Jayden Perry
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jayden Lee Perry[1] | ||
| Date of birth | March 31, 2003[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Laguna Hills, California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Center back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Portland Thorns | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2024 | UCLA Bruins | 82 | (7) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Portland Thorns | 7 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 10, 2025 | |||
Jayden Lee Perry (born March 31, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the UCLA Bruins, winning the 2022 national championship.
Early life
[edit]Perry was born in Laguna Hills, California, to Jana and Jason Perry, and has two younger siblings. She was raised in Rancho Santa Margarita and attended Trabuco Hills High School, where she captained the soccer team and earned all-state honors. She played club soccer for Slammers FC, winning the ECNL under-15 national championship in 2018.[1] She committed to UCLA before her sophomore year.[3]
College career
[edit]Perry played in 17 games, two of them as a starter, in her freshman season with the UCLA Bruins in 2021, winning the Pac-12 Conference regular-season championship.[1][4] She established herself in the lineup as a sophomore in 2022, starting all but one of her 24 appearances. She played every minute of the NCAA tournament after the first round, featuring alongside Lilly Reale and Quincy McMahon on the back line, as UCLA won their second national championship. In the title game, UCLA came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat North Carolina 3–2 in overtime.[1][5]
Perry started all 19 games in her junior season in 2023, earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors as she won her second conference championship.[1][6] She started 22 games in her senior season in 2024, with the program moving to the Big Ten Conference. UCLA won its new conference tournament without conceding in three tournament games. Perry also helped UCLA lead the nation with 16 clean sheets overall and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors.[1][7] She scored seven goals in her college career, all of them penalties.[1]
Club career
[edit]Portland Thorns FC announced on January 22, 2025, that they had signed Perry to her first professional contract on a one-year deal.[8] She made her professional debut on March 15, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in the season opener, a 3–1 defeat to the Kansas City Current.[9] On April 23, she scored her first professional goal, converting from the penalty spot, as the Thorns won 4–1 at home against Gotham FC.[10] She was the fastest NWSL rookie to score a penalty (fourth appearance).[11] She made her first professional assist four days later, setting up Reilyn Turner's header against Racing Louisville from near the middle of the field (which won NWSL Assist of the Week), and in late stoppage time, she converted her second penalty in two games to salvage a 3–3 draw.[12][13] Another stoppage-time penalty saved a 1–1 draw against the San Diego Wave on May 10.[14]
On May 15, 2025, the Thorns extended Perry's contract to four years through 2028.[15]
Honors and awards
[edit]UCLA Bruins
- NCAA Division I tournament: 2022
- Pac-12 Conference: 2021, 2023
- Big Ten tournament: 2024
Individual
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "Jayden Perry". UCLA Bruins. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
- ^ "Jayden Perry". Portland Thorns FC. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ Shealer, Sheldon (July 30, 2018). "Recruiting Roundup: July 30–Aug. 5". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ Farinha, Diego (November 17, 2021). "UCLA women's soccer concludes 2021 season after upset loss to UC Irvine". Daily Bruin. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
- ^ Hall, Richie (January 20, 2023). "From Guerin to national spotlight". Hamilton County Reporter. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
- ^ "Pac-12 announces 2023 women's soccer All-Conference honors". Pac-12 Conference. November 7, 2023. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "UCLA Captures First-Ever Big Ten Title". UCLA Bruins. November 10, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^ "Thorns Sign Defender Jayden Perry". Portland Thorns FC. January 22, 2025. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
- ^ "Match Recap | Thorns fall to KC Current 3–1 in NWSL Season Opener". Portland Thorns FC. March 15, 2025. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ Griffin, Tamera (April 23, 2025). "Portland Thorns beats Gotham FC with goals from four first-time scorers". The Athletic. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ OptaJack (April 23, 2025). "4 – Jayden Perry's penalty goal for @ThornsFC ..." Bluesky. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ "Thorns Draw 3-3 vs Racing Louisville". Portland Thorns FC. April 27, 2025. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
- ^ Clarke, Ryan (May 2, 2025). "Portland Thorns rookie Jayden Perry fits a crucial mold in the back line". The Oregonian. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
- ^ "Portland Thorns pull out a draw at San Diego with a penalty kick in stoppage time". The Oregonian. May 10, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
- ^ "Portland Thorns FC Sign Defender Jayden Perry to Multi-Year Contract Extension". Portland Thorns FC. May 16, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Jayden Perry at Soccerway.com
