View text source at Wikipedia

Tierna Davidson

Tierna Davidson
Davidson with Gotham FC in 2024
Personal information
Full name Tierna Lillis Davidson[1]
Date of birth (1998-09-19) September 19, 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Menlo Park, California, United States
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Center back, left back
Team information
Current team
 NJ/NY Gotham FC
Number 15
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Stanford Cardinal 46 (5)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2023 Chicago Red Stars 48 (1)
2024– NJ/NY Gotham FC 11 (0)
International career‡
2015–2018 United States U20 8 (1)
2018– United States 65 (3)
Medal record
Women's soccer
Representing the  United States
CONCACAF W Gold Cup
Winner 2024 United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Team
FIFA Women's World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2019 France Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 6, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 3, 2024

Tierna Lillis Davidson (/ˈtɪərnə/ TEER-nə; born September 19, 1998)[2] is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She was drafted first overall by the Chicago Red Stars in the 2019 NWSL College Draft after playing three years at Stanford.

At the international level, Davidson won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Early life

[edit]

Davidson intended to become an astronaut before actively pursuing professional soccer.[3]

Stanford University, 2016–2018

[edit]

In her freshman year, Davidson started all 21 games for the Cardinal and was named to the Pac-12 All Freshman team and the All-Pac-12 Second Team. In 2017, Davidson was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. She was a key part of the Stanford team that won the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament and was named the 2017 College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player.[4] In 2018 Davidson only appeared in 3 games for Stanford as she suffered a fractured ankle on September 9 against North Carolina.[5] This would be her final appearance for Stanford as she declared for the 2019 NWSL College Draft, forgoing her final year of college eligibility.[6]

Club career

[edit]

Chicago Red Stars, 2019–2023

[edit]

In November 2018, the National Women's Soccer League changed the rules for the NWSL College Draft to allow for players to enter the draft before they had exhausted their college eligibility.[7] This allowed Davidson to declare for the 2019 NWSL College Draft after only playing three years at Stanford. Davidson was selected 1st overall at the draft by the Chicago Red Stars, she was the second consecutive Cardinal to be selected 1st overall after Andi Sullivan was the 1st overall pick in 2018.[8] On March 11, 2019, Davidson signed a contract with the Red Stars.[9]

Davidson suffered an ACL injury in March 2022, causing her to miss the remainder of the 2022 NWSL season.[10]

NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2024–present

[edit]

Upon becoming an unrestricted free agent, Davidson signed a three-year contract with Gotham FC on January 2, 2024, to play through 2026.[11] Davidson made her debut for Gotham on March 15, 2024, in the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup.[12] On November 10, she scored the opening goal against Portland Thorns FC in the NWSL quarterfinals; Gotham FC would go on to win the match, 2–1.[13][14] Davidson started in the team's semi-final match, where Gotham lost on penalties to the Washington Spirit.[15][16]

International career

[edit]

In 2018 Davidson played for both the senior USWNT and the U-20 WNT. She received her first senior cap on January 21, 2018, in a friendly against Denmark. After the match, she joined the U-20 squad in Trinidad & Tobago for the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[17] Davidson scored the tying goal in the final against Mexico, but the United States lost on penalty kicks.[18]

Davidson with the USWNT in 2019

Davidson was not part of the final roster for the 2018 FIFA U-20 World Cup as she had continued to receive call-ups to the senior national team. On July 18 she was named to the USWNT roster for the 2018 Tournament of Nations.[19]

Davidson scored her first international goal on August 31, 2018, against Chile.[20] Davidson was not part of the 2018 CONCACAF Championship due to a fractured ankle injury while playing for Stanford.[21] In December, Davidson was named 2018 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year.[22]

After recovering from injury, Davidson returned to the USWNT in January 2019 and was named to the roster for the 2019 SheBelieves Cup in February.[23]

In May 2019, Davidson was named to the final 23-player squad for the 2019 FIFA World Cup. She was the youngest player on the roster and became the 6th ever under-21 player to start at a World Cup game for the USWNT after being named to the United States' starting lineup for their second group stage match.[24][25] During her World Cup debut, Davidson assisted Julie Ertz for the second goal of a 3–0 victory over Chile.[26]

In June 2021, Davidson was named to the 18-player squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo.[27]

Davidson made her international return from her ACL injury in April 2023, playing in the final match before the announcement of the USWNT's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup roster.[28] Ultimately, she was not selected to the USWNT's squad for the tournament.[29]

In February 2024, Davidson was named to the USWNT's CONCACAF W Gold Cup pre-tournament camp and roster.[30] She started in the USWNT's match against Argentina[31] and Colombia.[32]

In June 2024, Davidson was selected to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.[33] She started the USWNT's first two matches but picked up a knee contusion in a group stage match versus Germany,[34] forcing her to miss the next two matches of the tournament.[35] Davidson then returned to the starting lineup in the USWNT's semi-final and gold medal fixtures. In both games, she was substituted off for club teammate Emily Sonnett later in the match.[36][37] The United States would go on to win gold, beating Brazil 1–0 on a goal from Mallory Swanson.[38]

Personal life

[edit]

Davidson is openly lesbian and proposed to her girlfriend, Alison Jahansouz, in March 2023.[39][40][41]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of April 20, 2024
Club Season League Cup[a] Playoffs[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chicago Red Stars 2019 NWSL 13 1 — 1 0 — 14 1
2020 — 1 0 — 2[c] 0 3 0
2021 17 0 2 0 3 0 — 22 0
2022 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
2023 18 0 6 0 — — 24 0
NJ/NY Gotham FC 2024 4 0 1 0 — — 5 0
Career total 52 1 11 0 4 0 2 0 69 1
  1. ^ Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup
  2. ^ Includes NWSL Playoffs and A-League Women Finals series
  3. ^ Includes the NWSL Fall Series

International

[edit]
As of match played December 3, 2024
National Team Year Apps Goals
United States
2018 12 1
2019 13 0
2020 1 0
2021 19 0
2022 3 0
2023 3 0
2024 14 2
Total 65 3
Scores and results list United States's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Davidson goal.
List of international goals scored by Tierna Davidson
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 August 31, 2018 Carson, California  Chile 1–0 3–0 Friendly
[42]
2 June 1, 2024 Commerce City, Colorado  South Korea 2–0 4–0
[43]
3 3–0

Honors

[edit]

Stanford Cardinal

United States

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 – List of Players: USA" (PDF). FIFA. July 7, 2019. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "DAVIDSON Tierna". Paris 2024 Olympics. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Costabile, Annie (May 4, 2019). "From astronaut to USWNT, Red Stars' Tierna Davidson has always dreamed big". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  4. ^ "2017 Women's Soccer Roster". Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  5. ^ "Tierna Davidson to miss World Cup qualifying; out 10–12 weeks with fractured ankle". September 18, 2018. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  6. ^ "Tierna Davidson declares for NWSL College Draft". January 9, 2019. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  7. ^ "Expanded eligibility rules might make the NWSL College Draft more relevant than ever". November 21, 2018. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  8. ^ "Every pick of the 2019 NWSL College Draft". January 10, 2019. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  9. ^ "Tierna Davidson signs contract with Chicago". March 11, 2019. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "USWNT's Williams, Davidson suffer major injuries". ESPN.com. March 29, 2022. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  11. ^ "Tierna Davidson reveals she wanted to 'challenge herself to be uncomfortable' by joining Gotham as free agent". CBSSports.com. January 2, 2024. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  12. ^ Lewis, Michael (March 16, 2024). "UP FOR THE CHALLENGE: Wave bests Gotham to win cup". Front Row Soccer. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  13. ^ staff, The Athletic Soccer. "NWSL playoffs: Higher-seeded teams escape upsets, setting up semifinals for the top four teams". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 10, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "Last-minute Rose Lavelle Stunner Sends Gotham To NWSL Semifinals". SI. November 11, 2024. Archived from the original on November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  15. ^ Communications, Gotham FC (November 16, 2024). "Match Recap: Gotham FC falls in Penalties against Washington Spirit". NJ/NY Gotham FC. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  16. ^ "Kingsbury sends Spirit to final with air of 'destiny'". ESPN.com. November 16, 2024. Archived from the original on November 18, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  17. ^ "Freshly-Capped Davidson Returns to U-20s with WNT Experience". www.ussoccer.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  18. ^ "CONCACAF WOMEN'S U20". Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  19. ^ "GALLERY: ELLIS NAMES 25 PLAYERS TO PRELIMINARY ROSTER FOR 2018 TOURNAMENT OF NATIONS". July 18, 2018. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  20. ^ "USA Dominates First-Ever Match vs. Chile, Wins 3–0 on Wild Night in Carson". www.ussoccer.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  21. ^ "WNT and Stanford Defender Tierna Davidson Out 10–12 Weeks with Fractured Left Ankle". www.ussoccer.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  22. ^ "ALEX MORGAN VOTED 2018 U.S. SOCCER FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR". December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  23. ^ "23 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2019 SHEBELIEVES CUP ROSTER". February 12, 2019. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  24. ^ "MEET THE USA'S 2019 FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP TEAM". May 2, 2019. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  25. ^ "WNT Faces Highly Motivated Chile to Continue Group F Play at 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  26. ^ Das, Andrew (June 16, 2019). "United States Beats Chile, 3-0, at Women's World Cup". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  27. ^ "VLATKO ANDONOVSKI NAMES 2020 U.S. OLYMPIC WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM". June 23, 2021. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  28. ^ Tannenwald, Jonathan (April 12, 2023). "Tierna Davidson looked like her old self in her first USWNT game in 14 months". www.inquirer.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  29. ^ "USWNT defender Tierna Davidson joins Gotham superteam". Just Women's Sports. January 2, 2024. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  30. ^ Linehan, Meg. "Mallory Swanson returns to USWNT as training player ahead of W Gold Cup". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  31. ^ "USWNT vs. Argentina: Starting XI & Lineup Notes | 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup". www.ussoccer.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  32. ^ "USWNT vs. Colombia: Starting XI & Lineup Notes | 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup". www.ussoccer.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  33. ^ Linehan, Meg (June 26, 2024). "Alex Morgan not selected to USWNT for Paris Olympics: Full roster for 2024 Games". The Athletic. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  34. ^ Linehan, Meg; Olsen, Emily. "Tierna Davidson to miss USWNT's final Olympic group stage game vs. Australia". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  35. ^ "USA vs. Japan: Match Recap & Highlights". www.ussoccer.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  36. ^ Armour, Nancy. "USWNT vs. Germany highlights: Sophia Smith's goal sends USA to Olympic gold medal game". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  37. ^ "USWNT player ratings: Mallory Swanson, Alyssa Naeher clinch gold medal for USA vs. Brazil at Paris Olympics". CBSSports.com. August 11, 2024. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  38. ^ Mathews, Max (August 10, 2024). "USWNT vs Brazil live updates: Mallory Swanson breaks deadlock in Paris Olympics 2024 women's soccer final". The Athletic. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  39. ^ "51 athletes who are out and proud members of the LGBTQ+ community". Insider. June 3, 2020. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  40. ^ "Tierna Davidson remains unbothered". allforxi.com. June 5, 2019. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  41. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  42. ^ "USA DOMINATES FIRST-EVER MATCH VS. CHILE, WINS 3–0 ON WILD NIGHT IN CARSON". August 31, 2018. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  43. ^ "U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM KICKS OFF EMMA HAYES ERA IN GRAND FASHION WITH DOMINANT 4-0 VICTORY OVER KOREA REPUBLIC". June 1, 2024. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  44. ^ "Lloyd-inspired USA crowned in style". FIFA. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  45. ^ Jurejko, Jonathan (August 10, 2024). "Brazil 0-1 United States: Emma Hayes leads USA to Olympic gold". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  46. ^ "Football Tierna Davidson - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". olympics.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  47. ^ "Horan the hero as USA down Brazil to win W Gold Cup crown". CONCACAF.com. March 11, 2024. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  48. ^ "WNT WINS 2018 SHEBELIEVES CUP WITH 1–0 VICTORY VS. ENGLAND". March 7, 2018. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  49. ^ "USA Wins 2020 SheBelieves Cup With 3-1 Victory vs. Japan". U.S. Soccer. March 11, 2020. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  50. ^ "U.S. Women's National Team Rolls to Title at 2021 SheBelieves Cup, Presented by Visa, With Dominant 6-0 Victory Against Argentina". U.S. Soccer. February 25, 2021. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  51. ^ "U.S. Women's National Team Defeats Iceland 5-0 to Win Third Consecutive and Fifth Overall SheBelieves Cup Title, Presented by Visa". U.S. Soccer. February 23, 2022. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  52. ^ "2024 Shebelieves Cup final USWNT vs Canada result". U.S. Soccer. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  53. ^ Watkins, Claire (August 3, 2018). "USWNT dominates Brazil, wins the 2018 Tournament of Nations – Equalizer Soccer". The Equalizer. Archived from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
[edit]