Amanda Allen

Amanda Marie Allen (born February 21, 2005) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Canada national team.

Early life
Allen was born in Mississauga, Ontario, to mother Nicola and father Mark, both of whom were born in Kingston, Jamaica. She grew up participating in figure skating, gymnastics and track and field. Allen began playing soccer at age four with North Mississauga SC. She later joined the youth ranks at Woodbridge Strikers before moving to the Canada Soccer NDC Ontario program. She also played for the Team Ontario provincial team. In 2022, she represented Ontario at the 2022 Canada Summer Games.

Club career
In 2022, Allen played with NDC Ontario in the team's inaugural League1 Ontario season. She made 14 regular season appearances and scored 10 goals as NDC Ontario finished runners-up behind Vaughan Azzurri. She made a further two appearances in the playoffs as the team beat Alliance United FC 3–1 in the final to win the championship title. Allen was named a league Third Team All-Star and U18 All-Star.

In November 2022, Allen signed a National Letter of Intent, committing to play college soccer for Syracuse Orange at Syracuse University beginning in August 2023.

In March 2023, Allen began training with the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League during her high school spring break. In April 2023, she signed a three-year contract with the club, choosing to forgo her NCAA eligibility to turn professional instead.

Youth
Allen's first international involvement with the Canada Soccer program was in December 2021 when she was invited to an under-17 camp under coach Emma Humphries. The camp included a friendly with Mexico under-17s in which she debuted as a half time substitute. In May 2022, Allen was selected to the roster for the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship. She appeared in all seven games, including five starts, and scored four goals: two in the opening group stage match as Canada beat Dominican Republic 10–0, another in a 4–1 round of 16 win against Honduras and her fourth in a 3–0 third place playoff victory over Panama as Canada claimed the bronze medal. The result also qualified the team for the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. She was named to the roster and started all three group stage games. She scored a penalty in the final match, a 1–1 draw with Tanzania, but Canada were eliminated after finishing third in the group behind Japan and Tanzania.

Senior
After her performance at the U17 World Cup, Allen was called up to the Canada senior team for the first time, at age 17, for a double header of friendlies against Brazil in November 2022. She made her senior debut on November 11, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute in a 2–1 victory against Brazil.

Honours
NDC Ontario
 * League1 Ontario championship: 2022

International
 * CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship third place: 2022