# Ally Sentnor

Allyson Marie Sentnor (born February 18, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder or forward for the Utah Royals of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team.
Sentnor played two seasons of college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being picked first overall by the Royals in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She played for the youth national team at every age level, captaining the under-20 team to bronze at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, after which she was named U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year.

## Early life and college career

Raised in Hanson, Massachusetts, Sentnor began playing soccer at age four and was coached by her father on her first team. She scored so often as a kid that he would put her in goal or let her score only with her non-dominant left foot, which helped her develop equal comfort off both sides. She joined Hingham club South Shore Select at age six and later trained sometimes with the Boston Bolts boys' team. She also played the indoor soccer variant of futsal, which helped develop her touch in limited space. She attended Thayer Academy, joining the varsity soccer team in eighth grade, and reclassified to graduate one year early. In 2019, Megan Rapinoe presented 15-year-old Sentnor with the Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year award.

### North Carolina Tar Heels

Sentnor tore her ACL minutes into her first preseason game for the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2021. She got back onto the college field in 2022, scoring on her regular-season debut against Wilmington. In her redshirt freshman season, she ranked second on the team with 10 goals and added 2 assists in 25 games as North Carolina won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title. Five of her goals came during the NCAA tournament as North Carolina reached the national title game, where they lost to UCLA 3–2 in overtime. She was named to the All-ACC first team and NCAA all-tournament team.
Sentnor scored a team-high 11 goals with 7 assists in 23 games in the 2023 season. She recorded goal contributions in each of her last seven games, including four goals and three assists in four games of the NCAA tournament. She was involved in all three goals in their 4–3 quarterfinal loss to BYU. She was named the ACC Midfielder of the Year, first-team All-ACC, and third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American. She chose to turn professional after the season but continued studying online to complete her degree in 2024.

## Club career
### Utah Royals

Sentnor was selected first overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft by the Utah Royals, who were returning to the NWSL after a four-year absence; she and North Carolina teammate Savy King were the top two picks. She was signed to a three-year contract. She debuted in the starting lineup on the opening matchday against the Chicago Red Stars on March 16. She scored her first professional goal on March 22, shooting from the corner of the penalty box off a long dribble, in a 2–1 home win against the North Carolina Courage. She was deployed as a winger at the start of the season, scoring or assisting on five of Utah's first seven goals, before moving to a more playmaking role as an attacking midfielder at the end of June. She won both NWSL Rookie of the Month and Player of the Month in July after notching three goals and an assist in four games and leading the bottom-of-the-league Royals to top their group in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup. She finished her rookie season with 5 goals and 5 assists in 23 games in all competitions. She was named the Utah Royals's Offensive Player of the Year and was one of three nominees for NWSL Rookie of the Year, losing to Croix Bethune.

## International career
### Youth national team

Sentnor was selected to the train with the United States under-14 team at the age of 12 in June 2016, the youngest player called into the camp. At age 13, she scored five goals in two friendlies for the under-15s in Germany in November 2017. She also played for the under-16s that year and was under consideration for the roster for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, but ultimately not selected to join players three years above her age group. She was the most valuable player of the invitational Weifang Cup at the under-15 level in China in 2018. She was the under-17 team's leading goalscorer in 2019, also scoring two goals in two games for the under-18s against England at the start of the year. In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, her age group's CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship and FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup were canceled.
Following her ACL recovery, Sentnor made her under-20 debut at the 2022 Sud Ladies Cup, which the United States won. She was one of the younger players selected to the roster at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She appeared in all three group stage games and scored in their opening 3–0 win against Ghana. The next year, she co-captained the under-20s with Elise Evans at the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship. She scored four goals during the tournament, helping the United States finish runners-up to Mexico and qualify for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
Wearing the captain's armband, Sentnor led the United States to third place at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the country's best result since 2012, scoring three goals in seven games. In the first knockout round, she scored the second goal in a 3–2 overtime win against Mexico. In the quarterfinals, trailing Germany 2–0, the United States came back in the last moments of regulation with a goal from Jordynn Dudley and an own goal forced by Sentnor in the 90+8th and 90+9th minutes; in a penalty shootout, Sentnor converted her opening kick as the United States advanced. After falling to eventual champions North Korea in the semifinals, Sentnor opened scoring in the third-place match, a 2–1 victory over the Netherlands. She was awarded the Bronze Ball as the third-most outstanding player of the tournament. Following her senior debut later that year, she was named U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year for 2024.

### Senior national team

Head coach Emma Hayes gave Sentnor her first senior national team call-up on November 18, 2024, ahead of international friendlies against England and the Netherlands. She made her senior debut against England at Wembley Stadium on November 30, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Lindsey Horan in the 0–0 draw. On February 20, 2025, she made her first senior international start and scored her first goal for the team, striking from long range to go up 2–0 against Colombia in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup.

## Personal life

Sentnor is the oldest of three children born to Richard and Lee Sentnor. She shares her hometown of Hanson, Massachusetts (population 10,000), with United States internationals Sam and Kristie Mewis, with whom she trained a few times growing up.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of November 1, 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Playoffs | Playoffs | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Utah Royals | 2024 | NWSL | 21 | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 2 | 24 | 7 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 21 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 7 |
* ↑ Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup & NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.
* ↑ Includes NWSL Playoffs.

### International

    As of match played February 26, 2025
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| United States | 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| United States | 2025 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 5 | 2 |

### International goals

    Scores and results list United States's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sentnor goal.
Key (expand for notes on "international goals" and sorting) :
| Location | Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred Sorted by country name first, then by city name |
| Lineup | Start – played entire match on minute (off player) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time off minute (on player) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time (c) – captain Sorted by minutes played |
| Goal in match | Goal of total goals by the player in the match Sorted by total goals followed by goal number |
| # | NumberOfGoals.goalNumber scored by the player in the match (alternate notation to Goal in match) |
| Min | The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal. |
| Assist/pass | The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information. |
| penalty or pk | Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.) |
| Score | The match score after the goal was scored. Sorted by goal difference, then by goal scored by the player's team |
| Result | The final score. Sorted by goal difference in the match, then by goal difference in penalty-shoot-out if it is taken, followed by goal scored by the player's team in the match, then by goal scored in the penalty-shoot-out. For matches with identical final scores, match ending in extra-time without penalty-shoot-out is a tougher match, therefore precede matches that ended in regulation |
| aet | The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation |
| pso | Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parentheses; the match was tied at the end of extra-time |
| | Light-purple background color – exhibition or closed door international friendly match |
| | Light-yellow background color – match at an invitational tournament |
| | Light-orange background color – Olympic women's football qualification match |
| | Light-blue background color – FIFA women's world cup qualification match |
| | Pink background color – Continental Games or regional tournament |
| | Orange background color – Olympic women's football tournament |
| | Blue background color – FIFA women's world cup final tournament |
| NOTE on background colors: Continental Games or regional tournament are sometimes also qualifier for World Cup or Olympics; information depends on the source such as the player's federation. NOTE: some keys may not apply for a particular football player ||
| Goals | Date | Location | Opponent | Lineup | Min | Assist/pass | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | February 20, 2025 | Houston, Texas | Colombia | {{{4}}}. off 77' (on Shaw) | 60' | Tara McKeown | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2025 SheBelieves Cup |
| 2 | February 26, 2025 | San Diego, California | Japan | {{{4}}}. off 46' (on Shaw) | 14' | Catarina Macario | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2025 SheBelieves Cup |

## Awards and honors

United States U20
* FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup bronze medal: 2024
* Sud Ladies Cup: 2022
Individual
* U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year: 2024
* FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Bronze Ball: 2024
* NWSL Rookie of the Month: July 2024
* NWSL Player of the Month: July 2024
* NWSL Team of the Month: July 2024
* First-team All-ACC: 2022, 2023
* Third-team All-American: 2023
* ACC Midfielder of the Year: 2023
* NCAA tournament all-tournament team: 2022
* Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year: 2019