Denise O'Sullivan

Denise Rebecca O'Sullivan (born 4 February 1994) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the American club North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Republic of Ireland national team which she has represented 100 times.

On 27 July 2008, she won the FAI Women's Under-14 National Cup, scoring twice in the final against Longford Town.

She started her career with the Irish club Wilton United and joined the newly-formed Cork City at the outset of the Women's National League (WNL) in 2011.

She also played for Peamount United in the County Dublin club's UEFA Women's Champions League campaigns in 2011 and 2012.

On 7 August 2011, she scored a goal in the FAI Women's Cup final, as Wilton United were defeated 3–1 by St Catherine's.

After her performance in the 2011 FAI Women's Cup final, O'Sullivan signed with Peamount United, ahead of their 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League campaign.

She made three appearances in the Champions League for the South Dublin club, before returning to her hometown and joining newly founded Cork Women's FC, one of the six teams that competed in the Women's National League's (WNL) inaugural 2011–12 season.

On 13 November 2011, she made her debut in a 6–1 loss to Peamount United.

On 15 January 2012, she scored her first goal in a 3–1 away win over Wexford Youths.

In her first season, she scored six goals in 15 appearances and was named to the league's Best XI.

In July 2012, O'Sullivan re-joined Peamount United and made three appearances in the Champions League, scoring a goal in a 4–0 victory against Cardiff Metropolitan.

After the club's exit from the Champions League, she returned to Cork and finished her second season with two goals in 11 appearances.

In July 2013, she signed her first professional contract with Glasgow City of the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL).

On 10 July 2013, O'Sullivan joined Scottish champions Glasgow City, ahead of their 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League campaign.

She scored on her league debut, on 28 July, in a 2–0 win over Rangers.

On 8 August, she made her Champions League debut for the club in a 7–0 home victory against ŽNK Osijek.

Her goal in a 3–1 win over Standard Liège on 17 October helped Glasgow City progress into the last 16 of the Champions League.

On 16 November, it was announced that O'Sullivan had signed new contract with the club.

She finished the 2013 season with three goals in 12 appearances in all competitions.

After a successful spell in Glasgow, which included being named 2014 SWPL Players' Player of the Year, O'Sullivan signed with Houston Dash of the NWSL in March 2016.

O'Sullivan made nine appearances in the 2014–15 UEFA Women's Champions League campaign and scored four goals, including a brace in a 4–0 victory against Zhytlobud-1 Kharkiv on 14 August 2014.

After lifting the domestic treble and being part of the first Scottish team to ever reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, she was voted SWPL Players' Player of the Year.

On 16 December 2014, she signed a new two-year contract with Glasgow City.

She was also named Glasgow City Players' Player of the Year, Coaches' Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year in both 2014 and 2015.

In 2015, O'Sullivan was named FAI Senior International Player of the Year.

In August 2015, she was named SWPL Player of the Month.

In 2017, she signed with North Carolina Courage and helped the team win three consecutive NWSL Shield titles and two consecutive NWSL Championships.

At North Carolina, O'Sullivan was voted most valuable player (MVP) by her teammates in both 2018 and 2019.

She played on-loan for Australian W-League clubs Canberra United and Western Sydney Wanderers and English club Brighton & Hove Albion during the NWSL offseason.

She earned The Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of Month honors in November 2019 and was on the RTÉ Sports Person of the Year shortlist the same year.

O'Sullivan was born in Cork and grew up in Knocknaheeny.

The youngest of nine children, her brother John Paul played soccer for Ireland at youth international level.

O'Sullivan learned to play football on the streets with her siblings and as a youth looked up to Roy Keane.

She played for a boys' team, Nufarm Athletic, until age 11 when she had to leave due to rules against mixed-sex football.

As a youth being one of the only girls playing football, O'Sullivan experienced pushback from some boys who felt football was a game for men and boys.

This behaviour pushed her to prove them wrong.

She recalled, "I used to always surprise them. They were stronger and faster, but I was technically better than them."

She credits her toughness and passing skills to her childhood playing with boys.

"[Back then] you'd only have one or two touches and there would be a boy smashing you. So, you'd have to let the ball go fast."

O'Sullivan began her football career with Irish club Wilton United.