Katie Cousins

Katie Cousins
Personal information
Full name Katherine Amanda Cousins[1]
Date of birth (1996-09-25) September 25, 1996[1]
Place of birth Columbia, South Carolina, United States
Height 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Þróttur Reykjavík
Number 10
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 Tennessee Volunteers 74 (7)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021 Þróttur Reykjavík 17 (7)
2022 Angel City 1 (0)
2023 Þróttur Reykjavík 20 (4)
2024 Valur 21 (2)
2025– Þróttur Reykjavík 5 (1)
International career
2014 United States U-18
2015–2016 United States U-20
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 12, 2025

Katherine Amanda Cousins (born September 25, 1996) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Icelandic Besta deild kvenna club Þróttur Reykjavík.

Cousins was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year during high school in Virginia in 2014. She played college soccer for the Tennessee Volunteers, twice earning All-American honors. In 2022, after one season in Iceland, she joined National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) expansion team Angel City FC before returning to Iceland.

Cousins played for the United States up to the under-20 level, appearing at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Early life

Cousins was born in Columbia, South Carolina, the middle of three children born to Luther Cousins and Molly Cousins.[2] She began playing soccer when she was four years old.[3] After her family moved to Forest, Virginia, she joined the Richmond Kickers and earned NSCAA All-American recognition two times.[2][4] She attended Jefferson Forest High School, where she played both soccer and basketball, played French horn in the band, and led the school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.[5]

In her junior year in 2014, Cousins was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, presented to the country's best high school soccer player, after recording 8 goals and 5 assists for Jefferson Forest and leading the team to a 14–1 record.[6] She was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the top recruit of the 2015 class.[4] She committed to Tennessee in 2012 over other offers including Virginia, Clemson, and Wake Forest.[4][7]

College career

Cousins graduated high school and enrolled at Tennessee one semester early.[4] She played in all 18 games in her freshman season in 2015, making the Southeastern Conference (SEC) all-freshman team.[2] She redshirted the entire 2016 season to focus on the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[2]

When she returned in 2017, Cousins started all 21 games for the Volunteers and scored 2 goals as she helped the team qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years. She was the only Volunteer to make her penalty in the shootout loss in the second round.[8]

Cousins scored a career-high 3 goals in 21 games in 2018. In the NCAA tournament, she assisted Danielle Marcano's last-minute winner in the second round against Arizona as the Volunteers reached the quarterfinals for the first time in program history.[2][9] She played in 14 games in 2019. During her final three seasons in Tennessee, Cousins was named All-SEC three times (twice first-team) and third-team All-American twice.[2]

Club career

Þróttur (first stint)

Cousins began her professional career in Iceland's top-flight Úrvalsdeild kvenna, signing with Þróttur Reykjavík in January 2021.[10] She scored 7 goals in 17 games in the 2021 season (second on the team), helping Þróttur finish third in the league.[11] She also helped the team reach the final of the 2021 Icelandic Women's Football Cup, which they lost to Breiðablik.[12] Cousins was named Þróttur's player of the season; Helena Ólafsdóttir later said that Cousins was one of the best foreigners ever to play in Iceland.[13][14]

Angel City FC

In December 2021, Cousins returned to the United States and joined National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) expansion team Angel City FC along with her Tennessee and Þróttur teammate M.A. Vignola.[15] She signed for two years with an option to extend for an additional year.[16] She made just one official appearance for Angel City, a stoppage-time substitution against the Portland Thorns on July 1, 2022.[12] She also started and played 45 minutes in an exhibition game against the Mexico national team.[12]

During her tenure at Angel City, Cousins received attention for sharing a social media post about baseball player Jason Adam's decision due to his Christian faith not to wear a rainbow-themed jersey for his team's Pride Night. Cousins later said in an interview: "Life just kind of blew up after that ... The fanbase was mad, my coach was mad. My teammates, I still haven't really talked to a couple of them".[17][18] Angel City released Cousins from her contract at the end of the 2022 season.[19]

Þróttur (second stint)

Cousins returned to Iceland and re-signed with Þróttur in December 2022.[13] She scored 4 goals in 20 games in the 2023 season as the team placed fourth in the Besta deild kvenna.[12]

Valur

Cousins joined city rivals and three-time defending champions Valur the following year. Playing a deeper role in the midfield, she scored 2 goals in 21 games in the 2024 season as the team finished runners-up to Breiðablik by one point.[12][20] She collected two trophies with the team, winning the Icelandic Women's League Cup and the Icelandic Women's Cup.[12] She also made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut with Valur, entering the 2024–25 tournament in the first qualifying round, where the team won against Ljuboten of North Macedonia, before losing to Twente of the Netherlands in the next game.[12]

Þróttur (third stint)

After failing to reach a contract extension with Valur, Cousins returned to Þróttur in February 2025, signing for two years.[21]

International career

Cousins was called into training camp with the United States under-15 team in 2011.[22] During an under-18 camp in 2013, she was invited to scrimmage on the side of the under-20s and then called up to a friendly tournament at the older age level.[23][24]

Cousins was named to the roster for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Papua New Guinea.[25] She started four of the team's six games at the tournament.[12] In the final group stage game, she assisted Mallory Pugh's equalizer and was named player of the match after a 1–1 draw against Ghana.[26] She conceded a handball penalty in the semifinals, opening a 2–1 loss to North Korea.[27] She started in the third place match, a 1–0 loss to Japan.[12]

Honors and awards

Valur

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b "FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016 – List of Players – USA" (PDF). FIFA. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Katie Cousins". Tennessee Volunteers. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  3. ^ Cates, Ben (May 1, 2014). "A head for soccer: JF's Katie Cousins named nation's top girls player". The News & Advance. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "Tennessee inks top five recruiting class". TopDrawerSoccer. February 5, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  5. ^ Duffer, Trenton (September 10, 2015). "Cousins excelling on both offense and defense". The Daily Beacon. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  6. ^ "2013–2014 Player of the Year – National Girls Soccer". Gatorade. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  7. ^ Clark, Travis (November 10, 2012). "Girls Commitments: Sep. 10". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Lesar, Al (August 9, 2018). "UT Lady Vols: Katie Cousins is a 'natural leader' for Tennessee soccer". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  9. ^ Morgan, Alex (November 23, 2018). "UT Lady Vols season ends in 2-0 loss to Stanford in NCAA women's soccer tournament". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  10. ^ "Cousins Signs First Pro Contract With Thróttur FC". Tennessee Volunteers. January 27, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  11. ^ "Iceland – Besta deild Women – 2021". Soccerway. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Katie Cousins at Soccerway
  13. ^ a b Edwardsdóttir, María (December 6, 2022). "Katie Cousins aftur í Þrótt" (in Icelandic). Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  14. ^ Guðjónsson, Hjörtur Leó (June 9, 2023). "Dolfallnar yfir Katie Cousins: 'Einn besti erlendi leikmaðurinn sem hefur komið hingað'". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  15. ^ Calhoun, Damian (December 10, 2021). "Angel City FC signs defender Sarah Gorden and midfielder Katie Cousins". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  16. ^ Hood, Kimberly (December 10, 2021). "Angel City FC Signs VFLs Cousins and Vignola". Tennessee Volunteers. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  17. ^ Yang, Steph (March 15, 2023). "HBO's Angel City documentary: The clashes, the production value and the code words". The Athletic. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  18. ^ "#265 – Just Be Faithful – My Conversation with Pro Soccer Player, Katie Cousins". The Griz Podcast. March 15, 2025. 16:00–21:00. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  19. ^ "Angel City Announces Roster Moves". Angel City FC. November 9, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  20. ^ Astill, David (July 17, 2024). "Ice In Her Veins: Why Katie Cousins could be Valur's secret weapon in the Icelandic league title race – scout report". Total Football Analysis. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  21. ^ Sverrisson, Sindri (February 4, 2025). "Katie Cousins í Þrótt eftir að Valur taldi hana of dýra". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  22. ^ "U15 GNT comes together for Thanksgiving camp". TopDrawerSoccer. November 16, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  23. ^ Eskilson, J.R. (February 11, 2013). "U20 WNT scores five, defeats UCLA 3-2". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  24. ^ "U20 WNT roster named for La Manga". United States Soccer Federation. February 19, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  25. ^ Clark, Travis (November 10, 2016). "U.S. U20 Roster Analysis: Mids, forwards". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  26. ^ Tyree, Elizabeth (November 21, 2016). "JF soccer star named Player of the Match as U.S. ties Ghana in U-20 World Cup". WSET-TV. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  27. ^ Parchman, Will (November 29, 2016). "U20s flame out of WWC, prompting questions". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
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