Alyssa Thompson
Alyssa Paola Thompson (born November 7, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for NWSL team Angel City FC and the United States women's national team. In 2021, she was named Gatorade Player of the Year. She signed professionally with Angel City as a senior in high school. Early life and education
Raised in Studio City, California in the Los Angeles area, Alyssa attended The Wesley School in North Hollywood. At age 8, she raced against the fastest boy at the school and won. Thompson's parents Karen and Mario signed Alyssa and her sister Gisele up to Total Futbol Academy (TFA) in 2013, when Alyssa Thompson was 9 years old, for them to compete on boys' teams. After two years, they transferred to Elite Clubs National League club Real So Cal, where they played until the COVID-19 pandemic. By the age of 13, Thompson was playing with players four years older than her. Thompson returned to TFA in 2020 and played for its under-19 team in the MLS Next league at the age of 17, and was the only female player in the league. Thompson attended and played for Harvard-Westlake School during her freshman and sophomore years of high school and scored 48 goals in 18 games. National team and club soccer prevented her from playing during her junior season. She was drafted to professional play as a high school senior. Thompson was named Gatorade Player of the Year in April 2021. Professional career
In 2020, at the age of 15, Thompson verbally committed to joining the Cardinal of Stanford University starting in the 2023 season. However, she later decommitted to enter the 2023 NWSL Draft. On January 12, 2023, Angel City FC selected Thompson as the first overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. As part of a three-team trade, Angel City had sent a total of $450,000 to Portland Thorns and Gotham FC to secure the No. 1 pick. At the time, this trade made Thompson "essentially the most expensive player in league history," which was a record previously set by Alex Morgan. Thompson signed a three-year deal with the club. While still attending her senior year of high school at Westlake, Thompson scored five minutes into her professional debut with Angel City FC, in a friendly match against Club América of Liga MX Femenil. Thompson scored a goal 11 minutes into her NWSL regular-season debut on March 26, 2023, in a 1–2 loss against NJ/NY Gotham FC. On April 11, she scored the game-opener against Portland Thorns FC. She was named NWSL Rookie of the Month for her performance during March–April 2023. Thompson's third regular season goal was the opening goal in the team's 3–2 win against Kansas City Current. On June 5, she provided the assist for Sydney Leroux's first goal and game of the season (after returning from an ankle injury in the previous season). International career
Thompson has represented the United States on the United States senior national team as well as the under-20 national team. In 2022, she helped lead the under-20 national team to win gold at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, playing in five matches and scoring three goals. At the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, she played in three matches and scored one goal. Thompson was called up to the senior national team in September 2022 and was the youngest player since Sophia Smith in 2017. On October 7, 2022, she made her senior national team debut at Wembley Stadium during a friendly against England in front of 90,000 fans. On April 9, 2023, Thompson was called up to the senior team to replace an injured Mallory Swanson in a friendly scheduled for April 11 against Ireland. In June of the same year, she was named to the U.S. squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She made her debut during the team's first group stage match against Vietnam: a 3–0 win. Playing style
In July 2023 the BBC said that her "pace and tenacity are stand-out features". Personal life
Thompson is of African-American, Filipino and Peruvian descent. Her parents are Karen and Mario and she has two younger sisters, Gisele and Zoe; Gisele is also a soccer player who has played for the under-17 United States national team. Thompson also runs track, and in April 2022, ran 100m in 11.74 seconds, which was the second fastest 100m sprint in 2022 up to that date in California. Endorsements
In May 2022, Thompson and her sister Gisele signed a name, image, and likeness deal with Nike at ages 17 and 16 respectively, becoming the first high school athletes to do so. In July 2023, she appeared in a commercial for Volkswagen. Television and film 
Thompson was featured in episode 3 of the documentary series Angel City in 2023. Thompson will appear in an upcoming Netflix documentary series, which will follow the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team as they compete in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The docuseries is slated to premiere in fall 2023. Career statistics

Club

International

Honors and awards
Individual
 Gatorade National Soccer Player of the Year
 NWSL Rookie of the Month: March/April

United States U20
 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship: 2022

References

External links

 Alyssa Thompson at United States Soccer Federation
 
 Alyssa Thompson at Angel City FC
 

2004 births
Living people
American women's soccer players
Women's association football forwards
United States women's under-20 international soccer players
United States women's international soccer players
Harvard-Westlake School alumni
African-American women's soccer players
American sportspeople of Filipino descent
American sportspeople of Peruvian descent
Angel City FC draft picks
Angel City FC players
National Women's Soccer League players
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players
21st-century American sportswomen
Soccer players from Los Angeles
21st-century African-American women
People from Studio City, Los Angeles