Alana Cook

American soccer player (born 1997)

Alana Cook
Cook with the Seattle Reign in 2024
Personal information
Full name Alana Simone Cook[1]
Date of birth (1997-04-11) April 11, 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Seattle Reign FC
Number 4
Youth career
The Pennington School
Match Fit Academy Colchesters
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Stanford Cardinal 93 (5)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Paris Saint-Germain 21 (0)
2020 → Seattle Reign (loan) 0 (0)
2021– Seattle Reign 38 (0)
International career‡
2013 United States U17
2014–2016 United States U20
2017–2019 United States U23 3 (0)
2019– United States 29 (1)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  United States
CONCACAF W Championship
Winner 2022 Mexico
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 2, 2022
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of October 29, 2023

Alana Simone Cook (born April 11, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for NWSL club Seattle Reign and the United States national team.[2]

Early life

Cook was born in Worcester, Massachusetts to parents Florence and Bryan Cook[3] and raised with sister Brianna in Worcester and Far Hills, New Jersey.[4][5][6] She attended The Pennington School, a boarding school in Pennington, New Jersey, and helped guide the varsity soccer team to regional and state titles.[7][8] Cook was named 2013 New Jersey Prep Player of the Year and 2015 NSCAA High School Scholar Player of the Year.[7]

Twice named NSCAA Youth All-American,[9] Cook played in the NSCAA High School All-America Game and earned Best XI honors.[7] She played club soccer for Match Fit Academy Colchesters and won the 2013 U.S. Youth Soccer National League title with the team.[10]

Cook began representing the United States on its youth national teams as a teenager.[7]

Stanford Cardinal

Cook attended the Stanford University from 2015 to 2018 where she earned a degree in symbolic systems and was a four-year starter for the Stanford Cardinal women's soccer team. She captained the team in her final two seasons. She was named Pac-12 Conference Defender of the Year and a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist in 2018.[7]

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain, 2019–21

In January 2019, Cook elected to forgo the 2019 NWSL College Draft despite her first round draft grade[11] and instead chose to pursue opportunities in Europe, signing a three-year deal with French Division 1 Féminine team Paris Saint-Germain.[12]

OL Reign (loan), 2020

On June 16, 2020, Cook joined OL Reign on a short-term loan for the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup.[13]

OL Reign, 2021–

On June 7, 2021, OL Reign signed Cook to a three-year contract with an option for an extra year on a permanent transfer from PSG.[14]

During the 2021 season, Cook was a starting defender in all 20 matches of the regular season.[2] The Reign finished in second place during the regular season with a 13–8–3 record.[15] After advancing to the NWSL Playoffs, they were eliminated by eventual champions Washington Spirit.[16] Cook was named to the league's Best XI.[17]

In 2022, Cook helped OL Reign finish in first place during the regular season winning the NWSL Shield.[2][18]

International career

Cook has competed for the United States under-17, under-20, under-23, and senior national teams. She captained the under-17 team and made the jump to the under-20 team in 2014 followed by the under-23 team in 2017.[19] She captained the under-23 squad in 2019.[20][21] She is eligible to represent England because of her British father and earned her first senior international call-up in September 2019 as a training player for England's friendlies against Portugal and Brazil.[22]

Cook with the U.S. national team and Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, July 2023
Cook with the U.S. national team and Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, July 2023

Cook received her first call-up to the United States national team on October 31, 2019.[23] In June 2023, she was named to the U.S. squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.[24]

Career statistics

Club

As of 2 October 2022[2][25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Other[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Paris Saint-Germain 2018–19 D1F 3 0 0 0 1 0 — 4 0
2019–20 D1F 5 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 11 0
2020–21 D1F 13 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 17 1
Total 21 0 2 0 9 1 0 0 32 1
OL Reign (loan) 2020 NWSL — 3 0 — — 3 0
OL Reign 2021 NWSL 19 0 — — 1 0 20 0
2022 NWSL 19 0 7 1 — 0 0 26 1
Total 38 0 10 1 0 0 1 0 49 1
Career total 59 0 12 1 9 1 1 0 81 2

International

As of match played October 29, 2023[2]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
United States 2019 1 0
2020 0 0
2021 3 0
2022 15 0
2023 10 1
Total 29 1
Scores and results list United States's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cook goal.
List of international goals scored by Alana Cook
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 April 11, 2023 St. Louis, Missouri  Republic of Ireland 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Honors

Stanford Cardinal
Paris Saint-Germain
OL Reign
United States U23
  • Nordic Tournament: 2019
United States

Individual

References

  1. ^ "National team roster – 2022 Concacaf W Championship: USA" (PDF). CONCACAF. June 8, 2022. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Alana Cook at Soccerway
  3. ^ "Alana Cook - Women's Soccer". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  4. ^ "Alana Cook". Just Women's Sports. June 7, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "OL REIGN SIGN USWNT DEFENDER ALANA COOK THROUGH 2023 SEASON". OL Reign. June 7, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "Alana Cook". newjerseyhills.com. February 9, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "College career". Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  8. ^ Theivam, Kieran. "The lowdown on Alana Cook, the 22-year-old American called up by Phil Neville to train with England". The Athletic. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  9. ^ "Pennington School senior Alana Cook named to Youth Girls All-America Team". nj.com. December 22, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Athletics, Stanford (February 4, 2015). "Stanford women's soccer signs top class of six recruits". www.paloaltoonline.com.
  11. ^ "2019 NWSL Mock Draft: Rounds 1 & 2 | College Soccer". TopDrawerSoccer.com.
  12. ^ "Alana Cook signs a three-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain". January 15, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  13. ^ "OL REIGN SIGN DEFENDER ALANA COOK". OL Reign. June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  14. ^ "OL REIGN SIGN USWNT DEFENDER ALANA COOK THROUGH 2023 SEASON". Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "2021 National Women's Soccer League". Soccerway. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  16. ^ "OL Reign season ends with stunning 2-1 home playoff loss to Washington Spirit". The Seattle Times. November 14, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  17. ^ "NWSL Announces the Winners of Mastercard Inaugural 2021 Best XI Awards". National Women's Soccer League. November 17, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  18. ^ Vertelney, Seth (October 3, 2022). "Alana Cook sent Midge Purce $10 for helping OL Reign win the NWSL Shield". MSN. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  19. ^ "U.S. U-23 WNT set for back-to-back training camps in Oregon, Florida". Soccer Wire. March 21, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  20. ^ "U-23 WNT OPENS LA MANGA TOURNAMENT IN SPAIN WITH 1-0 WIN AGAINST SWEDEN". US Soccer. April 12, 2019. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  21. ^ "U-23 WNT Will Travel to 2019 Nordic Tournament to Face Norway, England and Sweden". www.ussoccer.com.
  22. ^ "PHIL NEVILLE NAMES ENGLAND SQUAD FOR MATCHES AGAINST BRAZIL AND PORTUGAL". Football Association. September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  23. ^ "VLATKO ANDONOVSKI NAMES 24-PLAYER TRAINING CAMP ROSTER FOR FRIENDLIES AGAINST SWEDEN AND COSTA RICA". US Soccer. October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  24. ^ "Morgan and Rapinoe named in USA World Cup squad". BBC Sport.
  25. ^ "Alana Cook Stats". FBref.com.
  26. ^ Loyant, Richard (June 4, 2021). "Paris SG sacré pour la première fois". Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  27. ^ Vertelney, Seth (October 3, 2022). "Alana Cook sent Midge Purce $10 for helping OL Reign win the NWSL Shield". USA Today. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  28. ^ "OL Reign Claim 2022 Women's Cup Title with 2-1 Win over Louisville". King 5. August 20, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  29. ^ Das, Andrew (July 19, 2022). "U.S. Women Beat Canada to Claim Spot in Paris Olympics". The New York Times.
  30. ^ "U.S. Women's National Team Defeats Iceland 5-0 to Win Third Consecutive and Fifth Overall SheBelieves Cup Title, Presented by Visa". U.S. Soccer. February 23, 2022.
  31. ^ Herrera, Sandra (February 22, 2023). "USWNT vs. Brazil score: USA win SheBelieves Cup with Alex Morgan and Mallory Swanson dominating in attack". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  32. ^ Rantz, Susie (November 17, 2021). "Three OL Reign players named to NWSL Best XI". Sounder at Heart. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  33. ^ "NWSL Announces Winners of Mastercard Best XI Awards". NWSL Soccer. November 3, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alana Cook.
  • v
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Seattle Reign FC – current squad
United States squads
  • v
  • t
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United States squad – 2022 CONCACAF W Championship winners (9th title)
United States
  • v
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United States squad – 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
United States
Awards
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Pac-12 Conference Women's Soccer Player of the Year
Player of the Year
Forward of the Year
Midfielder of the Year
Defender of the Year
Goalkeeper of the Year