PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC midfielder Olivia Moultrie has been named the 2023 Chipotle U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year, awarded to the top player within the United States’ Youth National Team System.
“I’m just super excited and thankful to everyone who voted for me for this award, it’s really special,” Moultrie said. “To see the list of those players who have won it before, and what they’ve gone on to accomplish in their careers, is inspiring and motivating for me. It was a hard year but a fun year and I’m so appreciative of all the older players on the Thorns and the National Team who embraced me and helped me along the way. To grow as a person and a player, you really need your teammates, your coaches and your family, so thanks to all of them. It was a big year of growth for me, and I just hope it’s a step in the right direction. I promise I’m going to work even harder in the coming years.”
Moultrie, 18, wins the award after being nominated for a second consecutive year. In 2023, Moultrie helped lead the United States at the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which saw her earn a call-up to the Senior National Team in October and subsequently make her debut against China PR on December 2 in the team’s 3-0 victory. Three days later, in Frisco, Texas, Moultrie earned her second cap, a 2-1 win over China PR.
This past year with Thorns FC, Moultrie recorded a career-high 1,205 minutes across 22 matches, 12 of which were starts. Offensively, Mountrlie contributed two goals and three assists for the Thorns, helping the team secure a second-place finish in the NWSL regular season and a semifinal berth in the postseason. The third-year midfielder also appeared in six NWSL Challenge Cup matches, scoring one goal.
Moultrie becomes the second Thorns FC rostered player to be given such an award, joining forward Sophia Smith who earned the title in 2017.
For the second time, fans were able to vote for the U.S. Soccer Young Player of the Year Awards with those votes weighted at 15% of the total. Votes for U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year awards are collected from respective National Team coaches, National Team players who earned a cap in 2023, members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors, U.S. Soccer Athletes’ Council, National Women’s Soccer League head coaches and select media members and administrators. Moultrie earned 38.3 percent of the overall vote for the Young Female Player of the Year.
