Amirah Ali

Amirah Iman Ali (born December 7, 1998) is an American soccer player who plays as a forward or midfielder for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League. She previously played for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's soccer team.

Youth career
Ali, born in Voorhees Township and raised in Winslow Township, New Jersey, played youth soccer for the Winslow Tigers, a New Jersey-based travel team coached by Rich King, the father of NWSL player Tziarra King. In Ali’s later youth years, she joined Players Development Academy of the Elite Clubs National League prior to going to Rutgers University.

Ali played high school soccer for Eastern Regional High School in her hometown of Voorhees Township, New Jersey, where she was named High School Girls' Player of the Year by both the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, the Courier-Post, and the United Soccer Coaches. She finished her high school career with 99 goals and 51 assists.

College career
Ali played for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from 2017 to 2021, primarily as a forward or attacking midfielder. The Scarlet Knights won their first-ever Big Ten Conference championship in 2021 with Ali on the squad, and she was on the shortlist for the MAC Hermann Trophy in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Portland Thorns FC drafted Ali with the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, despite her decision not to declare for the draft. Thorns coach Mark Parsons suggested Ali was capable of playing immediately for an NWSL club. She instead returned to Rutgers to complete her collegiate career, leading Rutgers to the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament – the program's first appearance since 2015 – and the Scarlet Knights finished as semi-finalists.

Ali finished her Rutgers career with 44 goals, 17 of them match-winners, and 19 assists. She scored nine career golden goals, a Rutgers record, and played 6,309 minutes across 103 matches, 102 of them as a starter. Ali finished her career at Rutgers as the program's only four-time all-American. She was a team captain in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

San Diego Wave FC
Portland traded the NWSL player rights to Ali, as well as defender Christen Westphal, to San Diego Wave in exchange for $50,000 in allocation money on December 16, 2021. Ali scored her first professional goal on April 2, 2022, during the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup against Angel City FC.

International career
Ali played for the United States under-19 national team and was invited to U14, U18, and U19 camps.

Honors
San Diego Wave
 * NWSL Shield: 2023
 * NWSL Challenge Cup: 2024

Rutgers Scarlet Knights
 * All-Big Ten Team (third team 2017; first team 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
 * All-American Team (second team 2018; first team 2019, 2020; third team 2021)
 * NCAA College Cup All-Tournament Team (2021)
 * MAC Hermann Trophy candidate (2021) and semi-finalist (2020)