_029_(cropped).jpg) Dahlkemper withBay FC in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abigail Lynn Dahlkemper[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-05-13)May 13, 1993 (age 32) | ||
| Place of birth | Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Position | Center back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bay FC | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2010 | MVLA Avalanche | ||
| 2008–2011 | Sacred Heart Preparatory | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 | UCLA Bruins | 93 | (5) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013 | Pali Blues | ||
| 2014 | LA Blues | ||
| 2015–2016 | Western New York Flash | 40 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | →Adelaide United (loan) | 12 | (5) |
| 2017–2020 | North Carolina Courage | 57 | (0) |
| 2021 | Manchester City | 8 | (0) |
| 2021 | Houston Dash | 8 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | San Diego Wave | 27 | (2) |
| 2024– | Bay FC | 22 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008–2010 | United States U-17 | ||
| 2011–2012 | United States U-20 | ||
| 2012–2016 | United States U-23 | ||
| 2016– | United States | 84 | (0) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of November 8, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of April 9, 2024 | |||
Abigail Lynn Dahlkemper (born May 13, 1993) is an American professionalsoccer player who plays as acenter back forBay FC of theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and theUnited States national team.
Dahlkemper played collegiately for theUCLA Bruins, where she won theNCAA championship in 2013 and received theHonda Sports Award in 2014. She was the third overall pick by theWestern New York Flash in the2015 NWSL College Draft and won her firstNWSL Championship with the Flash in 2016. Following the Flash's relocation, Dahlkemper was votedNWSL Defender of the Year in 2017 and won successive league doubles with theNorth Carolina Courage in 2018 and 2019.
Dahlkemper was born inLancaster, Pennsylvania, and raised inMenlo Park, California. She has two brothers, Andrew (the older) and Joseph (the younger) and is the daughter of Andrew and Susan Dahlkemper. She attendedSacred Heart Preparatory and played on the soccer team.[2] In 2010, she was named Gatorade California Girls Soccer Player of the Year and a Parade All-American.[3]
In 2013, she helped theUCLA Bruins win their first everNCAA national championship. In 2014, Dahlkemper was awarded theHonda Sports Award.[4][5]
In 2013, Dahlkemper signed with thePali Blues in theW-League.[6] The team won the western conference title[7] as well as the national championship in July 2013.[8]
In January 2015, Dahlkemper was selected by theWestern New York Flash in the2015 NWSL College Draft as the third overall pick.[9][10] She was signed to the team in March[11] and made her debut in April.[12] Dahlkemper won the NWSL Championship with the Flash in 2016.
In October 2015, Dahlkemper joinedAdelaide United in theAustralian W-League on loan for the2015–16 season.[13]
Dahlkemper became part of theNorth Carolina Courage in 2017 after the Western New York Flash was sold to the owners of North Carolina FC.[14] She played every minute for the Courage in 2017 helping them win the NWSL Shield. Dahlkemper was named to the 2017 NWSL Best XI.[15] Dahlkemper was votedNWSL Defender of the Year for the 2017 Season.[16]
In 2018 Dahlkemper played 19 regular season games for North Carolina. She was an important part of North Carolina's defense which broke the record for fewest goals conceded and repeated as NWSL Shield winners.[17] She was named to the 2018 NWSL Best XI and was a finalist for Defender of the Year, losing to her Courage teammateAbby Erceg.[18] North Carolina won the 2018 NWSL Championship with a 3–0 win over Portland, and didn't concede any goals in the playoffs.[19]
On January 16, 2021, Dahlkemper joinedManchester City of the EnglishFA WSL on a two-and-a-half-year deal,[20] becoming the third American international to sign for the club during the 2020–21 season followingSam Mewis andRose Lavelle's arrivals in summer.[21]
On August 20, 2021,Manchester City announced that Dahlkemper had left the club.[22]
On August 29, 2021, Houston Dash announced that they had acquired Dahlkemper from the North Carolina Courage.[23]
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On November 22, 2021, Dahlkemper was announced as the first-ever player signing by NWSL expansion clubSan Diego Wave FC.[24] Dahlkemper was plagued with injuries in 2022, including fracturing a rib in May, and dealing with a back injury causing her to miss games throughout the year. She was ultimately given a Season-Ending Injury designation in October 2022, missing the 2022 NWSL playoffs.[25] Dahlkemper had surgery on her back in November 2022, stating on her social media it was transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) surgery to relieve her sciatic nerve pain.[26]
Dahlkemper made her return to the field on August 5, 2023, in aChallenge Cup game against Angel City, and was named to NWSL's August Best XI of the Month in her first month back.[27]
On August 26, 2024,Bay FC announced that they had acquired Dahlkemper from San Diego Wave FC in exchange for $50,000 in allocation money. Dahlkemper then signed a contract extension through 2026 with an option for 2027.[28] Dahlkemper debuted for her hometown team in a friendly against FC Barcelona, and later that week debuted in a 3-1 away to Portland Thorns in which she scored her first goal for Bay. She became the fifth ever NWSL player to score in back to back regular season matches for different clubs, having scored in the previous week for San Diego Wave in her final match with the club.[29]
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In 2013, Dahlkemper represented theUnited States under-23 women's national soccer team at the 2013 Four Nations Tournament helping the under-23 team win the championship. She played in the 2014 Six Nations Tournament as a member of the under-23 team and helped lead the team to win the championship for a second time.[2][30]
Dahlkemper received her first call-up to theU.S. Women's National Team in October 2016 for a set of friendlies against Switzerland. On October 19 she earned her first cap, as she came in as a second-half substitute.[31] Due to asepsis infection contracted at the end of 2016, Dahlkemper was unable to appear for the U.S. WNT until June 2017.[32]
Following her recovery from sepsis, Dahlkemper quickly became a mainstay for the United States in central defense. She played her first 90 for the U.S. WNT against Norway on June 11, 2017. Dahlkemper would start 10 of the final 11 games of the year, accumulating 945 minutes in 2017, which was fifth highest on the team.[33]
In 2018 Dahlkemper won theSheBelieves Cup and theTournament of Nations with the U.S. WNT. On September 19, she was named to the final 20 player roster for the2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship.[34]
In 2019, Dahlkemper was the starting central defender for the national team besideBecky Sauerbrunn at the2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, marking her first World Cup appearance. Dahlkemper and goalkeeperAlyssa Naeher were the only players to start every match of the tournament for the United States, with Dahlkemper playing every minute of the team's seven games aside from coming off in the 82nd minute againstChile in the group stage.[35] Dahlkemper and the United Statesdefeated the Netherlands 2–0 in the final to win the United States' fourth Women's World Cup title.
In 2019, along withUSWNT teammatesCrystal Dunn,Megan Rapinoe, andAlex Morgan, Dahlkemper posed for the 2019Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in Saint Lucia.[36] She is married toAaron Schoenfeld. They started dating in May 2019[37] and announced their engagement in December 2020.[38] They married in a private ceremony on January 5, 2021.[39] On September 10, 2025, the couple announced on Instagram that they were expecting their first child.[40]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Playoffs[b] | Continental[c] | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pali Blues | 2013 | USL W-League | ? | ? | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Los Angeles Blues | 2014 | ? | ? | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Western New York Flash | 2015 | NWSL | 20 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 0 | ||||
| 2016 | 20 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 2 | |||||
| North Carolina Courage | 2017 | 24 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 2018 | 19 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | 14 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||||
| 2020 | — | 4 | 0 | — | — | 4[d] | 1 | 8 | 1 | |||||
| Houston Dash | 2021 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| San Diego Wave FC | 2022 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 1 | ||||
| 2024 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||||
| Adelaide United FC | 2015–16 | W-League | 12 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 5 | ||||
| Manchester City W.F.C. | 2020–21 | FA WSL | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 152 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 185 | 10 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2016 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 84 | 0 | |
UCLA
San Diego Wave
United States
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