Simisola Feyishayo Awujo (born September 23, 2003) is a soccer player who plays as a midfielder for English Women's Super League club Manchester United. Born in the United States and a former United States under-17 international, she represents Canada at senior international level.
 Awujo playing for USC in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Simisola Feyishayo Awujo[1] | ||
| Date of birth | September 23, 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Manchester United | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| AFC Lightning | |||
| NASA Tophat | |||
| Southern Soccer Academy | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2023 | USC Trojans | 49 | (4) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023 | FC Premier Women | 4 | (1) |
| 2024– | Manchester United | 9 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | United States U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2022 | Canada U20 | 10 | (0) |
| 2022– | Canada | 22 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of December 8, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 29, 2024 | |||
Early life
editAwujo began playing youth soccer at age seven with AFC Lightning in her hometown Peachtree City, Georgia, United States.[1] Afterwards, she played youth soccer with NASA Tophat and Southern Soccer Academy, as well as three years of Olympic Development Program (ODP) from 2014–16.[2][3] While at Woodward Academy, she competed in track and field, helping set school records in the 4x100 and 4x400.
College career
editIn 2021, she began attending the University of Southern California, where she played college soccer for the USC Trojans.[2] She scored her first goal on September 5, 2021, against the Western Michigan Broncos.[4] In her first season, she played in all 20 games including 15 starts, scoring two goals and creating two assists primarily as a holding midfielder, and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.[5] As a sophomore, she made 11 appearances, scoring two goals and three assists. She was named All-Pac 12 First Team as well as CSC Academic All-District Team.[6] After her junior season in 2023, she appeared in 18 games, registering two assists, and was again named to the All-Pac 12 First Team.[7] Academically she earned Scholar All-America third team, CSC Academic All-District and Pac-12 Honor Roll honors[8][9] She departed prior to her senior year, having made a total of 49 appearances.
Club career
editIn summer 2023, Awujo appeared in the Women's Premier Soccer League for FC Premier Women, scoring one goal and making three assists in four appearances.[10] She was named the Coastal Division Offensive Player of the Year and to the Coastal Division Best XI.[11]
In August 9, 2024, Awujo signed a thee-year contract with English Women's Super League club Manchester United.[12] She made her debut on September 21, as a 77th-minute substitute in an opening day 3–0 win at Old Trafford.[13]
International career
editYouth
editAwujo was eligible to represent the United States (where she was born), Nigeria (where both her parents were born), and Canada (as her mother is a citizen).[14]
In 2019, she represented the United States under-17 at a UEFA Women's Development Tournament in the Czech Republic.[15] She was recalled to an under-17 training camp in 2020.
In January 2022, she attended her first camp with the Canada under-20 team, later being selected for the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, where she won a bronze medal,[16] and to the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup roster, where she played every minute as Canada lost every match and were eliminated at the group stage.[17][18]
Senior
editIn August 2022, Awujo earned her first callup to the senior Canada national team for a pair of friendly matches against Australia.[16] She made her debut on September 3, 2022, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute.[19] She was named the women's 2022 Canada Soccer Young Player of the Year.[20] In July 2023, she was named to the squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[21] She was an unused substitute for all three matches as Canada were eliminated at the group stage. She scored her first senior international goal on December 1, 2023, in a 5–0 victory in a friendly against Australia.[22] In February 2024, she was named to the roster for the inaugural 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.[23] She made her senior tournament debut on February 25, 2024, as a halftime substitute in a 4–0 victory over Paraguay. Canada were eliminated at the semifinal stage on penalties against the United States.[24] In July 2024, she was called up to represent Canada at the 2024 Olympic Games.[25] She made three appearances including two starts,[1] as Canada were eliminated at the quarterfinals by Germany on penalties.[26]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of December 11, 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FC Premier Women | 2023 | Women's Premier Soccer League | 4 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||
| Manchester United | 2024–25 | Women's Super League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Career total | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||
International
edit- As of match played November 29, 2024[1]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2022 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 1 | |
International goals
edit- As of match played December 1, 2023
- Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Awujo goal.
| No. | Date | Cap | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 1, 2023 | 8 | Starlight Stadium, Langford, Canada |  Australia
|
4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Simi Awujo at the Canadian Soccer Association
- ^ a b "Simi Awujo USC profile". USC Trojans.
- ^ Clark, Travis (August 18, 2021). "Final 2021 Women's DI Recruiting Rankings". Top Drawer Soccer.
- ^ "No. 21 USC Women's Soccer Team Heads to Tempe and Tucson". USC Trojans. September 28, 2021.
- ^ Reno, Samuel (November 12, 2021). "USC dominates postseason Pac-12 awards". USC Annenberg Media.
- ^ "USC's Simi Awujo, Simone Jackson Named to Academic All-District Team". USC Trojans. November 16, 2022.
- ^ "Awujo, Duran Named to First Team, Flores Freshman of the Year as Nine Trojans Earn Pac-12 Awards". USC Trojans. November 7, 2023.
- ^ "Simi Awujo Named to Scholar All-America Third Team". USC Trojans. December 21, 2023.
- ^ "Simi Awujo, Hannah Dickinson Named to CSC Academic All-District Team". USC Trojans. November 21, 2023.
- ^ "Simi Awujo 2023 season". Instagram. WPSL. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "Best of the WPSL - So Cal Conference". Women's Premier Soccer League. August 8, 2023.
- ^ "United Women sign Simi Awujo". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. August 9, 2024.
- ^ "United Women 3 West Ham 0". www.manutd.com.
- ^ Okogene, Charles (August 19, 2022). "Canada U20 Played Nigerian- Born Simi Awujo". New Dawn Nigeria.
- ^ "U.S. U-17 WNT Defeats Host Czech Republic 3-0 To Open UEFA Development Tournament". United States Soccer Federation. May 21, 2019.
- ^ a b "Awujo, Larisey earn first Canada call ups". Canadian Soccer Association. September 2, 2022.
- ^ Gomes, Maya (September 2, 2022). "Trojans go global for U20 World Cup". Daily Trojan.
- ^ Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre (August 29, 2022). "Roster Analysis: What to make of CanWNT squad set to face Australia?". OneSoccer.
- ^ Rhodes, Benedict (September 3, 2022). "Match Analysis: Australia 0-1 CanWNT". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ "Simi Awujo and Ismaël Koné named Canada Soccer Young Players of the Year". Canadian Soccer Association. December 20, 2022.
- ^ "Canada Soccer unveils FIFA Women's World Cup squad for Australia & New Zealand 2023 - Canada Soccer". Canada Soccer. July 9, 2023.
- ^ Rhodes, Benedict (2 December 2023). "Recap: Canada hammer Australia for 5-0 win at Starlight Stadium". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ "Canada Soccer Unveils 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup Roster - Canada Soccer". Canada Soccer. February 7, 2024.
- ^ "Naeher the hero as USA hold off Canada in rain-soaked W Gold Cup semi-final". The Guardian. 7 March 2024.
- ^ "Canada Soccer and Canadian Olympic Committee unveil Women's National Team roster for the Paris Olympic Games - Canada Soccer". Canada Soccer. July 1, 2024.
- ^ Garrick, Omar. "Canada eliminated from Paris Olympics after shootout defeat vs Germany". The New York Times.
External links
edit- Simi Awujo at Soccerway
- Simi Awujo at the Canadian Soccer Association