O'Rourke grew up in Wheatfield, New York, the youngest of three daughters born to Terry and Barb O'Rourke.[1][2] She began playing soccer at a young age with her sister and her mother, who played collegiately at Niagara.[3] Her father played hockey at Niagara, and O'Rourke played that and other sports growing up including volleyball and basketball.[4] She joined Western New York Flash at age seven or eight, going on to earn two-time ECNL all-conference honors.[2][5] She was a standout player at St. Mary's High School, setting a school record with 135 goals, the first player to pass the 100-goal mark, and leading them to two Monsignor Martin Athletic Association championships.[2][6] She was named first-team all-state four times, the New York Gatorade Player of the Year in 2020, and United Soccer Coaches All-American in 2021.[2][7] She committed to South Carolina as a freshman.[3]
College career
O'Rourke scored 6 goals with 3 assists in her freshman season with the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2022. She was the team's second-leading scorer behind Catherine Barry, despite starting only 4 of her 24 appearances, and earned Southeastern Conference all-freshman honors.[8][9] She averaged just under 45 minutes per game in the postseason as South Carolina won the SEC tournament and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament.[2][10] O'Rourke started all 21 games in her sophomore season in 2023, scoring 5 goals and adding 3 assists, again second in points to Barry.[2][11]
O'Rourke transferred to the Texas A&M Aggies for her junior season but tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during spring training, forcing her to miss the entire 2024 season.[12][13] She then transferred to the Tennessee Volunteers and had a strong debut, scoring both goals in the season-opening upset against preseason number one North Carolina. She had five goals in four games before she suffered another ACL tear in the same knee.[14]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
