Savannah DeMelo

Savannah Marie DeMelo (born March 26, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Racing Louisville FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She was the fourth pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft after playing collegiately for the USC Trojans. She debuted for the United States national team at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

College career
DeMelo played five years at the University of Southern California, making 75 appearances and tallying 17 goals and 28 assists for the Trojans. A regular starter over her college career, DeMelo was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection, including All-Freshman team honors in 2017. As a sophomore in 2018, DeMelo scored nine goals and assisted 10 others en route to United Soccer Coaches All-American honors. DeMelo missed her junior season because of a torn Achilles' tendon, but she successfully returned to action as a senior, starting all 14 games. USC reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the five years DeMelo played for the Trojans.

Club career
Racing Louisville selected DeMelo with the fourth pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, two spots after the club selected fellow midfielder Jaelin Howell. DeMelo made her professional debut on March 25, playing 11 minutes off the bench against the Houston Dash in Racing's second game of the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. She started for the first time on April 2 in a 3–0 win against the Kansas City Current. DeMelo started every Racing match in the 2022 NWSL season, scoring four goals and assisting two while leading the league in scoring chances created and fouls won. DeMelo's first professional goal, a game-winning direct free kick against San Diego Wave FC on May 18, 2022, was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10.

In 2023, DeMelo had 12 goal involvements across all competitions, scoring five and assisting two in league play. She was named to the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup All-Tournament Team and the NWSL Player of the Month for May. She twice made the league's Team of the Month.

International career
DeMelo delayed her start at USC to play for the United States in the 2016 U-20 Women's World Cup. She also played in the 2018 U-20 Women's World Cup, scoring four goals, and helped the U.S. win the 2015 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship in Honduras.

In September and October 2022, DeMelo received her first call-ups to the U.S. senior national team for friendlies against Nigeria, England, and Spain, but did not see any playing time.

On June 21, 2023, DeMelo was named to the U.S. squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, becoming the third player to ever make a U.S. World Cup roster without previously earning a cap. She received her first cap coming on as a second half sub during the team's send-off match against Wales. At the World Cup, DeMelo was in the starting lineup for the team's first two group stage matches, a 3–0 win against Vietnam and a 1–1 tie to the Netherlands.

Honors
Individual
 * NWSL Best XI of the Month: May 2022, May 2023, June 2023, May 2024
 * NWSL Rookie of the Month: July 2022
 * NWSL Best XI Second Team: 2023