Savannah Mckenzie King (born February 7, 2005) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played one season of college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being drafted second overall by Bay FC in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She represented the United States at the under-17 and under-20 level, helping win bronze at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Early life and college career

King was born in Santa Monica, California, to Karrie King, a former professional cyclist and runner, and Kim Parker King. She grew up in West Hills with her twin brother, Parker.[2][3] She played multiple sports in her youth, including softball, baseball, and flag football, only taking up soccer at age ten on an AYSO team.[4] She later played club soccer for Real So Cal and then Slammers FC HB Køge, with which she won the ECNL under-18/19 national title in 2023.[5][6]

King attended Agoura High School, where she lettered in four years of track and set school records in the 200-meter (25.49) and 400-meter dash (56.87).[2][7] She also played flag football at Agoura and once recorded six interceptions and four touchdowns in a single game.[2][4] Ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the top left back of the class of 2023, she committed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in November 2022.[4] She entered into a name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreement with Nike before starting college.[8]

North Carolina Tar Heels

King spent one season as a starting center back for North Carolina in 2023, starting all 23 games.[2] Head coach Anson Dorrance called her performance in the team's scoreless season opener at Penn State the "best first-game performance by a freshman" in program history.[9] In the first three weeks of the season, she was twice named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Defensive Player of the Week as North Carolina conceded only two goals in its first six games.[10][11] She led the team in minutes played in her freshman season, which ended in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, and was named to the ACC all-freshman team and the All-ACC second team.[12]

Club career

Bay FC

Bay FC, a new NWSL expansion team, selected King second overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft; she and North Carolina teammate Ally Sentnor were the top two picks.[13] She was signed to a three-year contract.[14] She made her professional debut on March 17, starting at left back in Bay's first-ever game, a 1–0 win against Angel City FC.[15] She held a regular starting position at first but eventually lost the starting left back spot to Alyssa Malonson.[16][17] She finished her rookie season with 2 assists in 18 appearances (12 starts).[18]

Angel City FC

On February 3, 2025, King was traded to her hometown team Angel City FC, reportedly at her request, in exchange for $200,000 in immediate intra-league transfer funds and an additional $100,000 in 2026.[16][19] Angel City signed a two-year extension with King before the season began, keeping her under contract until 2028.[20]

International career

King was invited to United States national under-15 team training camps in 2019 and 2020.[21][22] In 2022, she helped the national under-17 team win the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship to qualify for the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, where she helped the United States advance out of the group stage, though they lost in the first knockout round on penalties.[2][4] The next year, she was called up to the national under-20 team for the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, where as co-captain she helped the United States qualify for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[12] She played almost every minute of the U-20 Women's World Cup, helping the United States finish in third place, its best result since 2012.[23][24]

King was called up by Emma Hayes into Futures Camp, practicing alongside the senior national team, in January 2025.[25] She was a training player for the national team at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup the following month.[25]

Career statistics

Club

As of February 3, 2025
Club Season League Cup Playoffs[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bay FC 2024 NWSL 18 0 — — 2[b] 0 20 0
Angel City FC 2025 0 0 — — — 0 0
Career total 18 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 20 0
  1. ^ Includes NWSL Playoffs
  2. ^ Includes NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

Honors and awards

United States U-17

United States U-20

Individual

  • Second-team All-ACC: 2023
  • ACC all-freshman team: 2023

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022 – Squad List: USA" (PDF). FIFA. October 11, 2022. p. 16. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Savy King – Women's Soccer". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  3. ^ Mastrodonato, Jason (March 16, 2024). "'She can run for days': How Savy King's moms helped push Bay FC's youngest player to the edge of stardom". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Appelbaum, Eliav (November 25, 2022). "Soccer Royalty". Thousand Oaks Acorn. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Duren, Jonathan (June 5, 2021). "ECNL North Carolina: Day 2 in Review". Elite Clubs National League. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021.
  6. ^ "Slammers FC HB Køge captures ECNL Girls U18/19 national championship". SoccerWire. July 1, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  7. ^ "Agoura HS Track Records – Outdoor Team Records". Athletic.net. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  8. ^ Newman, Mia (December 14, 2023). "The Biggest NCAA Women's Soccer NIL Deals this Year". Girls Soccer Network. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Monroe, Noah (August 21, 2023). "First-years shine in UNC women's soccer's 3–1 home opener victory over California". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "King Collects First ACC Defensive Player Of The Week Honor". University of North Carolina Athletics. August 22, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  11. ^ "King Grabs Second ACC Defensive Player Of The Week Award". University of North Carolina Athletics. September 5, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Making the Case: Savannah King for Chipotle U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year". United States Soccer Federation. December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  13. ^ Ingemi, Marisa (January 12, 2024). "Bay FC takes Savy King with No. 2 overall pick in NWSL college draft". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "Bay FC signs 2024 NWSL Draft pick Savy King". Bay FC. February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  15. ^ Mastrodonato, Jason (March 17, 2024). "Bay FC shocks Angel City with 1–0 win in first-ever NWSL game". The Mercury News. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Ingemi, Marisa (February 3, 2025). "Bay FC grant Savy King's request, trade NWSL No. 2 pick to Angel City". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  17. ^ Davis, Evan (February 6, 2025). "How Savy King's move to Angel City could help her development". The Equalizer. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  18. ^ "2024 Bay FC Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  19. ^ "Angel City Acquires Defender Savy King from Bay FC". Angel City FC. February 3, 2025. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  20. ^ Nguyen, Phuoc (March 5, 2025). "Savy King and Angel City FC agree to two-year contract extension". All For XI. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  21. ^ "Roster released for U15 Girls YNT Camp". United States Soccer Federation. October 10, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2023 – via TopDrawerSoccer.com.
  22. ^ "U15 GNT to hold first training camp of 2020". United States Soccer Federation. March 5, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2023 – via TopDrawerSoccer.com.
  23. ^ "USA's Cali girl looking to extend stay in Colombia". FIFA. September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  24. ^ "USA Scores Dramatic 119th-Minute Game-Winner To Defeat The Netherlands 2-1 And Finish Third At 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup". United States Soccer Federation. September 22, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Emma Hayes Names 24 Players to the 2025 Futures Camp Which Will Run Concurrently With USWNT Training Camp in Los Angeles". United States Soccer Federation. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
Allikas: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savy_King
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