Griffith with the Chicago Red Stars in 2024
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sarah Elaine Griffith[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-04-30) April 30, 1999 (age 25) | ||
| Place of birth | Naperville, Illinois | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Chicago Red Stars | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2021 | Purdue Boilermakers | 72 | (26) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022– | Chicago Red Stars | 28 | (2) |
| 2022–2023 | → Newcastle Jets (loan) | 11 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of March 29, 2024 | |||
Sarah Elaine Griffith (born April 30, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She has previously played for Newcastle Jets of the A-League Women.
Griffith was a ball girl for the Waubonsie Valley High School girls' soccer team, and later graduated from the school.[2][3][4]
Griffith initially committed to play college socceratIllinois State, later de-committing and committing to play at Purdue.[5]
She played at Purdue from 2017 to 2021.[6] She scored her first collegiate goal on August 27, 2017, against Indiana State.[7]
In 2018, Griffith was diagnosed with spondylolisthesis; she would undergo spinal surgery as she redshirted the 2018 season.[8][9]
She was named to the All-Big Ten Conference second team for the 2020–21 season.[10]
On August 19, 2021, she scored a goal against Kentucky which was featured on SportsCenter,[11] and on August 29, 2021, she recorded a hat-trick against Ball State.[12] For the 2021 season, she was Big Ten Forward of the Year and All-Big Ten first team;[13] she was also named United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team and set a Purdue record with 16 goals.[14]
As a student at Purdue University, Griffith majored in psychological sciences.[6][15]
In December 2021, Griffith was selected by the Chicago Red Stars in the third round of the 2022 NWSL Draft.[2] She made her NWSL regular season debut on April 30, 2022, playing 80 minutes against Racing Louisville FC.[16] She scored her first goal for the club against Orlando Pride on May 22, 2022. On July 10, 2022, she scored against North Carolina Courage in the stoppage time.[17]
On November 1, 2022, it was announced that Griffith was signed on-loan by Newcastle Jets for the 2022–23 A-League Women season.[18] On November 26, 2022, Griffith scored a hat-trick in a match against Western Sydney Wanderers leading the team to a 4–2 victory.[19] In mid-February 2023, Griffith returned from her loan early to prepare for the 2023 National Women's Soccer League season.[20]
Griffith was born to parents Peter and Melissa, and was raised with an older brother, Noah, who played college soccer for Illinois Tech,[21] and a younger brother, Aaron.[5]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Playoffs[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chicago Red Stars | 2022 | NWSL | 19 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 2 |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Newcastle Jets FC | 2022–23 | A-League | 11 | 4 | — | — | 11 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 39 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 6 | ||
Individual[6]
the Club can confirm that discussions with the Chicago Red Stars have resulted in the Jets agreeing to allow Sarah Griffith to return to the US to prepare for the upcoming season after she completes the next two Jets matches against Western United and Perth Glory.
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| Player of the Year |
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| Offensive Player of the Year |
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| Defensive Player of the Year |
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| Forward of the Year |
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| Midfielder of the Year |
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| Defender of the Year |
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| Goalkeeper of the Year |
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Chicago Red Stars – current squad
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