Payton Linnehan

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Payton Linnehan
NC Courage vs Utah Royals (Sep 2025) 22 (Linnehan).jpg
Linnehan with the North Carolina Courage in 2025
Personal information
Full name Payton Elizabeth Linnehan
Date of birth (2001-03-25) March 25, 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth Milford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 North Carolina Courage
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2019–2023 Penn State Nittany Lions 90 (34)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2024–2025 Portland Thorns 31 (3)
2025– North Carolina Courage 2 (0)
International career
2016 United States U15
2017–2018 United States U17
2022 United States U23
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of September 6, 2025

Payton Elizabeth Linnehan (born March 25, 2001) 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 Penn State Nittany Lions and was drafted by the Portland Thorns in the first round of the 2024 NWSL Draft.

Contents

Early life

Linnehan was raised in Douglas, Massachusetts, the daughter of Sheri and Sean Linnehan. [1] She started playing youth soccer when she was about five years old. [2] Linnehan played club soccer for FC Stars of Massachusetts starting at age 12. [2] She attended Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, playing two years for the soccer team before choosing to focus on club soccer. [3] [4]

College career

Linnehan played for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2019 to 2023. She recorded 34 goals and 24 assists in 90 games. [5] She was named the most outstanding offensive player of the 2019 Big Ten tournament after scoring the golden goal in the final. [6] She scored two hat tricks at Penn State: one in the first half of a 2021 match against La Salle [7] and another against Central Connecticut in the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament. [8]

Club career

Portland Thorns

The Portland Thorns chose Linnehan with the 11th pick of the 2024 NWSL Draft. [9] [10] She signed for a two-year contract with a mutual third-year option. [11] She scored 90 seconds into her first start for the Thorns on May 1, 2024, and added an assist to Sophia Smith five minutes later to help beat Bay FC 3–2. [12]

North Carolina Courage

On August 30, 2025, the Thorns traded Linnehan to the North Carolina Courage in exchange for $48,000 in intra-league transfer funds. [13] North Carolina signed her to a new contract through 2027 with a mutual option for 2028. [13]

International career

Linnehan played on the United States national under-15, under-17 and under-23 teams. [14] She won the Golden Boot of the 2016 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship as the top scorer of the tournament.

Career statistics

As of May 4, 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCup [a] Playoffs [b] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Portland Thorns FC 2024 NWSL 41——41
Career total41000041
  1. ↑ Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup.
  2. ↑ Includes NWSL Playoffs.

References

  1. ↑ Staff Writer. "Payton Linnehan". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Garven, Rich. "Soccer: Valley Tech's Payton Linnehan with Team USA in Uruguay for U-17 Women's World Cup". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ Brechter, Henry. "Top girls' soccer players faced with a tough call – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  4. ↑ Kyne, Chris. "Chris Kyne: North Middlesex girls' soccer preps for playoffs". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  5. ↑ Vogt, Amanda (January 12, 2024). "Portland Thorns FC drafts women's soccer forward Payton Linnehan in NWSL Draft". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Nittany Lions Win Big Ten Tournament Championship". Penn State Nittany Lions. November 10, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Linnehan's hat trick leads PSU to victory over La Salle". WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. August 23, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  8. ↑ Connington, Ashley (November 11, 2023). "Penn State Women's Soccer Dominates Central Connecticut State 7-0 In Opening Round Of NCAA Tournament". Onward State. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  9. ↑ Odom, Joel (January 13, 2024). "Portland Thorns select winger Payton Linnehan in NWSL draft". oregonlive. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Payton Linnehan PTFC". Portland Thorns FC. Archived from the original on March 17, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Portland Thorns FC sign 2024 first-round draft pick Payton Linnehan". Portland Thorns FC.
  12. ↑ Hoffmann, Shane (May 2, 2024). "'That was just the start': Winger Payton Linnehan another example of Portland Thorns' embarrassment of riches" . The Oregonian . Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  13. 1 2 "NC Courage Acquire Forward Payton Linnehan from Portland Thorns". North Carolina Courage. August 30, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  14. ↑ Alenstein, Lyle (August 20, 2023). "Payton Linnehan destined for her best season as a part of Penn State women's soccer". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
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