Mia Elizabeth Bhuta (born December 29, 2005) is an American college soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the Stanford Cardinal. She represented the United States at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, becoming the first Indian American, male or female, to play at a FIFA tournament.
 Bhuta with Stanford in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mia Elizabeth Bhuta[1] | ||
| Date of birth | December 29, 2005[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Stanford Cardinal | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023– | Stanford Cardinal | 36 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| 2022 | United States U-17 | 15 | (3) |
| 2024– | United States U-19 | 1 | (0) |
Early life
editBhuta was born and raised in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon, one of three children of Joy and Vyom Bhuta.[2][3] Her father, who was born in Mumbai and raised in Rajkot, moved to New York as an exchange student to train in tennis at age 16; her mother grew up in Pittsburgh.[4][5] Her parents met at Mercyhurst University, where her father played college tennis and her mother rowed. Her brother, Noah, is a college football punter for Chicago.[2][4]
Bhuta started playing soccer with her father and brother at a young age before joining the Riverhounds Development Academy and Century United.[6] She then joined Internationals Soccer Club at age 11, for which her family drove her to the club in Medina, Ohio, multiple times a week for years; she won two ECNL conference titles with the team and was named an ECNL All-American in 2022.[2][6] She initially committed to UCLA, but after its coach left, she switched to Stanford in late 2021.[6] She graduated one year early from Mt. Lebanon High School in 2022, allowing her to enroll early at Stanford.[7] Ranked as the fourth-top player in her class, she signed a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal with Adidas at age 17.[8]
College career
editBhuta featured in the starting lineup of all but one game for the Stanford Cardinal in her freshman 2023 season. She scored her first college goal in a 1–0 win over Washington State. She was deployed as a midfielder at the start of the season but moved to the back line by the end of the year.[2][9] Stanford went undefeated all the way to the final of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Florida State.[10] After the season, Bhuta was named to the All-Pac-12 Conference third team and received all-freshman recognition from the Pac-12, TopDrawerSoccer, and College Soccer News.[2]
International career
editBhuta was first called into training camp with the United States under-15 team in 2020 and joined the under-17s the following year.[11][12] She captained the under-17s on her international debut at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship.[13] The United States outscored its opposition 58–1 in seven games to win the tournament, qualifying for the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[14] At age 16, Bhuta was one of three captains for the United States at that World Cup held in India, where she became the first player of Indian descent, male or female, to play for the United States at a FIFA tournament at any age level. She came off the bench and scored in the opening 8–0 win over the hosts.[7][15] The United States played Nigeria to a 1–1 draw in the quarterfinals; the team lost in a penalty shootout, though Bhuta converted her kick.[16]
Honors and awards
editUnited States U17
Individual
- United Soccer Coaches Youth Player of the Year: 2022
- All-Pac-12 Conference: 2023 (third team)
- All-Pac-12 Conference freshman team: 2023
Source:[2]
References
edit- ^ a b "Squad List: FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022" (PDF). FIFA. October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Mia Bhuta". Stanford Cardinal. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ Krysinsky, John (October 12, 2022). "Mt. Lebanon's Mia Bhuta scores in her groundbreaking debut at Women's U17 World Cup". Pittsburgh Soccer Now. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ a b Rizzo, Josh (October 13, 2022). "Mt. Lebanon's Mia Bhuta becomes 1st woman of Indian descent to play in World Cup for U.S. Soccer". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ "India clash extra-special for US history-maker Bhuta". FIFA. October 10, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ a b c Krysinsky, John (March 28, 2022). "Driven to succeed: Mia Bhuta takes well-traveled road to USWNT's U-17 player pool". Pittsburgh Soccer Now. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ a b "Mt. Lebanon native Mia Bhuta making history with Team USA at Under-17 Women's World Cup". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 13, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ Ingemi, Marisa (September 17, 2023). "Mia Bhuta relishing chance to become Stanford's next women's soccer star". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ Santa, John (September 22, 2023). "Mt. Lebanon native Mia Bhuta playing 'beyond her years' as freshman on No. 2-ranked Stanford women's soccer team". Pittsburgh Union Progress. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ Ingemi, Marisa (December 4, 2023). "Florida State rolls past Stanford to win women's College Cup title". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
- ^ "U15 GNT to hold first training camp of 2020". United States Soccer Federation. March 2, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
- ^ "Call-ups for the U.S. U17 WNT Camp". United States Soccer Federation. February 4, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
- ^ Krysinsky, John (April 22, 2022). "Mt. Lebanon's Mia Bhuta earns spot in Starting XI for US Soccer's U17 YNT in World Cup qualifying". Pittsburgh Soccer Now. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ "U.S. U-17 Women's Youth National Team Defeats Mexico 2–1 To Win Record Fifth Concacaf U-17 Women's Championship". United States Soccer Federation. May 8, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ Krysinsky, John (October 13, 2022). "Mia Bhuta embraces the spotlight at U17 Women's World Cup". Pittsburgh Soccer Now. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ^ "USA Comes Up Just Short In FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Quarterfinal, Falling To Nigeria In Penalty Kicks, 4–3, After 1–1 Tie In Regulation". United States Soccer Federation. October 21, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
External links
edit- Mia Bhuta at Soccerway.com
