Emily Sonnett

Emily Ann Sonnett (born November 25, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for National Women's Soccer League club NJ/NY Gotham FC and the United States women's national team.

Sonnett was born in Marietta, Georgia to Bill and Jane Sonnett.

She has a twin sister, Emma, who played soccer for the University of Georgia.

Sonnett, along with her sister, began playing for North Atlanta Soccer Association (NASA) in 2003.

With NASA, the Sonnetts earned back-to-back Georgia State Cup Championship titles in 2007 and 2008 and also the Region III League Championship title in 2008.

In the 2011 US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, NASA 12 Elite II placed third in U-17 standings, and Sonnett was named to the U-17 Best XI as a midfielder.

In 2011 during Sonnett's junior season, Fellowship Christian's varsity girls soccer team reached the Final Four of the Class A state tournament, losing 0–2 to the eventual state champions, First Presbyterian Day School, in the semi-final.

She was also named the 2011–2012 Gatorade Georgia Girls Soccer Player of the Year; Sonnett was the first ever athlete from Fellowship Christian School to win the award.

Sonnett was also selected as 2011 Youth All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and was also named to both 2011 and 2012 ESPN Rise 1st Team All-American.

Sonnett attended Fellowship Christian School in Roswell, Georgia, graduating in 2012.

The following year, Fellowship Christian, with Sonnett as captain, reached the 2012 Georgia state championship game and again faced First Presbyterian Day School ultimately losing 0–1.

Sonnett ended her career at Fellowship Christian as the school's leading scorer with 113 goals and 41 assists.

In early February 2012, Sonnett signed her national letter of intent to play for the University of Virginia in the fall of 2012 on an athletic scholarship.

In her first season in 2012, UVA Cavaliers won the regular season Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title and made it to the round of 16 in the 2012 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament.

Sonnett herself was named to the ACC All-Freshman and All-Tournament Team.

Though she was recruited as a center midfielder, Sonnett transitioned to the center back position early in her freshman year due to various injuries leaving the UVA back line bare and played in that position the remainder of her college career.

During her sophomore season, Sonnett earned 2 goals and 5 assists and started all 26 games, playing a total of 2,341 minutes and setting single-season record at UVA.

She was also named to 1st Team All-ACC Team.

Sonnett helped lead UVA to their first College Cup in 22 seasons, losing in the tournament's semifinal after double overtime to UCLA in penalty kicks, 1–1 (2–4).

In 2013, Sonnett, playing in the midfield position, helped NASA 12 Elite II win the U-19 national title at the 2013 US Youth Soccer National Championship Series in Overland Park, Kansas.

At the conclusion of the tournament, she was named to the U-19 Best XI and also earned the Golden Ball award as the best player at the tournament.

In her junior year, Sonnett again started in all 26 games during the 2014 season and earned a total of 5 goals and 3 assists.

UVA placed as runners-up to the ACC 2014 title, losing 0–1 to Florida State.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Sonnett was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team.

During quarterfinal of the 2014 NCAA women's tournament, Virginia defeated the defending champion, UCLA 2–1 with Sonnett scoring the opening goal in the 33rd minute ultimately ending UCLA's 969-minute shutout streak.

In the semifinal match-up against Texas A&M, Sonnett again scored with a header off a corner kick, giving UVA a 2–1 lead.

UVA ultimately defeated Texas A&M 3–1, earning a place in the university's first women's College Cup final.

UVA ended their season with a 0–1 loss to Florida State in the national championship.

Sonnett was then named the tournament's Most Outstanding Defensive Player and was also named a Third-Team NSCAA All-American.

In 2015, Sonnett spent the summer playing for pro-am team Atlanta Silverbacks, in the final season of the USL W-League.

Returning to UVA for her senior year, she was named team captain at the beginning of the season.

Mid-season in October 2015, Sonnett earned her first call-up and started her first cap (as center back) for the senior United States women's national soccer team against Brazil.

UVA were again runners-up to the 2015 ACC title, losing 2–2 (PK 6–7) to Florida State, and Sonnett was again named to ACC All-Tournament team.

She led UVA to the quarterfinals of the 2015 NCAA women's tournament, losing to Rutgers University after double overtime in penalty kicks (6–7).

Sonnett ended her senior season at UVA with 3 goals and 1 assist and was named a finalist for the Hermann Trophy.

Additionally, Sonnett was named the 2015 ESPNW Soccer Player of the Year, Honda Sports Award Nominee, NSCAA first-team All-American, ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and first team All-ACC selection.

Sonnett left Charlottesville a semester early to enter the NWSL (after being drafted as the number one pick by Portland Thorns FC in January 2016) but ultimately did graduate with a degree in sociology from UVA.

On January 15, 2016, Sonnett was selected by Portland Thorns FC as the first overall pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft.

She made her debut with the Thorns on April 17, 2016.

Her first professional goal came in the NWSL championship semi-final to bring the Thorns level with the Western New York Flash, though the Flash would go on to score the winning goal and ultimately win the championship.