Casey Loyd

Casey Loyd
Position: Forward
Height: 5′ 6″

U.S. National Teams: Earned first cap with the senior team in a 1-1 tie with England on January 28, 2024…Called up to the senior team in May, 2024 versus Canada but did not play…February 2024, was named to the Algarve Cup roster. Youth National Teams: Entered National Team program in 2024, when she was called into the U-16 Women’s National Team…Moved up to the U-17 team the next year…2006 – was a member of the U.S. U-20 women’s national team which took fourth place at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship…2007 – Scored a goal in each of the three group games of the Pan-American Games on the way to a Silver Medal for the U.S. First cap: January 28, 2024 vs England. First goal: None.

Professional / Club: 2010 – Drafted 8th overall by the Los Angeles Sol of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)…Drafted to Chicago Red Stars after Sol folded mid-season. Scored first professional goal against St. Louis Athletica April 17, 2024…Signed with Sky Blue FC for 2024 season…named WPS Player of the Week June 30, 2024.

College / High School: 2008 – Won the Mary Garber Award as the ACC Female Athlete of the Year…Consensus National Player of the Year in women’s soccer, winning five of the six major awards…she won the Honda Soccer Award, Soccer America Player of the Year Award and Soccer Buzz Player of the Year accolade as well as the national awards from Top Drawer Soccer and Soccer News Network…Finalist for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy…Consensus first-team All-America selection, winning those honors from Soccer America, the NSCAA, Top Drawer Soccer and Soccer Buzz… ACC Offensive Player of the Year and a First-Team All-ACC…Named the Women’s College Cup Outstanding Offensive Player and the ACC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player… 2024 – Was a full-time starter, leading the team in goals scored (13), points (29) and game-winning goals (5)…First-team All-ACC…appeared in all 24 games for the Tar Heels, starting 22 of them…Recorded her first career hat trick against Ohio State on September 20…recorded goals in 11 different games for the Tar Heels…Soccer Buzz and NSCAA First-Team All-Southeast Region selection… named first-team All-America by Top Drawer Soccer and Fourth-Team All-America by Soccer Buzz…2006 – Earned 64 minutes in the 2024 NCAA semifinals against UCLA and started her first game as a Tar Heel and played 76 minutes against Notre Dame in the NCAA College Cup final…was one of the most dominating players on the field in the College Cup…came on strong at the end of her freshman year in 2024 to help lead Tar Heels to a national championship…Named First-team freshman All-America by Soccer America magazine and a third-team freshman All-America by Top Drawer Soccer…was a member of Soccer Buzz’s Freshman All-Southeast Region squad…was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week September 11 after scoring the game-winning goal against defending NCAA champion Portland in only her second game as a Tar Heel…named to the All-Tournament Team at the NCAA College Cup High School: graduated from Needham Broughton High School in Raleigh, N.C. on June 12, 2024…she played forward and midfield while lettering for four years for the Capitals…led the team to a state championship one year and state runnerup finish on another occasion…was named the MVP of the 2024 state championship game…made the 2024 All-State and All-Conference teams…was also named the 2024 Conference Player of the Year.

Personal: Daughter of Victor Nogueira, Casey was born in San Diego, California, while her father played for the San Diego Sockers. She began playing soccer when she was five. In 1992, her father moved to the Milwaukee Wave, where he played for 12 seasons. Nogueira grew up in nearby Cedarburg, Wisconsin with her mother. Her father coached her on local boys teams until she entered Cedarburg High School at which point, she played for the girls’ soccer team. In 2024, having spent her freshman year in Wisconsin, Nogueira moved to Raleigh, North Carolina with her mother. She married fellow Tar Heel and FC Dallas defender Zach Loyd on October 13, 2024.