Mallory Pugh
Mallory Diane Pugh (born April 29, 1998) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the United States women's national soccer team. In January 2016, she became the youngest female player to be selected and play for the U.S. national team during an Olympic qualifying tournament. After playing extensively with the U–17 and U–20 teams, Pugh first appeared for the United States senior national team on January 23, 2016 in  an international friendly against Ireland. At 17, she was the youngest player to debut for the national team since Heather O'Reilly's debut in 2002. Pugh scored in the 83rd minute in her first appearance, becoming the 19th United States player to score in her debut. Shortly after her debut, Pugh was one of the 18 players chosen to represent the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was there that Pugh scored her first Olympic goal against Colombia, giving the United States a 2–1 lead. Her goal also made her the youngest player  to ever score a goal for the United States in an Olympic game. Pugh has represented the United States at the FIFA Women's World Cup tournament in 2019. At 21, she was the second youngest member of the 2019 team behind 20-year-old Tierna Davidson. On April 17, 2017, Pugh made the announcement that she would forgo her college career with UCLA and turn professional. On May 13, 2017, it was announced that Mallory Pugh had signed to play with Washington Spirit after negotiations to get to Portland Thorns FC had failed. Early life. Born in Littleton, Colorado  to Karen and Horace Pugh, Mallory was raised with her older sister Brianna in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Her mother was a long-distance runner and her father ran track and played football. Growing up, Pugh considered her older sister Brianna as a role model and cites her as a reason she got started in soccer. She started playing soccer at the age of four and then followed in her sister's footsteps and played club soccer with Real Colorado in the Elite Clubs National League. She played on the competitive team with the club at the U-11 through U-18 levels ; although she started playing recreational soccer at the U-5 level. During her last two years with the team, she often trained with the club's Boys Development Academy team. Pugh helped Real Colorado win state titles in 2010 and 2011. In addition, the team made it to the Elite Clubs National League finals in both 2013 and 2014. At the U-16 level, Real Colorado won state and regional titles and became runner-up at nationals. Pugh was named the MVP of the regional tournament that year. Pugh attended Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch from 2012 to 2016. In  her three seasons with the team, Pugh scored 47 goals and recorded 23 assists. As a freshman, Pugh was named to the All-Colorado Team after leading her team to a state title. She was named offensive MVP at Mountain Vista and a NSCAA Youth All-American for 2013. During her sophomore year, despite missing more than half of her high school games due to national team commitments, she helped the team to the state semifinals. As a junior, Pugh scored 24 goals and 12 assists in 18 games and helped the team reach the state semifinals. She was subsequently  named the 2014–15 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year and Colorado Sports Hall of Fame 2015 High School Female Athlete of the Year. In addition, she was named NSCAA Youth Girls National Player of the Year for 2014 and 2015. In January 2016, it was reported that Pugh had rejected college in order to turn professional and play for National Women's Soccer League club Portland Thorns FC when she finished high school. Later that week, her father said the reports were false and that Pugh would join the UCLA soccer team as originally planned. In July 2016 , it was announced she delayed entrance to UCLA until January 2017, due to national team commitments for the Rio Olympics and the 2016 FIFA U–20 Women's World Cup. She appeared in three non-competitive Spring scrimmages in early 2017 before departing UCLA to pursue a professional career prior to starting her freshman season. Club career. Washington Spirit (2017–2019). After much speculation as to where she would go when she turned pro, Pugh officially joined the Washington Spirit of the NWSL on May 13, 2017. She made her professional debut for the Spirit on May 20, 2017 versus FC Kansas  City. Pugh scored 6 goals in her rookie season and was named a finalist for NWSL Rookie of the Year. Pugh remained with the Spirit for the 2018 season. She sustained a PCL sprain in her right knee on May 27, forcing her to miss 8 games, she returned to the field on August 5, against the Seattle Reign. Sky Blue FC (2020). On January 16, 2020, at the NWSL College Draft, Pugh was traded to Sky Blue FC for 4 draft picks. She made her Sky Blue debut on September 5, 2020 against the Washington Spirit, entering the game  in the 61st minute. Sky Blue won 2-1, Pugh assisting Margaret Purce on the game winning goal in extra time. Chicago Red Stars (2021–present). In December 2020, Pugh was traded to the Chicago Red Stars, her third team in three years. Pugh made her debut in the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup starting the teams game against Kansas City, before coming off during the 35 minute. Club summary. Notes International career. Youth National Teams. In 2011, Pugh attended the annual United States under–14 girl's national team identification camp from July 13 to August 7 in Portland, Oregon. The  camp was used as an evaluation for U–14 training camp held in September. Pugh was then called into the U–14 national team training camp at Home Depot Center in Carson, California from September 18 to 25. In 2012, Pugh attended a U–15 national team training camp from February 11 to 18. She then joined the team for a second training camp from June 3 to 10 at The Home Depot Center. Also during the summer, the U–14 national team conducted three separate training camps to replace the large identification camp of previous years. Pugh attended the second camp, which ran  from August 12 to 19. U-17 WNT. In 2013, Pugh attended a U–15 national team training camp from February 24 to March 2 at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. She then moved up to the U–17 national team and traveled to San José, Costa Rica for an international tournament in late April. Following the tournament, Pugh joined the U–17 team for a training camp from June 9 to 16. In preparation for the 2013 CONCACAF Women's U–17 Championship, Pugh attended another U–17 training camp from July 21 to 31 in Columbus, Ohio as well as a  camp in Lakewood Ranch, Florida from September 15 to 22. In late September 2013, Pugh was named to the roster for the 2013 CONCACAF U–17 Women's Championship held in Jamaica from October 30 to November 9. Before heading to Jamaica, the team trained together once again in Lakewood Ranch for seven days. During the tournament, Pugh was a key player and leading scorer with five goals and three assists. In the semifinal match against Mexico on November 7, the United States fell in penalties after a 1–1 tie in regulation. With a third-place finish in the tournament, the  United States did not qualify to the 2014 FIFA U–17 Women's World Cup. Pugh remained with the U–17 national team for a short time in 2014. She started off the year with the team at a training camp from January 11 to 19 in Carson, California. The camp served as a preparation for an international tournament held in February. Pugh was on the roster for the tournament, which was held at the U.S. National Team Training Center in Carson. In their final match of the tournament on February 9, the United States faced Japan. During the game, Pugh scored  her fourth goal of the tournament to help the United States pull away the 2–1 victory and win the tournament title. U-20 WNT. At the end of her time with the U–17 national team, Pugh was called up to the U–20 national team for a training camp from February 22 to March 2 that also featured a match against China. Pugh was then on a 25–player roster for a U–20 training camp from April 13 to 20. In preparation for the 2014 FIFA U–20 Women's World Cup in August, the U–20 team also trained in May and July , with a trip to Europe in June. After the team's final camp from July 9 to 23, Pugh was named to the roster for the 2014 FIFA U–20 Women's World Cup. At 16, she was the youngest member of the team. Pugh played all 90 minutes of the team's first match of the tournament against Germany on August 5. In the team's second group match against Brazil on August 8, Pugh suffered a right ankle injury in the 27th minute and was replaced by Taylor Racioppi. Despite the injury, Pugh went on to start the remaining  two matches of the tournament. The United States team fell to Korea DPR on August 16, which halted their advancement in the tournament. Pugh started off 2015 at a U–20 national team training camp in Sanford, Florida from January 24 to 31. The training camp featured a match against German club Bayern Munich. Pugh started in that match; however, the U–20 team was defeated 4–0. Following the training camp, Pugh was named to the 22–player roster for an invitational tournament in La Manga, Spain. In the first match of the tournament, Pugh scored both goals of the game to  help the United States defeat Norway. Pugh wore the captain's armband during the team's second match against the Netherlands on March 7. Pugh played all 90 minutes in the team's last match against Sweden on March 9. In November 2015, Pugh was named to the roster for the 2015 CONCACAF Women's U–20 Championship in December. Pugh was the most experienced player on the roster and also captained the team. In the first match against Mexico on December 4, Pugh scored on a penalty kick in the 20th minute. The United States qualified for the 2016 FIFA  U-20 Women's World Cup after defeating Honduras in the semifinal on December 11. Pugh helped the team win the tournament with a 1–0 win over Canada on December 13. Following the tournament, Pugh was awarded the Golden Boot for most goals scored and the Golden Ball for best player of the tournament. On December 18, Pugh was named the 2015 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year. Despite being a member of the senior national team in 2016, Pugh at age 18 was still comfortably age eligible for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. After returning  from the Olympics, Pugh joined the U-20 team at a training camp on September 1, 2016. Pugh captained the U-20 United States team at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup where she was the most experienced player on their team with 23 international matches and 17 goals. In the second group stage game against New Zealand the United States won 3-1, Pugh scoring and receiving player of the match honors. By participating in the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, Pugh made history by being the first United States women's  player to play in both tournaments in the same year. Pugh would still be age eligible for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Senior National Team. 2016. Following a successful run with the U-20 women's national team, Pugh was called up to the senior national team for the first training camp of 2016 from January 5 to 21 leading up to a match against Ireland. At age 17, she was one of the youngest field players to be called up to the team in 15 years. On January 23, 2016, Pugh earned her first cap for the  team during the match against Ireland, coming in for Alex Morgan in the 58th minute. She was the youngest player to debut for the national team since Heather O'Reilly's debut in 2002. She then became the 19th United States player to score in her debut when she scored her first international goal in the 83rd minute to secure the United States' 5–0 win. Following her first appearance, Pugh was named to the 20–player roster for 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying and became the youngest player to be named to an Olympic qualifying roster for the United States . In the team's opening match against Costa Rica on February 10, Pugh replaced Crystal Dunn in the 68th minute. She made her third appearance for the team in their second match of the tournament, coming in for Ali Krieger in the 75th minute to help the United States defeat Mexico 1–0. Pugh made her first start in the team's match against Puerto Rico on February 15. During the match, she recorded an assist in the 6th minute. In the 18th minute, Puerto Rico player Selimar Pagan took down Pugh in the penalty box and the United States was  given a penalty kick, which Carli Lloyd scored. In the 60th minute, Pugh sent a cross towards Alex Morgan, but it was deflected off Puerto Rican defender Ashley Rivera and into her own net. Pugh started in the semifinal match against Trinidad and Tobago on February 19, helping the United States qualify to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after a 5–0 victory. Pugh also made the start in the final against Canada, helping the United States win the tournament after defeating Canada 2–0. Pugh was named to the roster for the 2016 SheBelieves Cup that took place  from March 3 to 9. She started in the team's opening match of the tournament on March 3 against England. In the match against France on March 6, Pugh assisted the only goal of the match in stoppage time, giving the United States the win. She also made an appearance in the final match of the tournament against Germany and the United States won the 2016 SheBelieves Cup with a 2–1 win. Pugh joined a 23–player roster for a training camp ahead of two matches against Colombia in early April. On April 6, Pugh scored her second international  goal off an assist by Carli Lloyd in the team's first match against Colombia. She then assisted Lloyd's goal six minutes later. She played all 90 minutes in the second match against Colombia on April 10. Pugh was on the roster for a short training camp ahead of another two–game series against Japan in early June. She played all 90 minutes of the first match on June 2 in Commerce City, Colorado and made an assist in the 27th minute. Pugh did not dress for the second match on June 5 due to illness. 2016 Summer Olympics . On July 12, 2016, Pugh was named to the 18–player team that would represent the United States at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She made her Olympic debut on August 3 in the team's opening group match against New Zealand. On August 9, Pugh came in for Megan Rapinoe in the 33rd minute of the team's final group match against Colombia. She scored in the 59th minute, becoming the youngest United States player to score a goal in the Olympics. She put the United States ahead 2–1 with her goal; however, the match ended  in a 2–2 draw. In the quarterfinals, Pugh started in the match against Sweden on August 12. The game was tied 1–1 after regulation time and Pugh was replaced by Lindsey Horan in the 114th minute in extra time. The United States were then defeated by Sweden in penalty kicks. 2018. Pugh started 2018 off strong with her first career brace on January 21, 2018 against Denmark, the United States winning the game 5-1. In her last game as a teenager on April 8, 2018 against Mexico she scored her fifth goal of the calendar year. For her teenage  national team stats, Pugh was second all-time in starts before the age of 20 with 27, second all-time in caps before the age of 20 with 35, tied third all-time in goals before the age of 20 with 11, and first all-time in assists before the age of 20 with 12. On June 8, 2018, Pugh injured her PCL in her right knee. She made her comeback on August 31, 2018 in a game against Chile. The United States won 3-0, Pugh assisting the third goal scored by Christen Press who was being honored that  game for 100 national team caps. 2019. Pugh scored the first goal of the year for the United States in a 3-1 loss against France played at Le Havre. She played in the 2019 SheBelieves Cup where the United States finished as runners up. On April 4, Pugh scored her second career brace in a match against Australia, the United States winning 5-3. Her first goal in that game came just 37 seconds after she had subbed onto the pitch in the 67th minute. Pugh also scored against Mexico in the final send off series game for the  United States before the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Pugh was called up for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and scored her first World Cup goal in the game against Thailand on June 11, 2019. She appeared in all three group stage games against Thailand, Chile and Sweden. 2020. Pugh was named to the roster for the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, marking her fifth appearance at the tournament. In their third and final game of the tournament against Japan, the United States won 3-1, Pugh assisting a goal scored by Lindsey  Horan. Pugh was unavailable to participate in the national team camp being held from October 18–28, 2020 due to injury. Personal life. Since December 2017, Pugh has been dating Atlanta Braves shortstop, Dansby Swanson. The couple met through Pugh's brother-in-law and Swanson's former teammate, Jace Peterson. The couple got engaged in December 2021. In popular culture. Media and Endorsements. In May 2017, Nike announced it had signed a long-term partnership with Pugh, describing her as a "soccer phenom." She has since appeared in multiple promotions and advertisements with Nike, including the Dream With Us ad  as part of the Just Do It campaign. In 2019 Pugh appeared in two promotions for Gatorade, one titled Bring the Heat which featured Lionel Messi and the other titled Every Day is Your Day which featured Mia Hamm. Pugh is part of the FIFA video game series, FIFA 21. She was selected as a next-generation ambassador in the video game. Ticker tape parade. After winning the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, Pugh and the rest of the United States national team were honored in New York City with a ticker tape parade, each team member also receiving  a key to the city.