Victoria Marie DellaPeruta (born March 21, 2004) is an Italian-American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Serie A Femminile club UC Sampdoria. Born in the United States, she has represented the Italy national under-19 team. She began her club career with Pomigliano CF at age 17 and played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels.
_041_(Tori_DellaPeruta).jpg) DellaPeruta with North Carolina in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Victoria Marie DellaPeruta[1] | ||
| Date of birth | March 21, 2004[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | UC Sampdoria | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2023 | North Carolina | 40 | (8) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022 | Pomigliano | 9 | (4) |
| 2024– | Sampdoria | 10 | (8) |
| International career | |||
| 2022–2023 | Italy U19 | 9 | (3) |
| 2023 | Italy U23 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 5, 2024 | |||
Early life and college career
DellaPeruta was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Barbara and Adam DellaPeruta, and has an older sister, Talia, who is also a soccer player.[1] Her grandmother is from Pescara and her grandfather from Naples.[2] She was originally a goalkeeper but moved to midfield at age five.[3] She played club soccer for United Futbol Academy (UFA) of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) until age 12, then Tophat Soccer Club from 2018 to 2020, and UFA again from 2020 to 2022.[1][3] She committed to the University of North Carolina as a high school freshman in 2019.[4][5]
DellaPeruta played her only year of high school soccer at West Forsyth High School as a junior in 2021, leading the team to a 19–2 record, and set a school record with 54 goals in one season.[4][6] She scored the lone goal of the GHSA Class 7A final to beat undefeated Lambert and secure West Forsyth's first state title.[4][7] She was recognized as a United Soccer Coaches All-American and the USA Today Girls Soccer Player of the Year.[6] She graduated early from high school in December 2021, intending to enroll at North Carolina in the spring, but instead began looking to play in Italy when she received her Italian passport the same month.[3][6]
North Carolina Tar Heels, 2022–2023
After her stint with Pomigliano, DellaPeruta played two fall seasons for the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2022 and 2023. She had 8 goals in 19 starts and 40 appearances, missing a few games each year to play with the Italian youth national team.[1][8] Her sister, Talia, was her teammate both seasons.[9]
Club career
Pomigliano, 2022
After high school but before college, 17-year-old DellaPeruta tried out for Serie A Femminile club Pomigliano during the 2021–22 season.[3] She spoke little Italian and her coach and teammates little English, but she made the first team ten days into training.[3] On her debut as a halftime substitute, she scored the 2–1 game winner against Empoli on January 22, 2022.[3][10] She made her first start in a 1–0 win over Internazionale on March 6 and stayed in the starting lineup for the rest of the season.[3][10] Pomigliano needed to win the last game of the season to prevent relegation and trailed Napoli at halftime on May 14 before DellaPeruta equalized to start a 3–1 comeback.[3][10] She had four goals in nine appearances for the club.[3]
Sampdoria, 2024–
Following her two years in college, DellaPeruta signed with UC Sampdoria of Serie A along with her sister, Talia.[11][12] She made her debut as a late substitute against Como on January 14, 2024.[13] On March 16, she entered the starting lineup and scored four goals in a 5–0 rout of Pomigliano, her former club.[2][13]
International career
DellaPeruta has United States and Italian citizenship.[1] She was called into a virtual camp for the United States national under-18 team in 2021.[14] After her stint at Pomigliano, she played for the Italian national under-19 team at the 2022 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship.[3] She was called up to the Italian under-23 team in September 2023.[8]
References
External links
- Tori DellaPeruta at Soccerway