Kyra Carusa

Kyra Taylor Carusa (born 14 November 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club San Diego Wave. Born in the United States, she is a member of the Republic of Ireland national team.

Early life
Carusa was born and raised in the North County area of San Diego, California, alongside her mother Nicole, father Richard, and siblings Scott, Kelley, and Jordan. Carusa attended Oak Valley Middle School and Del Norte High School, where she scored 58 goals and notched 50 assists over 3 seasons of varsity soccer. As a youth player, Carusa competed for the San Diego Surf, where she was a team captain for four years.

College career
Carusa began her college soccer career on the Stanford Cardinal women's soccer team. Shortly before her freshman season, Carusa tore her ACL and was forced to redshirt for the year. She recovered in time for the 2015 season, where she played as a Redshirt freshman. Carusa appeared in every match that the Cardinals played, starting in all but one. She scored several game-winning goals for her team and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and the All-Pac-12 second team. Carusa ended her first soccer season with 23 matches under her belt, 5 goals, and 6 assists.

In her redshirt sophomore season, Carusa was one of five Stanford players to be named in the starting lineup for all 21 games of the season. She ended the year with 5 goals and 10 assists, being named to the NSCAA All-Pacific Region third team and the All-Pac-12 second team. In her 2017 season, Carusa scored a career-high 15 goals, including the opening goal in Stanford's 3–2 victory over UCLA in the College Cup final. She also scored a goal and made an asist in the Cardinals' NCAA quarterfinal against Penn State. Carusa completed her final season at Stanford with 25 appearances and an inclusion in the All-Pac-12 second team for the third consecutive year. In total, Carusa finished her Stanford career with 69 games, 68 starts, and 25 goals. She graduated with a degree in Human biology.

After her experience at Stanford, Carusa transferred to Georgetown University for graduate school. With an extra year of college eligibility due to her 2014 injury redshirt, Carusa played for the Hoyas in the 2018 season. She appeared 25 times and scored 10 goals in her year at Georgetown.

Club career
During the National Women's Soccer League draft in 2019, Carusa was selected by Sky Blue FC as the 19th draft pick overall. Sky Blue FC chose to waive Carusa, who was then picked up on the NWSL waiver wire by the Utah Royals. Ultimately, Carusa did not sign with the Royals and elected to go overseas.

Le Havre, 2019
In April 2019, Carusa joined French club Le Havre AC. She played three matches, scoring four goals for the club.

HB Køge, 2020–2023
Kyra signed a new contract with the Danish club HB Køge in the Kvinde 1. division in February 2020. She scored 4 goals on her debut against AaB on 9 August 2020. Carusa scored a further hattrick against FC Nordsjælland on 24 April 2021.

London City Lionesses, 2023
In February 2023, Carusa joined English club London City Lionesses. She made her league debut against Sunderland on 5 February 2023. Carusa scored her first league goal against Lewes on 12 February 2023, scoring in the 38th minute.

San Diego Wave, 2023–
In August 2023, Carusa joined her hometown side San Diego Wave FC on a free transfer. The Wave signed Carusa to a contract through the 2023 NWSL Season. She made her league debut against NJ/NY Gotham FC on August 20, 2023, entering the match as a substitute for Alex Morgan. Carusa scored her first NWSL goal against the Orlando Pride on August 26, 2023, contributing to a 2-1 victory. In the match, Carusa headed in a corner kick from teammate Makenzy Doniak in the 75th minute, scoring the game-winner for the Wave. Carusa ended her first season with the San Diego Wave with 2 goals scored and 8 regular season appearances. Additionally, she played in the Wave's semi-final match against the OL Reign, coming off the bench in the 88th minute for Danielle Colaprico. In her time on the field, Carusa forced a save from Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey, but the Wave ultimately fell 1-0 to their opponents.

On January 10, 2024, the Wave re-signed Carusa through the 2024 season, with a mutual option for 2025 as well. On March 15, 2024, Carusa played 45 minutes in the Wave's 1-0 NWSL Challenge Cup victory, taking home the trophy with her team.

International career
Eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland through her Irish grandparents, Carusa began the process of applying for Irish citizenship as a graduate student at Georgetown. In February 2020, Carusa was cleared by FIFA to play for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team. She received her first call-up shortly after, for two UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying games against Greece and Montenegro. Carusa made her debut for Ireland on March 11, 2020, entering the match versus Montenegro as a second-half substitute for Clare Shine.

Carusa scored her first international goal on November 30, 2023, in a FIFA Women's World Cup qualification match against Georgia. In the 21st minute, Carusa flicked on a headed ball from teammate Louise Quinn into the goal, making the score 2–0. Ireland eventually went on to score 9 more goals in an 11–0 victory over their competitors.

On June 27, 2023, Ireland head coach Vera Pauw included Carusa in the team's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad. Carusa started all three matches, including a full 90 minutes in Ireland's final group stage game versus Nigeria. In Ireland's match against Canada, it was Carusa who created the corner kick opportunity in the 4th minute that teammate Katie McCabe scored from. Ultimately, Ireland ended up in last place in Group B and did not advance to the knockout stages of the tournament.

Carusa scored her third international goal in front of a record-setting 35,944 fans at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. In the 71st minute of the match against Northern Ireland, Carusa pounced on a miscommunication by opposing goalkeeper Shannon Turner and defender Rebecca Holloway, stealing the ball and then scoring into an open net. Shortly before scoring, Carusa had an opportunity cleared off the line by a North Irish defender. Carusa scored her fourth international goal a mere three days later, helping the team record a 4-0 victory over Hungary.

Carusa notched her first international brace on October 27, 2023, scoring two goals in quick succession in a 5-1 win over Albania.

International

 * Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goals first. Score column indicates score after each Carusa goal. Updated as of 28 September 2023.

Honors
Stanford Cardinal San Diego Wave
 * NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship: 2017


 * NWSL Shield: 2023
 * NWSL Challenge Cup: 2024