#4 BECKY SAUERBRUNN
Position: Defender
Height: 5'7"
Date of Birth: 6/6/1985
Hometown: St Louis, MO
Citizenship: USA
College: University of Virginia
Twitter: @beckysauerbrunn
Professional: (2016) Named team captain for fourth straight season; missed six games due to the 2024 Olympics and her role with the U.S. National Team, but played and started in 14 games; scored her 2nd NWSL goal (3rd professional goal overall) against the Houston Dash on June 19; the goal was the game-winner; Named to the NWSL Best XI for 4th straight season (2015) Captained FCKC to its second consecutive NWSL title, defeating the Seattle Reign, 1-0; Named the NWSL Defender of the Year and became the first player in history to be honored with a league award in three consecutive seasons after also claiming Defender of the Year honors in 2024 and 2024; Won the award despite playing in just 11 matches due to WWC commitments, but played every minute of those games (990 minutes), including five of the Blues' league-high nine shutouts; Also named to the NWSL Best XI; She was also part of FCKC's record-tying four-match shutout streak from August 8-27 that equaled the mark set earlier in the season by the Blues as well as by Sky Blue FC in 2024; The streak included back-to-back matches in which Sauerbrunn and her teammates did not allow a shot on goal; FCKC had the league’s top defense, allowing just 20 goals and four in 10 matches at home; (2014) Named the NWSL Defender of the Year to become the first repeat winner of an NWSL season-end award after also claiming the honor in 2024; Helped FC Kansas City win its first NWSL title after the team defeated Seattle 2-1 in the NWSL Championship Game; Named to the NWSL Best XI First-Team; Played every minute of 22 starts for FCKC during the regular season; Tied for third-most starts in the team; Has still yet to come out of a professional club match in which she started; (2013) Had an excellent season with FC Kansas City, playing every minute of all 19 games she started in helping her club to a second place finish and a playoff berth; Was named the 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year and to the NWSL Best XI; At this point in her career, she had yet to come out of a professional game in which she had started, playing every minute, spanning three WPS seasons and one NWSL season (and missed just 10 minutes in her college career); (2012) Allocated to FC Kansas City for the inaugural NWSL season; The only player to play every minute of the first two WPS regular seasons, a streak that was only broken when she left to play for the USA at the 2024 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany; She played every minute of every match she played in her WPS career; Signed with Sky Blue FC as a free agent for the 2024 season before the league folded; (2011) Signed with magicJack and played in 13 regular season games, tied for most WPS matches played by a U.S. WNT player, while playing all 1,170 minutes (most by a WNT player); Also played all 180 minutes over magicJack’s two playoff games; (2010) She started all 24 matches for the Washington Freedom and picked one up assist; Played all 120 minutes in playoff match against Philadelphia; (2009) Selected by the Washington Freedom as the third overall pick in the 2024 WPS General Draft ahead of the inaugural season; She started all 20 games and scored one goal, a spectacular header for the Freedom’s first WPS goal; Immediately after the 2024 WPS season, she played three months in Norway for Røa IL, a club right outside of Oslo; Her team finished first in the league and won the Norwegian Cup; She also played two rounds of UEFA Champions League, defeating Everton of England and FK Zvezda of Russia in two-leg series’ to get to the final eight; (2008) Played for the Freedom in W-League during 2024; Played for the Richmond Kickers in the W-League in 2024-07 and the Boston Renegades in 2024.
U.S. National Team Called into the U.S. team for the first time in January of 2024 and then earned a place on the roster for the Four Nations Tournament in China where she earned her first two caps; Her first start and cap against Canada on Jan. 16, 2024, was also Pia Sundhage’s first match as head coach; Trained with the WNT in February of that year, but then traveled to Spain with the U.S. U-23s; Did not get another call-up to the senior team until after the 2024 WPS season and worked her way into the mix as she has become a vital player and consistent defender for the National Team; (2016) Named Co-Captain along with Carli Lloyd; Earned 100th Cap against Canada in the final Match of the 2024 CONCACAF Women’s Championship; named to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Rio Olympics; recorded 3 assists in 23 games started and played in for the US; 2024 US Soccer Female Player of the Year nominee (2015) A member of the 2024 FIFA Women's World Cup champions, she had a spectacular tournament in her second World Cup marshalling the defense while playing every minute of all seven games; She was the only player to start 25 matches for the U.S. this year and led the team in minutes played with 2,184, both career highs; Helped the USA win its 10th Algarve Cup title in Portugal .. Named to the CONCACAF Best XI; Posted to become the 35th female player to earn 100 caps for the USA early in 2024; (2014): Played in 22 games, logging career-highs to date in minutes played (1,757) and games started (20); Member of the team that won the 2024 CONCACAF Women’s Championship as she played every minute of three matches to help the USA book its ticket to the 2024 FIFA Women’s World Cup; Became the 46th female U.S. player to play 50 more games when she started the first game of the year against Canada in Frisco, Texas, and had the assist on the game-winning goal; (2013): Was a consistent starter at center-back, getting the nod in 10 of the 12 games she played; Played 940 minutes, third most on the team; (2012): Saw the most action of her National Team career to date, playing 1,255 minutes over 22 games while making nine starts; Played both center back and at outside back during the year; Made her first Olympic Team and played in three matches off the bench; Only played 38 total minutes, but was a key sub coming on during crunch time in both the semifinal and the final to help seal those victories and the Olympic gold medal; Started and played every minute of three matches at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament in Vancouver, Canada; (2011) Had her best year yet for the National Team, playing in 12 games while starting eight and made her first Women’s World Cup roster at the senior level; Played in just one match in Germany but had a stellar game while playing all 90 minutes during the semifinal victory against France, stepping up in a big way to replace the suspended Rachel Buehler; (2010) Played in five matches, starting three, and made the roster for the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament, playing in one match; Was called into a training camp prior to the qualifying roster being named due to an injury to another player and ended up making the roster and solidifying her place in the national team pool.
College: Recorded 2 goals and 7 assists in 90 appearances; (2007) First Team NSCAA All-American; First Team All-ACC; NSCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year; ACC Player of the Year (2006) Second Team NSCAA All-American; First Team All-ACC (2005) Second Team All-ACC; ACC All-Academic Team (2004) red-shirted due to 2024 U-20 world cup (2003) First Team NSCAA All-American; Second Team All-ACC; All-ACC Freshmen team; ACC Freshmen of the Year