Ally Sentnor

Sentnor grew up in Hanson, Massachusetts, in Boston's South Shore, the oldest of three children born to Richard and Lee Sentnor.^[2][3] She began playing soccer at age four, and her father coached her first team.^[4] She scored so often in her childhood that her father would put her in goal or let her score only with her non-dominant left foot, which helped her develop equal comfort off both feet.^[5][6] She played club soccer from age six for South Shore Select of Hingham, Massachusetts, and often trained with the Boston Bolts boys' team.^[5][7] She also played futsal, an indoor soccer variant, which helped develop her touch in limited space.^[8][9] She graduated a year early from Thayer Academy in 2021, where she began playing varsity soccer as an eighth grader.^[5][10]

Sentnor began attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall of 2021, but suffered an ACL tear minutes into her first preseason game and took nine months to recover after surgery.^[11][12] She returned to the college field in fall 2022, scoring in her debut against UNC Wilmington .^[13] She scored ten goals in her redshirt freshman season, including five in the 2022 NCAA tournament where North Carolina reached the final, and was named to the All-ACC first team.^[2] In the 2023 season, she led the team with 11 goals and 7 assists and was named the ACC Midfielder of the Year, first-team All-ACC, and third-team All-American.^[14] She finished her college career having contributed a goal or assist in each of her last seven games.^[15]

The Utah Royals, returning to the NWSL after four years, selected Sentnor with the first overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft; she and North Carolina teammate Savy King were the top two picks.^[16] She signed a three-year contract with the club in February 2024.^[17] She played in the starting lineup from the season opener against the Chicago Red Stars on March 16.^[18] She recorded her first professional goal on March 22 in a 2–1 home win over the North Carolina Courage, scoring from the corner of the penalty box off a long dribble.^[19]

Sentnor began participating in youth national team training camps in seventh grade.^[7] She was the youngest player, at age 12, at an under-14 team camp in July 2016 and, at 13, at an under-15 team camp in June 2017.^[20][21] She traveled to Germany as the youngest member of the under-15 team in November 2017, scoring five goals in two games.^[7][22] In 2018, she was named the most valuable player of the Weifang Cup, which she won with the under-15 team.^[23] She was the youngest player for the under-18 team in February 2019 when she scored twice in two friendlies against England.^[24][25]

Following her ACL recovery, Sentnor was called up to the national under-20 team and played in her first official match at that level at the 2022 Sud Ladies Cup.^[7] She appeared in all three group stage matches at 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, scoring once against Ghana.^[7] The next year, she scored four goals at the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship to help the team qualify for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.^[26][27]

Individual

• Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year: 2019^[28]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ally Sentnor.

• Ally Sentnor at Soccerway