Tierna Davidson

Tierna Lillis Davidson (born September 19, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She was drafted first overall by the Chicago Red Stars in the 2019 NWSL College Draft after playing three years at Stanford.

Early life
Davidson intended to become an astronaut, before actively pursuing professional soccer.

Stanford University, 2016–2018
In her freshman year, Davidson started all 21 games for the Cardinal and was named to the Pac-12 All Freshman team and the All-Pac-12 Second Team. In 2017, Davidson was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. She was a key part of the Stanford team that won the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament and was named the 2017 College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player. In 2018 Davidson only appeared in 3 games for Stanford as she suffered a fractured ankle on September 9 against North Carolina. This would be her final appearance for Stanford as she declared for the 2019 NWSL College Draft, forgoing her final year of college eligibility.

Chicago Red Stars, 2019–2023
In November 2018, the National Women's Soccer League changed the rules for the NWSL College Draft to allow for players to enter the draft before they had exhausted their college eligibility. This allowed Davidson to declare for the 2019 NWSL College Draft after only playing three years at Stanford. Davidson was selected 1st overall at the draft by the Chicago Red Stars, she was the second consecutive Cardinal to be selected 1st overall after Andi Sullivan was the 1st overall pick in 2018. On March 11, 2019, Davidson signed a contract with the Red Stars.

Davidson suffered an ACL injury in March 2022, causing her to miss the remainder of the 2022 NWSL season.

NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2024–present
Upon becoming an unrestricted free agent, Davidson signed a three-year contract with Gotham FC on January 2, 2024, to play through 2026. Davidson made her debut for Gotham on March 15, 2024, in the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup.

International career
In 2018 Davidson played for both the senior USWNT and the U-20 WNT. She received her first senior cap on January 21, 2018, in a friendly against Denmark. After the match, she joined the U-20 squad in Trinidad & Tobago for the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. Davidson scored the tying goal in the final against Mexico, but the United States lost on penalty kicks. Davidson was not part of the final roster for the 2018 FIFA U-20 World Cup as she had continued to receive call-ups to the senior national team. On July 18 she was named to the USWNT roster for the 2018 Tournament of Nations.

Davidson scored her first international goal on August 31, 2018, against Chile. Davidson was not part of the 2018 CONCACAF Championship due to a fractured ankle injury while playing for Stanford. In December, Davidson was named 2018 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year.

After recovering from injury, Davidson returned to the USWNT in January 2019 and was named to the roster for the 2019 SheBelieves Cup in February.

In May 2019, Davidson was named to the final 23-player squad for the 2019 FIFA World Cup. She was the youngest player on the roster.

In June 2021, Davidson was named to the 18-player squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo.

Davidson was not included on the USWNT's 2023 FIFA World Cup roster.

In February 2024, Davidson was named to the USWNT's CONCACAF W Gold Cup pre-tournament camp and roster. She started in the USWNT's match against Argentina and Colombia.

In June 2024, Davidson was selected to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.

Personal life
Davidson is openly lesbian and proposed to her girlfriend, Alison Jahansouz, in March 2023.

International

 * Scores and results list United States's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Davidson goal.

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

United States
 * FIFA Women's World Cup: 2019
 * Olympic Bronze Medal: 2020
 * CONCACAF W Gold Cup: 2024
 * SheBelieves Cup: 2018; 2020; 2021; 2022, 2024
 * Tournament of Nations: 2018

Individual
 * U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year: 2018