# Olivia Wingate

Olivia Ann Wingate (born January 20, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Raised in Wilmington, Massachusetts, she played college soccer for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. She was selected by the Courage sixth overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft.

## Early life and college career

Wingate was born in Medford, Massachusetts, the second of four children of Carol and Steven Wingate, and raised in nearby Wilmington. She started playing soccer at age four and played other sports growing up such as softball, basketball, and ice hockey. She played ECNL club soccer for FC Stars. She played one season of ice hockey as a freshman at Wilmington High School, leading the team with about 20 goals as a forward.
Wingate played for her high school soccer team for two years, scoring 12 goals in about 10 games as a sophomore in 2015 and recording 17 goals and 5 assists in 13 games a junior in 2016. She helped lead the Wilmington Wildcats to undefeated regular-season records, but they made early departures from the state tournament both years. She was twice named the Middlesex League Player of the Year. She committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as a sophomore in 2015. She suffered a knee injury colliding with an opposing goalkeeper in the spring of 2017, which sidelined her for more than a year up until two weeks before her first college game.

### Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Wingate appeared in every game for Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2018 to 2022, becoming a consistent starter in the middle of her sophomore year. She scored five goals in her first three seasons before raising her production in her senior year with seven goals and five assists in 2021. She scored two of her goals in the NCAA tournament, leveling in a second-round win over Purdue and netting in a loss to Arkansas in the third round. She was named to the All-ACC third team; her shot accuracy of 0.640 was the best in conference.
Wingate scored a career-high 14 goals and added 5 assists in her final college season in 2022. She was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week twice, once for a second-half hat trick against Wisconsin and again for recording two goals and two assists in a pair of wins over NC State and Florida State. She scored three goals in the NCAA tournament to help Notre Dame reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to North Carolina. Wingate was named first-team All-ACC and third-team All-American.

## Club career
### North Carolina Courage

Wingate was selected sixth overall by the North Carolina Courage in the 2023 NWSL Draft, the first of the Courage's four first-round draft picks. She was signed to a three-year contract. She made her professional debut in the 65th minute of the opening matchday against the Kansas City Current on March 25. On June 14, she scored her first professional goal in stoppage time against the Washington Spirit, leading to a 2–1 win in the NWSL Challenge Cup group stage. She finished her rookie season with 2 goals and 4 assists in 23 appearances (3 starts) in all competitions.
Wingate scored her first NWSL regular-season goal on July 7, 2024, in her first game of the season, a 3–1 win against Racing Louisville. On October 12, she responded to Christen Press's stoppage-time goal for Angel City with one of her own in the 90+10th minute, preserving the Courage's 21-game home unbeaten streak with a 1–1 draw. Injured for much of the early part of the season, she finished with 2 goals and 2 assists in 13 games (2 starts) in all competitions.

## International career

Wingate was first called up to the United States national under-16 team in 2015. She scored two goals in three games in an under-16 friendly tournament in Italy in May 2016. She made three appearances with the under-16s at a tournament in the Netherlands in September of that year. She played for the under-18 team on a three-game tour of England in February 2017.

## Playing style

Wingate is known for her speed. She has cited Mia Hamm and Christen Press as inspirations.

## Honors

North Carolina Courage
* NWSL Challenge Cup: 2023
Individual
* Third-team All-American: 2022
* All-ACC: 2022 (first team), 2021 (third team)
* Wilmington Town Crier's Female Athlete of the Year: 2016, 2022
* Wilmington Town Crier's Female Athlete of the Decade: 2010s