Sydney Collins

Sydney Jane Collins (born September 8, 1999) is a professional soccer player who plays for the North Carolina Courage in the National Women's Soccer League. Born in the United States, she represents Canada at international level.

Early life

Collins began playing soccer at age eight with Hillsboro SC. She later played for the FC Portland Soccer Academy and the Portland Thorns Development Academy.

She attended Jesuit High School in Oregon, where she was a four-year starter on the varsity soccer team, serving as team captain for her final two years. She was a two-time state champion in 2015 and 2017, a two-time First Team All-State, voted to the TopDrawerSoccer Best XI for the High School Girls All-American Game, and was a 2017 United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team. She was also named the 2017-18 Oregon Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

College career

In 2018, she began attending the University of California, Berkeley, where she played for the women's soccer team. In her sophomore season in 2019, she was named a Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Selection and CoSIDA Academic District 8 First Team Honoree. In her junior season, she was named team captain, and was named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll once again. She also scored her first collegiate goal on March 5, 2021, against the Colorado Buffaloes. In her senior season, she was named to the Third Team All-Pac-12, the CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team and the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll. In 2022, she was named Pac-12 Defender of the Week for two consecutive weeks. She was also an Academic All-District Team for the third time, was named to the All-Pacific Region Second Team, and the All-Pac-12 Second Team.

Club career

At the 2023 NWSL Draft, Collins was selected in the first round (8th overall) by the North Carolina Courage. In March 2023, she signed a three-year contract with the club. She made her professional debut on April 1 against the San Diego Wave.

International career

Collins was eligible to play for the United States (where she and her father were born) and Canada (where her mother was born). In April 2016, she was called up to a camp with the United States U17 team. In February 2022, she played with the United States U23 team at the Portland Thorns Preseason Tournament, where they faced professional teams from the NWSL.

In February 2023, Collins joined the Canada women's team as a training player for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup. She was then subsequently named to the roster in April for a friendly against France, making her debut on April 11.

After not making the Canadian roster for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, where the team would go on to suffer a disappointing group stage exit, Collins was called up for the team's next fixtures in September, a two-leg CONCACAF Olympic qualification playoff against Jamaica. Following training camp, she said "I think we have a really good energy about the group coming together and trying to move forward." Despite having only played fourteen minutes in her lone prior international appearance, with Canada seeking to reorganize following the World Cup, coach Bev Priestman opted to start Collins in the first match, citing her strong camp performance. This was widely cited as a "surprise" move, but Collins' performance was generally assessed positively, and she ultimately started both matches, which saw Canada defeat Jamaica and qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Collins is the daughter of former National Football League and Canadian Football League player Brett Collins.

Career statistics

As of match played October 22, 2023