(This story has been updated to add new information.)
With one jump and one header, Avery Patterson leaped into Jacksonville soccer history.
The former Bolles School midfielder entered the record books as the first-ever player from a Jacksonville high school to score for the United States women’s national soccer team, netting the opening goal in a June 26 international friendly match against Ireland at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
Patterson, making her fifth appearance for the national team, gave the United States the lead in the 18th minute. Off a corner kick, veteran midfielder Rose Lavelle swung the ball into the penalty area from the right side, where Patterson outjumped the Irish defense at the far post to aim her header between goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan and the goalpost.
The United States went on to win, 4-0, with the teams also set to meet June 29 in Cincinnati.
While Carson Pickett (St. Johns Country Day School) and Mandy McGlynn (Sandalwood High School) have represented the Jacksonville area on the team, and Morgan Gautrat (Frederica Academy) of Southeast Georgia lined up for the United States in two World Cups and scored eight international goals, Patterson is the first player to get onto the scoreboard for the U.S. women from a high school located within Jacksonville.
Avery Patterson’s soccer record
Patterson, 23, is in a scoring surge. She had also scored in her two most recent games for the Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League, most recently June 21 against the North Carolina Courage.
At Bolles, she helped the Bulldogs to Florida High School Athletic Association championships in 2018, 2019 and 2020 as an attacking midfielder. She then signed with the University of North Carolina and scored two goals in the NCAA Women’s College Cup final against UCLA in 2022.
Selected in the second round (No. 19 overall) by Houston in the 2024 NWSL Draft, she has played in both outside midfield and fullback roles, rapidly working her way into the national team under United States coach Emma Hayes. She made her international debut in April against Brazil.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Goal! Here’s how Avery Patterson made Jacksonville soccer history for USWNT
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
