US youth team standout Ally Sentnor named US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year

By Canadian Press on January 17, 2025.

Utah Royals forward and youth national team standout Ally Sentnor has been named the 2024 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year.

The 20-year-old Sentnor is currently training with the U.S. senior national team in Florida as part of the team’s annual January camp. She made her senior debut for the United States late last year in a scoreless draw against England at Wembley Stadium.

Sentnor is a veteran of the U.S. youth national teams and was captain of the squad that finished third at last year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia. She scored three goals during the tournament.

Overall she appeared in 20 games with the under-20 teams between 2022-24, scoring 11 goals.

A Massachusetts native, Sentnor was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League draft out of North Carolina. She played in 21 games with the Utah Royals last season, scoring three goals with four assists.

Past recipients of the award include current national team stars Trinity Rodman (2021), Naomi Girma (2020), Sophia Smith (2017) and Mallory Swanson (2015). U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone won the first young player award in 1998.

“To see the list of players who have won this before shows me the opportunities that are ahead,” Sentnor said in a statement Friday. “I know there is so much work to do for myself and my generation, but we’ve had amazing role models in the players from the past and the veteran players who are on the team now.”

Sentnor received 55.8% of the final vote total for the award. National team coaches and players, NWSL coaches, U.S. Soccer board and athlete council members, select media members and fans vote for the annual honor.

Kansas City Current midfielder Claire Hutton was runner-up with 30.1% of the votes.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press