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Kaleigh Kurtz

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Kaleigh Kurtz
Kurtz with the North Carolina Courage in 2024
Personal information
Full name Kaleigh Nicole Kurtz[1]
Date of birth (1994-09-09) September 9, 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Greer, South Carolina, United States
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Center back
Team information
Current team
 North Carolina Courage
Number 3
Youth career
2004-2012 Carolina Elite Soccer Academy
2009–2012 Riverside High School
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 Richmond Spiders 18 (0)
2014–2016 South Carolina Gamecocks 69 (2)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 Östersunds DFF 12 (0)
2018– North Carolina Courage 57 (3)
2019–2020 → Canberra United (loan) 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:30, 24 September 2022 (UTC)

Kaleigh Nicole Kurtz (born September 9, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Kurtz played collegiately for the South Carolina Gamecocks, where she was the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year and a first-team All-American in 2016. After one season with Swedish club Östersunds DFF, she joined the Courage in 2018. She has won two NWSL Shields, two NWSL Championships, and two NWSL Challenge Cups with the Courage. Since becoming a starter for the team in 2021, she has set the NWSL record for consecutive minutes played, becoming a three-time iron woman.

Early life and college career

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Kurtz grew up in Greer, South Carolina. She started playing soccer at the age of four in her local YMCA league, switching to Carolina Elite Soccer Academy at age nine. She played other competitive sports growing up, including swimming and running. In soccer she has almost always played the position of defender, specifically center back. She attended high school at Riverside High School, where she was a three-year all-State winner. Going into her junior year of high school, Kurtz broke her femur which ultimately affected her college recruiting prospects.[2]

Kurtz spent her first year of college soccer at the University of Richmond in 2013, starting 18 games.[3] After that season, she transferred to the University of South Carolina.[1] Kurtz made 69 appearances for the Gamecocks. South Carolina reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in 2014 and 2016. In her senior year in 2016, she was named a First Team NSCAA All-American, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and a MAC Herman Trophy Semifinalist.

Club career

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Östersunds DFF

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Following college, Kurtz played for Östersunds DFF in the Swedish Elitettan, fulfilling her desire to play overseas. She made 12 appearances and captained the side.[4][5]

North Carolina Courage

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2018–2019

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Kurtz was a non-roster invitee during the 2018 Carolina preseason. She signed with the Courage in March 2018.[6][7] She debuted on April 18, 2018, starting at center back against the OL Reign. She made six appearances in the 2018 regular season, as well as two in the 2018 Women's International Champions Cup. Kurtz's option for 2019 was picked up in October 2018.[8]

Canberra United (loan), 2019–2020

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Kurtz spent the NWSL offseason of 2019–2020 in the Australian W-League playing in the capital for Canberra United, on loan from the North Carolina Courage. She played every minute in the 12-game season for Canberra. During round 6, Kurtz broke her nose in the run of play having to come off shortly to get fully bandaged in order to stop the bleeding, and then competing in the final minutes of the game. She was later named to the round 6 Team of the Week. She tallied one assist during her time in Australia and led the league in clearances with a total of 69 clearances during the regular season. Kurtz capped off her time in Canberra by receiving the 2019/2020 Canberra United Player of the Year award.

2021–present

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Kurtz defending Barbra Banda in 2024

Following the departure of Abby Dahlkemper, Kurtz became one of the Courage's starting center backs alongside Abby Erceg in the 2021 season.[9]

Kurtz played every minute of the regular season in 2022, becoming an iron woman for the first time.[10] Following the 2022 season, she signed a new three-year contract with the Courage.[10]

Kurtz continued her iron woman streak through the 2023 season and ranked second in the NWSL in blocks (22). She was named to the NWSL Second XI and nominated for NWSL Defender of the Year.[11][12]

Kurtz broke the NWSL regular-season consecutive minutes record on May 24, 2024, passing Amber Brooks's mark of 6,493 minutes.[13] She accumulated four yellow cards with eight games left in the 2024 season, meaning that one more card would result in a suspension; she managed not just to complete her third consecutive iron woman season without a card but did not commit a single foul in that span.[14]

Honors

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South Carolina Gamecocks

  • 2016 SEC Defender of the Year
  • 2016 First Team NSCAA All-American
  • 2016 First Team NSCAA Scholar All-American

North Carolina Courage

Canberra United

  • 2019/2020 Canberra United Player of the Year

Career statistics

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As of April 20, 2019

League Club Season League Playoffs Total
Apps Assists Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
NCAA University of Richmond Spiders 2013 18 1 0 0 0 18 0
South Carolina Gamecocks 2014 19 0 0 6 0 25 0
2015 19 1 1 1 0 20 1
2016 19 5 1 6 0 25 1
total 75 7 2 13 0 88 2
NWSL North Carolina Courage 2018 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019 0 0 0 0 0 0
total 6 0 0 0 0 6 0
Elitettan Östersunds DFF 2017 12 0 0 0 0 12 0
total 12 0 0 0 0 12 0
Career total 93 7 2 13 0 106 2

References

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  1. ^ a b "2016 Women's Soccer Roster Kaleigh Kurtz". June 22, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  2. ^ "Inverted Triangle: Kaleigh Kurtz of NC Courage". August 16, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  3. ^ "2013 Women's Soccer Kaleigh Kurtz". Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  4. ^ "Kaleigh Kurtz soccerway". Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  5. ^ "Delad post melon off ochs vaster bk30 pa jamtkraft arena trots manger med chanser". Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  6. ^ "North Carolina Courage Completes Roster with signings of Crouse, Kurtz". Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "Greenville native signs with pro women's soccer team North Carolina Courage". April 19, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  8. ^ "NC Courage Aims to bring back core of 2018 NWSL Championship Team". Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  9. ^ Trent, Tyler (April 16, 2024). "The line-breaking passing of Kaleigh Kurtz was a key to success for the North Carolina Courage on Saturday night". TopBin90. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Courage extend defender Kaleigh Kurtz through 2025". North Carolina Courage. November 28, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  11. ^ "Courage land four on NWSL Best XI, presented by Mastercard". North Carolina Courage. November 6, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  12. ^ Hruby, Emma (November 8, 2023). "Naomi Girma Wins NWSL Defender of the Year in Back-to-Back Seasons". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  13. ^ "Match Recap: NC Courage 0–3 Houston Dash". North Carolina Courage. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  14. ^ Schnittker, Nicholas [@nick_schnittker] (November 3, 2024). "To add some extra insane context to this milestone ..." (Tweet). Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Twitter.
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