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Abi Brighton

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American soccer player (born 2002)

Abi Brighton
Personal information
Full name Abigail Brighton
Date of birth (2002-03-29) March 29, 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S.
Position(s) Center midfielder
Team information
Current team Juventus
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2024 Vanderbilt Commodores 93 (10)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024– Juventus 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Abigail Brighton (born March 29, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Serie A Femminile club Juventus. She played college soccer for the Vanderbilt Commodores, where she was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection.

Early life and college career

Brighton was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, to John and Stephanie Brighton, and raised in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. She has an older brother, James, who played college soccer for Clemson. Brighton attended Heritage Academy in Hilton Head, where she captained the soccer team from 2012 to 2018. She played club soccer for Tormenta FC. She was called into United States national under-14 team training camp in 2016 and later invited to virtual camp at the under-20 level in 2021.

Vanderbilt Commodores

Brighton was a five-year starter for the Vanderbilt Commodores, scoring 10 goals and making 15 assists in 93 appearances (92 starts). In her freshman season in 2020, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped lead Vanderbilt win their first SEC tournament since 1994. In the opening round, she scored and assisted in a 4–2 win against Mississippi State (her rocket against Mississippi State made SportsCenter's top 10 plays), and she scored the last goal in a 3–1 victory over Arkansas in the conference final. Vanderbilt lost to Penn State in their opening game in the NCAA tournament. She finished the season with 3 goals and 2 assists in 16 games and was named to the SEC all-freshman team.

Brighton made a career-high five assists in 21 games in her junior season in 2022, including the tying assist in a 1–1 draw against Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament, before making her penalty kick as they advanced in a shootout. In the NCAA tournament, she assisted the only goal in a 1–0 win against Clemson in the first round before losing to Northwestern in the next game. She became team captain of the Commodores in her senior year. She returned for a fifth and final season (granted to college athletes because of the pandemic) in 2024. In her last NCAA tournament, she led Vanderbilt to an upset win against top-seeded defending champions Florida State in the second round, assisting on the second goal in a 3–3 draw and making the winning penalty kick in the ensuing shootout. Vanderbilt lost to Penn State in the next round. Described as "arguably the spine of the team" for her facilitating play, Brighton was named to the All-SEC second team in her last two seasons and third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American in her last season.

Club career

Juventus

Italian club Juventus announced on January 8, 2025, that they had signed Brighton through the 2026–27 season.

Honors

Vanderbilt Commodores

Individual

  • Third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American: 2024
  • Second-team All-SEC: 2023, 2024
  • SEC all-freshman team: 2020
  • SEC tournament all-tournament team: 2020

References

  1. ^ "Abi Brighton". Vanderbilt Commodores. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  2. Hidalgo Bellows, Kate (November 27, 2020). "Hilton Head siblings help carry college soccer teams to conference wins – on the same day". The Island Packet. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  3. Shealer, Sheldon (January 21, 2018). "Recruiting Roundup: January 22–28". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  4. Shain, Jeff (January 24, 2016). "Storm Academy soccer duo getting national look". The Island Packet. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  5. "U.S. U20 WNT Virtual Camp Roster". United States Soccer Federation. May 20, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  6. Hays, Graham (October 31, 2024). "Let's Just Play". Vanderbilt Commodores. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  7. Joffer, Prince Akeem (November 23, 2024). "FSU soccer falls in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Vanderbilt". Tomahawk Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  8. Hall, Grace (November 27, 2024). "Soccer: History written in the 2024 season". The Vanderbilt Hustler. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  9. "Abi Brighton joins Juventus Women!". Juventus FC. January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.

External links

Juventus FC (women) – current squad
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