Alexandra Kimball

Alexandra Kimball
Kimball with North Carolina in 2015
Personal information
Full name Alexandra Amalia Kimball-Suarez
Date of birth (1995-09-21) September 21, 1995[1]
Place of birth Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder, striker
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 North Carolina Tar Heels 91 (9)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 FC Austin Elite
2018 Real Salt Lake Women
2019 Utah Royals 0 (0)
2022 North Carolina Courage U23 1 (0)
International career‡
2022 Peru 8 (0)
Managerial career
2023 North Carolina Tar Heels (assistant)
2025– Utah United (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 14, 2022

Alexandra Amalia Kimball-Suarez (born September 21, 1995) is a Peruvian-American soccer coach and former player who is an assistant coach for Utah United in the USL W League. Kimball played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was drafted by Utah Royals FC in the fourth round of the 2019 NWSL College Draft. Born and raised in the United States, she earned eight caps with the Peru national team.

Early life

Kimball was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Melissa Suarez and Steven Kimball, the oldest of four children.[1] She is of half-Peruvian descent.[2] She began playing soccer at age two or three.[3][4] After her family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, when she was eight, she aspired to play for the North Carolina Tar Heels from.[4][5] She played youth soccer for Triangle United and the Capital Area Soccer League.[3][6] She attended Chapel Hill High School, where she led the soccer team to its first state championship in 2014, being named the most valuable player of the title game and the News & Observer player of the year.[7][8]

College career

Before her junior season with the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2016, Kimball underwent surgery for a hip labral tear before returning to the field and helping the team to the NCAA tournament semifinals. She redshirted the entire 2017 season due to hip issues.[1][3] Toward the end of her redshirt senior season in 2018, Kimball was thrust into a starting role after star center forward Alessia Russo broke her leg. In her first start since 2015, Kimball opened scoring against Virginia Tech in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. She had a second tournament goal in the final loss to Florida State and was named to the ACC all-tournament team.[1][9] In the NCAA tournament, she scored her career-high fourth goal of the season against Virginia Tech and went on to help the team to the national final, although the team again lost to Florida State.[1][10] In four seasons at North Carolina, she scored 9 goals and provided 7 assists in 91 appearances.[1]

Club career

While in college, Kimball played during the summer for United Women's Soccer clubs FC Austin Elite and Real Salt Lake Women.[11] She trained with Utah Royals FC as a non-rostered player in 2018.[12]

After college, Kimball was drafted by the Royals with the 32nd overall pick in the fourth round of the 2019 NWSL College Draft.[12] She was signed as a national team replacement player for Becky Sauerbrunn during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[13]

Kimball sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury while training with Racing Louisville FC as a non-rostered player in the 2021 preseason.[14]

Kimball made one appearance for the North Carolina Courage U23 during the 2022 USL W League season.[15]

Kimball represented the US Women team, composed primarily of youth and former national team players, at the Soccer Tournament beginning in 2023.[16] She won the US$1 million prize with the team in 2024 and 2025.[17][18]

Kimball played for Pan World Elite WFC at the 2024 National Amateur Cup, scoring four goals en route to winning the women's title.[19]

International career

Kimball made her senior international debut for Peru in a friendly game against Mexico on June 25, 2022. She was selected to the Peruvian roster for the 2022 Copa América Femenina, where she started the first two matches of the group stage.[20]

Coaching career

While injured in 2019, Kimball began working in sports facilities in Salt Lake City. In 2021, she joined the Utah Avalanche youth soccer club and was an assistant coach at Bonneville High School.[21] She also organized an online six-week training course for teenage girls' soccer players that year.[4][22]

In 2022, after being a volunteer assistant coach, Kimball was hired by her alma mater North Carolina Tar Heels as the director of team development, working in community outreach and recruiting. She was promoted to be an assistant coach the following season from August to November 2023. The Assembly reported that the university investigated Kimball for an alleged relationship with one of her players.[21][23]

Kimball became an assistant coach for Utah United in the 2025 USL W League season.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Alex Kimball – Women's Soccer". North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  2. ^ Swanson, Shelby (October 15, 2023). "Q&A: UNC women's soccer assistant coach Alex Kimball discusses Peruvian heritage". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Marks, Trevor (May 18, 2019). "Incan Royalty in the Wasatch Front: Alex Kimball's Journey from the NCAA to NWSL". Medium. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Hackett, Tom (February 8, 2021). "Former Utah Royal Launches 'Ultimate Virtual Soccer Training For Female Athletes'". KSL Sports. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  5. ^ Howlett, Dylan (August 14, 2014). "Women's soccer adapts to change". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  6. ^ "Triangle United Alumni Wall". Triangle United. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Lee, Amanda (May 31, 2014). "Last minute score lifts Chapel Hill to girls soccer title". HighSchoolOT.com. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Blake, J. Mike (June 23, 2014). "The 2013–14 high school athletics year in review". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019.
  9. ^ Fowler, Chapel (October 28, 2018). "How Alex Kimball turned an ACC Tournament opportunity into a game to remember". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
    Keyes, Brian (November 18, 2018). "Alex Kimball brings the energy UNC women's soccer needed to secure 3–0 win over VT". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  10. ^ Scovel, Shannon (December 3, 2018). "Women's college soccer: Florida State beats North Carolina 1-0 for 2018 College Cup title". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  11. ^ "2019 NWSL College Draft Recap". United Women's Soccer. January 10, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Vejar, Alex (January 10, 2019). "Utah Royals make three selections in NWSL College Draft". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  13. ^ "Utah Royals FC Signs Strom-Okimoto, Cox and Kimball for Duration of 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup". Utah Royals. May 3, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  14. ^ Morgan, Bekki (November 5, 2021). "Taking Over: An Interview with Emily Fox of the USWNT and Racing Louisville". bgn.fm. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021.
  15. ^ "NC Courage U23 – Alexandra Kimball". USL W League. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023.
  16. ^ Bynum, R.L. (May 17, 2023). "Hamm-coached team with 10 UNC alums to vie for $1 million at Cary 7-on-7 event". Tar Heel Tribune. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  17. ^ "Dellarose Named MVP, US Women Win TST 2024". North Carolina Tar Heels. June 11, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  18. ^ Walker, Sean (June 10, 2025). "Have You Seen This? Utah teen earns MVP honors at $1 million soccer tournament". KSL. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  19. ^ "Alexandra Kimball of Pan World Elite WFC receives a medal after the..." Getty Images. August 1, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  20. ^ "Alexandra Kimball National Team Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Alexandra Kimball". North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  22. ^ Garrett, Catherine (February 22, 2021). "Former Royals player highlights online soccer training". The City Journals. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  23. ^ Hartman, Matt (March 31, 2024). "Is the Long Reign of UNC Women's Soccer Over?". The Assembly. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  24. ^ Utah United USL W [@utahuniteduslw]; (December 30, 2024). "Introducing one of our Assistant Coaches, Alexandra Kimball!". Retrieved June 24, 2025 – via Instagram.
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