Kyra Carusa

Irish-American footballer (born 1995)

Kyra Carusa
Carusa with the San Diego Wave in 2023
Personal information
Full name Kyra Taylor Carusa[1]
Date of birth (1995-11-14) 14 November 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth San Diego, California, U.S.
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 San Diego Wave FC
Number 19
Youth career
San Diego Surf SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Stanford Cardinal 69 (25)
2018 Georgetown Hoyas 25 (10)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Le Havre AC 3 (4)
2020–2023 HB Køge 57 (30)
2023 London City Lionesses 11 (1)
2023– San Diego Wave FC 14 (3)
International career‡
2018 United States U23
2020– Republic of Ireland 19 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:15, 8 May 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 November 2023

Kyra Taylor Carusa (/kɪərə/;[2] 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.[3]

Early life

Carusa was born and raised in the North County[4] area of San Diego, California, alongside her mother Nicole, father Richard, and siblings Scott, Kelley, and Jordan.[5] Carusa attended Oak Valley Middle School[6] and Del Norte High School, where she scored 58 goals and notched 50 assists over 3 seasons of varsity soccer.[7] As a youth player, Carusa competed for the San Diego Surf,[8][4] where she was a team captain for four years.[5]

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.[9] 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.[5] Carusa ended her first soccer season with 23 matches under her belt, 5 goals, and 6 assists.[10]

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.[5] 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.[11] 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.[5] She graduated with a degree in Human biology.[12]

After her experience at Stanford, Carusa transferred to Georgetown University for graduate school.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15] Sky Blue FC chose to waive Carusa, who was then picked up on the NWSL waiver wire by the Utah Royals.[16][17] 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.[18][19] 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.[20] She scored 4 goals on her debut against AaB on 9 August 2020.[21] Carusa scored a further hattrick against FC Nordsjælland on 24 April 2021.[22]

London City Lionesses, 2023

In February 2023, Carusa joined English club London City Lionesses.[23] She made her league debut against Sunderland on 5 February 2023.[24] Carusa scored her first league goal against Lewes on 12 February 2023, scoring in the 38th minute.[25]

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.[26][27] She made her league debut against NJ/NY Gotham FC on August 20, 2023, entering the match as a substitute for Alex Morgan.[28] Carusa scored her first NWSL goal against the Orlando Pride on August 26, 2023, contributing to a 2-1 victory.[29] In the match, Carusa headed in a corner kick from teammate Makenzy Doniak in the 75th minute, scoring the game-winner for the Wave.[30][31] Carusa ended her first season with the San Diego Wave with 2 goals scored and 8 regular season appearances.[32] 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.[33] In her time on the field, Carusa forced a save from Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey,[34] but the Wave ultimately fell 1-0 to their opponents.[35]

On January 10, 2024,[36] the Wave re-signed Carusa through the 2024 season, with a mutual option for 2025 as well.[37] 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.[38]

International career

Eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland through her Irish grandparents,[39] Carusa began the process of applying for Irish citizenship as a graduate student at Georgetown.[40] In February 2020, Carusa was cleared by FIFA to play for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team.[41] 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.[42]

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.[43] Ireland eventually went on to score 9 more goals in an 11–0 victory over their competitors.[44]

On June 27, 2023, Ireland head coach Vera Pauw included Carusa in the team's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad.[45] Carusa started all three matches,[46][47] including a full 90 minutes in Ireland's final group stage game versus Nigeria.[48] 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.[49] Ultimately, Ireland ended up in last place in Group B and did not advance to the knockout stages of the tournament.[50]

Carusa scored her third international goal in front of a record-setting 35,944 fans at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.[51] 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.[52] Shortly before scoring, Carusa had an opportunity cleared off the line by a North Irish defender.[51] Carusa scored her fourth international goal a mere three days later, helping the team record a 4-0 victory over Hungary.[53]

Carusa notched her first international brace on October 27, 2023, scoring two goals in quick succession in a 5-1 win over Albania.[54]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland 2020 1 0
2021 3 1
2022 4 1
2023 9 2
Total 17 4
Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goals first. Score column indicates score after each Carusa goal. Updated as of 28 September 2023.
International goals scored by Kyra Carusa
No. Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 4 30 November 2021 Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, Ireland  Georgia 2–0 11–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification [55]
2 8 14 November 2022 Marbella Football Center, San Pedro Alcántara, Spain  Morocco 4–0 4–0 Friendly [56]
3 16 23 September 2023 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland  Northern Ireland 2–0 3–0 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League [57]
4 17 26 September 2023 Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion, Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 3–0 4–0 [58]
5 18 27 October 2023 Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, Ireland  Albania 3–1 5–1 [59]
6 4–1

Honors

Stanford Cardinal

San Diego Wave

References

  1. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 – Squad List: Republic Of Ireland (IRL)" (PDF). FIFA. 11 July 2023. p. 25. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. ^ San Diego Wave FC [@sandiegowavefc] (16 August 2023). "let's gooo! 🤩 @kyracarusa" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Spillerdetaljer – Kyra Carusa". kvindeliga.dk. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b Union-Tribune, Tom Krasovic | The San Diego (15 September 2023). "Wave's Kyra Carusa has caught on fast in return to San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Kyra Carusa". Stanford University Athletics.
  6. ^ NGWSD | Kyra Carusa Middle School Visit | Happy National Girl's and Women in Sports Day 🫶 Kyra Carusa visited her middle school to speak about her journey from not having a local pro team to... | By San Diego Wave FCFacebook. Retrieved 4 July 2024 – via www.facebook.com.
  7. ^ "Wave sign San Diego native, Irish World Cup striker Kyra Carusa for rest of 2023 season". San Diego Union-Tribune. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Surf U17 Girls seek to realize potential | Club Soccer | Youth Soccer". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Local players help lead Stanford to NCAA women's soccer title". San Diego Union-Tribune. 28 December 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  10. ^ "- Career History". stanford_ftp.sidearmsports.com. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Stanford edges UCLA 3-2 to win NCAA Women's College Cup". SoccerWire. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Californian Kyra Carusa's unique career path: @StanfordWSoccer champ, @HoyasWSoc star, Ireland debut and promotion in Denmark with @hbkogedk". Soccer America. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  13. ^ Gaudreau, Rachel. "WOMEN'S SOCCER | Kyra Carusa heads to the NWSL". The Hoya. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Kyra Carusa - Women's Soccer". Georgetown University Athletics. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  15. ^ "2019 NWSL Draft results: Stanford claimed the most first-round picks. Here's a complete list of the selections | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  16. ^ Hamlin, Steve (16 December 2019). "NWSL Offseason Notebook | National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  17. ^ rsl. "Utah Royals FC Acquires Three Players Through 2019 End-of-Season Re-Entry Wire | Real Salt Lake". rsl. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  18. ^ "D2 Féminine - Havre AC : une deuxième place symbolique et pleine de promesses - France Bleu". ici par France Bleu et France 3 (in French). 28 April 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Farrell and Carusa Sign with Professional Leagues". guhoyas.com. 26 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Irsk landsholdsspiller til HB Køges kvindehold". hbkoge.dk. 22 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Køge vs AaB - 9 August 2020". int.soccerway.com.
  22. ^ "Køge vs Nordsjælland - 24 April 2021". int.soccerway.com.
  23. ^ "Kyra Carusa joins London City Lionesses from Danish champions HB Køge". London City Lionesses. 1 February 2023.
  24. ^ "London City Lionesses vs Sunderland - 5 February 2023". int.soccerway.com.
  25. ^ "London City Lionesses vs Lewes - 12 February 2023". int.soccerway.com.
  26. ^ San Diego Wave FC [@sandiegowavefc] (16 August 2023). "home sweet home 🌊 welcome, @kyracarusa!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Emerick, Tyler (16 August 2023). "San Diego Wave FC Acquire Forward Kyra Carusa". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  28. ^ "San Diego Wave vs Gotham FC - 20 August 2023". int.soccerway.com.
  29. ^ "Orlando Pride vs San Diego Wave - 26 August 2023". int.soccerway.com.
  30. ^ Emerick, Tyler (26 August 2023). "San Diego Wave FC Defeats Orlando Pride 2-1 at Exploria Stadium". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  31. ^ "Kyra Carusa scores as the San Diego Wave beat the Orlando Pride 2-1". San Diego Union-Tribune. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  32. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  33. ^ "Seattle 1-0 San Diego (Nov 5, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  34. ^ Union-Tribune, Tom Krasovic | The San Diego (5 November 2023). "Stunning goal sinks San Diego Wave's season in NWSL semifinals". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  35. ^ "San Diego Wave FC shut out by OL Reign in NWSL Semifinal". KPBS Public Media. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  36. ^ Emerick, Tyler (9 January 2024). "San Diego Wave FC Signs Forward Kyra Carusa to a New Contract". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  37. ^ Vincent, Taylor (9 January 2024). "Forward Kyra Carusa re-signs with San Diego Wave – Equalizer Soccer". Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  38. ^ Emerick, Tyler (16 March 2024). "San Diego Wave FC Defeat 1-0 NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2024 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup". San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  39. ^ Fennessy, Paul (23 December 2023). "'I said to her: by any chance, do you have a European grandparent?'". The 42. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  40. ^ "Carusa and Leat Playing on International Levels". Georgetown University Athletics. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  41. ^ Frith, Wilf (27 February 2020). "Kyra Carusa cleared to play for Republic of Ireland WNT". shekicks.net.
  42. ^ UEFA.com. "History: Montenegro 0-3 Republic of Ireland | UEFA Women's EURO 2022". UEFA.com. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  43. ^ Barry, Brian (30 November 2021). "Republic of Ireland Women 11-0 Georgia Women: Girls in Green get back on track in World Cup qualifiers with victory". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  44. ^ "Republic of Ireland 11-0 Georgia: Ireland hit 11 to move second in Group A". BBC Sport. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  45. ^ "Republic of Ireland name maiden Women's World Cup squad". FIFA. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  46. ^ Pender, Kieran (20 July 2023). "Catley holds nerve as Australia start Women's World Cup by beating Ireland". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  47. ^ "Canada 2-1 Rep Ireland (Jul 26, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  48. ^ "Rep Ireland 0-0 Nigeria (Jul 31, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  49. ^ O'Connell, Dylan (26 July 2023). "Women's World Cup: Republic of Ireland player ratings - McCabe, Carusa, and Brosnan shine in defeat to Canada". RTE. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  50. ^ Lee, Eleanor (20 August 2023). "FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: All fixtures, results, goalscorers, and group standings - complete list". Olympics. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  51. ^ a b "Kyra Carusa says 'wow' factor at Aviva Stadium just like World Cup". Irish Independent. 24 September 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  52. ^ "Republic of Ireland 3-0 Northern Ireland: Oxtoby debut ends in defeat as hosts win in Dublin". BBC Sport. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  53. ^ UEFA.com. "Hungary-Republic of Ireland | UEFA Women's Nations League 2023/24". UEFA.com. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  54. ^ "Republic of Ireland 5-1 Albania: Katie McCabe hits hat-trick in dominant Women's Nations League win". BBC Sport. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  55. ^ "WNT 11–0 Georgia". FAI. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  56. ^ "WNT 4–0 Morocco". FAI. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  57. ^ "WNT 3–0 Northern Ireland". FAI. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  58. ^ "Hungary 0–4 WNT". FAI. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  59. ^ "WNT 5–1 Albania". FAI. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  60. ^ "San Diego Wave claim 2023 NWSL Shield". CONCACAF. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  61. ^ "San Diego Wave FC Defeat 1-0 NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2024 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup". 16 March 2024.

External links

  • Kyra Carusa – UEFA competition record (archive) Edit this at Wikidata
  • Kyra Carusa at Soccerway
  • Kyra Carusa at WorldFootball.net
  • Kyra Carusa on Facebook
  • Kyra Carusa on X
  • Kyra Carusa at Football Association of Ireland (FAI)
  • v
  • t
  • e
San Diego Wave FC – current squad
  • v
  • t
  • e
Republic of Ireland squad – 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Republic of Ireland