| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (2003-06-29) June 29, 2003 (age 21) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2024 | California Golden Bears | 76 | (31) |
| International career | |||
| 2018 | United States U-15 | ||
| 2019 | United States U-17 | ||
Karlie Lema (born June 29, 2003) is an American soccer player who plays as a striker. She played college soccer for the California Golden Bears, where she scored 16 goals in her senior season and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Offensive Player of the Year.
Early life and college career
Lema was raised in Morgan Hill, California, with four siblings. Her father, Dave Lema, played football at San Jose City College, and her stepmother, Annie Bergholz, ran track at Northern Colorado. Lema grew up doing track and gymnastics before starting soccer at the relatively late age of ten. She played ECNL club soccer for MVLA Soccer Club and committed to University of California, Berkely, during in eighth grade at Martin Murphy Middle School. She then attended Live Oak High School, where she competed in track and volleyball in addition to starring on the soccer team, being named the Blossom Valley Athletic League most valuable player three times. Hip issues kept her out of action for an 18-month period before college. She was rated a four-star recruit by TopDrawerSoccer and part of California's incoming class that was rated the best of 2020.
California Golden Bears
Lema was a four-year starter for the California Golden Bears. She led the team with 6 goals in 18 games as a freshman in 2021, being named to the Pac-12 Conference all-freshman team. After the season, she had surgery for her hip which repaired her labrum, and she returned to score a team-second-high 5 goals in 21 games in her sophomore season. Resting that spring helped resolve her hip issues before her junior season, when she scored 4 goals with a team-high 4 assists in 16 games, earning third-team All-Pac-12 honors. Lema started her senior season with a prolific amount of scoring and ranked first in the nation with 13 goals in her first 10 games of 2024. California finished seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference in their first season in the league, missing the six-team ACC tournament but making the NCAA tournament, where they lost in the second round. Lema ended the 2024 season with 16 goals (fourth-most in program history) and 6 assists in 21 appearances and was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-ACC.
International career
Lema played for the United States youth national team at the under-15 and under-17 levels from 2018 to 2020. She scored in all three games at the UEFA Development Tournament in 2019, including a hat trick against Czechia.
Honors and awards
Individual
- ACC Offensive Player of the Year: 2024
- First-team All-ACC: 2024
- Third-team All-Pac-12: 2023
- Pac-12 al-freshman team: 2021
References
- ^ "Karlie Lema". California Golden Bears. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ "Letting It Fly". California Golden Bears. September 26, 2024. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- Lee, Emanuel (April 18, 2018). "Karlie Lema is the real deal". The Morgan Hill Times. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- Lee, Emanuel (January 11, 2018). "Girls Soccer: Lema a rising sensation". The Morgan Hill Times. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Curtis, Jake (October 3, 2024). "Finally Healthy, Cal's Karlie Lema Leads the Nation in Scoring". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Curtis, Jake (November 6, 2024). "Cal's Karlie Lema Named ACC Soccer Player of the Year". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- Curtis, Jake (November 22, 2024). "Cal Falls to No. 5 Arkansas in Women's NCAA Soccer Tournament". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- "Hat Trick From Karlie Lema Leads U.S. U-17 WNT To 3–1 Win Against Belgium And Title of UEFA Development Tournament In Czech Republic". United States Soccer Federation. May 25, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
External links
- Karlie Lema at Soccerway.com
