spring of 2017, she sustained a knee injury after colliding with an opposing goalkeeper, which sidelined her for more than a year until two weeks before her first college game. [12] [13]

College career

Wingate appeared in every game for Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2018 to 2022, becoming a consistent starter in the middle of her sophomore year. [3] After scoring five goals over her first three seasons, she raised her production in her senior year with seven goals and five assists in the 2021 season. [9] She scored twice in the NCAA tournament, leveling in a second-round win over Purdue and netting in a loss to Arkansas in the third round. [3] She was named to the All-ACC third team after leading the conference in shot accuracy (0.640). [6] [14]

Wingate scored a career-high 14 goals and added 5 assists in her final college season in 2022. [9] She was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week twice, once for a second-half hat trick against Wisconsin and again for recording two goals and two assists in a pair of wins over NC State and Florida State. [15] [16] She scored three goals in the NCAA tournament to help Notre Dame reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to North Carolina. Wingate was named first-team All-ACC and third-team All-American. [6] [9]

Club career

North Carolina Courage

Wingate playing for the Courage in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final, 406 (cropped).jpg
Wingate playing for the Courage in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final

Wingate was selected sixth overall by the North Carolina Courage in the 2023 NWSL Draft, the first of the Courage's four first-round draft picks. [10] [17] She was signed to a three-year contract. [18] She made her professional debut in the 65th minute of the opening matchday against the Kansas City Current on March 25. [19] On June 14, she scored her first professional goal in stoppage time against the Washington Spirit, leading to a 2–1 win in the NWSL Challenge Cup group stage. [20] She finished her rookie season with 2 goals and 4 assists in 23 appearances (3 starts) in all competitions. [21]

Wingate scored her first NWSL regular-season goal on July 7, 2024, in her first game of the season, a 3–1 win against Racing Louisville. [22] On October 12, she responded to Christen Press's stoppage-time goal for Angel City with one of her own in the 90+10th minute, preserving the Courage's 21-game home unbeaten streak with a 1–1 draw. [23] Injured for much of the early part of the season, she had 2 goals and 2 assists in 13 games (2 starts) in all competitions. [21] [24]

Wingate began the 2025 season on the 45-day injury list. [25] In June, she underwent surgery to repair the lateral collateral ligament in her left knee. [26]

International career

Wingate was first called up to the United States national under-16 team in 2015. [8] She scored two goals in three games in an under-16 friendly tournament in Italy in May 2016. [27] [28] She made three appearances with the under-16s at a tournament in the Netherlands in September of that year. [4] [27] She played for the under-18 team on a three-game tour of England in February 2017. [29]

Playing style

Wingate is known for her speed. She has cited Mia Hamm and Christen Press as inspirations. [30] [31]

Honors

North Carolina Courage

Individual

References

  1. "University of Notre Dame Commencement Official" (PDF). Notre Dame University. p. 61. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  2. "Olivia Wingate – NC Courage". North Carolina Courage . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Olivia Wingate". University of Notre Dame. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pote, Jamie (December 17, 2016). "Wilmington Town Crier's annual: Female Athlete of the Year – Olivia Wingate". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  5. Hurley, Christopher (September 22, 2022). "Wingate excited for soccer homecoming". The Lowell Sun . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Herko, Annika (May 19, 2023). "Olivia Wingate leads line for Irish women's soccer". The Observer (student newspaper). Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Pote, Jamie (December 8, 2019). "Town Crier's Female Athlete of the Decade: Olivia Wingate". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Foley, Brendan (June 13, 2015). "Wingate makes leap to national status". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Pote, Jamie (January 7, 2023). "The Female Athlete of the Year: Olivia Wingate". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Albert, James (January 13, 2023). "Wilmington's Olivia Wingate can't wait to start pro soccer career". The Lowell Sun . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  11. Foley, Brendan (September 12, 2015). "Wingate commits to Notre Dame". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  12. Pote, Jamie (September 17, 2017). "Wingate out for the season". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  13. Wingate, Olivia (March 5, 2019). "Olivia Wingate". strongerscars.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  14. Pote, Jamie (October 8, 2022). "Quite the homecoming performance by Olivia Wingate: Notre Dame striker scores a goal in 3-0 win over BC". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  15. "Duke's Cooper, ND's Wingate, UVA's Staude Notch ACC Player of Week Honors". Atlantic Coast Conference. September 6, 2022. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  16. "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of Week Honors". Atlantic Coast Conference. October 11, 2022. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  17. Pote, Jamie (January 23, 2023). "From WHS to Notre Dame University to the North Carolina Courage: Olivia Wingate turning pro". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  18. Shalin, Dan (March 15, 2023). "Wilmington's Olivia Wingate Signs With NWSL's NC Courage Through 2025". Patch.com . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  19. Cooke, Jason (April 1, 2023). "Wingate makes pro debut for courage". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  20. "Local roundup: Wilmington's Olivia Wingate nets first professional goal". The Lowell Sun . June 15, 2023. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Olivia Wingate at Soccerway OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  22. "Recap: Courage down Racing Louisville, 3-1, Sunday". North Carolina Courage. July 7, 2024. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  23. "Recap: Last-ditch leveler earns draw with Angel City Saturday". North Carolina Courage. October 12, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  24. Schnittker, Nicholas (October 16, 2024). "Olivia Wingate: The moments that make the hard work worth it and a window into Courage Culture". North Carolina Courage . Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  25. "Wilmington's Olivia Wingate will begin NWSL season on injured reserve". The Sun . March 12, 2025. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  26. Wingate, Olivia [@olivia_wingate99]; (June 13, 2025). "The road to recovery starts now. Two days ago I underwent a successful LCL surgery ..." Retrieved July 1, 2025 via Instagram.
  27. 1 2 Pote, Jamie (September 10, 2016). "Wingate gets call back to US Under 16 National Team; Hendee named top representative of Coaches Association". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  28. Foley, Brendan (May 18, 2016). "WHS Sophomore Soccer Star: Wingate finishes up Under 16 National Tournament in Italy". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  29. Pote, Jamie (March 11, 2017). "Wingate, U-18 National team, finish 2-0-1 in England". Wilmington Town Crier . Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  30. Trent, Tyler (February 3, 2023). "Olivia Wingate Looks To Continue Her Strong Career in the NWSL". TopBin90. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  31. Moller, Nate (September 14, 2022). "Olivia Wingate prepared to lead undefeated Irish into conference play". The Observer (student newspaper). Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.