Avery Patterson (soccer)

Avery Jean Patterson (born June 14, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right back, wingback, or winger for the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Patterson played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was selected by the Dash in the second round of the 2024 NWSL Draft. She represented the United States at the youth international level.
Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Patterson began playing soccer at age four. Mostly a central midfielder growing up, she played club soccer for Florida Elite Soccer Academy was named the ECNL Southeast Player of the Year in 2018. She played high school soccer at the Bolles School, winning three straight FHSAA championships from 2018 to 2020. She also ran varsity cross country and track in high school.
She committed to play college soccer at North Carolina as a sophomore. Patterson missed her freshman regular season due to injury in fall 2020. In the spring portion of the season (postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she started 7 games at center back as North Carolina reached the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. In her sophomore season in 2021, she featured at outside back and scored 5 goals with 3 assists in 17 games.
Patterson moved to right wing and started all 26 games in her junior year in 2022. She led the team with 13 goals and added 8 assists, earning second-team All-ACC honors. North Carolina topped the ACC regular-season standings. Patterson scored the opening goal in the ACC tournament final, a 2–1 loss to Florida State. In the NCAA tournament, she provided a tournament-high five assists as North Carolina advanced to the final, where they faced UCLA. Patterson scored twice to give the Tar Heels a 2–0 lead in the title game, but UCLA came back late to win 3–2 in overtime. Patterson became a team captain in her senior season in 2023. She scored 9 goals with 2 assists in 22 games, earning first-team All-ACC and third-team All-American honors.
The Houston Dash selected Patterson with the 19th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NWSL Draft. She was signed to a three-year contract. She debuted on the opening matchday on March 16, 2024, starting in a 5–1 loss to the North Carolina Courage. On November 2, 2024, she scored her first professional goal in the last match of the season, a 3–2 loss to Bay FC. She finished her rookie campaign with 2 assists and 1 goal in 28 appearances in all competitions; she played the most minutes of any field player on the team and was named the Dash's Newcomer of the Year. After the season, she signed a new three-year contract through 2027.
Patterson trained with the United States under-14 team in 2016. She scored four goals on her debut for the under-20 team, doing so in the first half against Puerto Rico at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship. She finished with six goals in five games as the United States won the tournament. She was not selected to the subsequent 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She played friendlies with the under-23 team against NWSL teams in the 2023 preseason.
Patterson was called up by Emma Hayes into Futures Camp, practicing alongside the senior national team, in January 2025. Two months later, she received her first senior call-up ahead of two friendlies against Brazil. Patterson earned her USWNT debut, coming on in the 88th minute of a 2–0 victory over Brazil.
Patterson is the daughter of Lori and Andrew Patterson. Many members of her family played American football, including her father, who played sprint football for Navy; and one of her great uncles, who played for the Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
United States U-20
Individual