SANDY, Utah – Washington senior forward Kalea Eichenberger has signed a professional contract with the NWSL’s Utah Royals, announced Tuesday by the club.
Eichenberger’s signing comes after a preseason trial with the club as a non-roster invitee.
The Rancho Cucamonga, California, native is the second player from this past season’s NCAA Elite Eight team to sign with an NWSL club this season, joining teammate Kolo Suliafu who inked a one-year deal with the Kansas City Current.
The duo make it five former Huskies on active NWSL rosters along with Shae Holmes (Seattle Reign FC), Olivia Sekany (Racing Louisville FC), and 2024 NWSL Champion Summer Yates (Orlando Pride).
“Early on, Kalea shared that her goal was to play professional soccer, and coming to Washington was part of that process,” UW head coach Nicole Van Dyke said. “What has always stood out about Kalea is the person she is – a leader, resilient, hardworking and disciplined.
Her dedication to the daily work, film, extra training, and meeting with coaches, set the standard within our Washington program. Kalea was always looking for ways to get one percent better, and that mindset elevated the level of everyone around her.”
Eichenberger spent three seasons on Montlake after a standout freshman campaign at Cal State Bakersfield. In 56 career appearances for the Huskies, the 6-0 forward posted 13 points on five goals and three assists.
After sitting out most of the non-conference season due to injury, Eichenberger returned to the Dawg XI from the Big Ten opener on, scoring two of the season’s most pivotal goals during Washington’s magical postseason run.
The pacey winger put the Huskies up less than four minutes into the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game vs. No. 9 Michigan State, unleashing a perfectly placed rocket into the upper 90 from the top of the 18-yard box. Washington would go on to claim the Big Ten double over the Spartans on penalties.
Three matches later, Eichenberger was up to her old tricks. Just under 13 minutes into UW’s Sweet 16 matchup with top-seeded host Virginia, the SoCal product picked out top bins with her left-footed missile from outside the 18 to give the Dawgs another early lead. The Huskies made good once again on penalties, advancing to the Elite Eight for the third time in program-history.
“We’re incredibly proud of Kalea and look forward to watching her continue to grow and make her mark at the professional level,” Van Dyke said.
Eichenberger won’t have to wait long for a reunion with Suliafu as the former Huskies will square off in each club’s season-opener on Saturday, March 14, at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Eichenberger’s signing comes after a preseason trial with the club as a non-roster invitee.
The Rancho Cucamonga, California, native is the second player from this past season’s NCAA Elite Eight team to sign with an NWSL club this season, joining teammate Kolo Suliafu who inked a one-year deal with the Kansas City Current.
The duo make it five former Huskies on active NWSL rosters along with Shae Holmes (Seattle Reign FC), Olivia Sekany (Racing Louisville FC), and 2024 NWSL Champion Summer Yates (Orlando Pride).
“Early on, Kalea shared that her goal was to play professional soccer, and coming to Washington was part of that process,” UW head coach Nicole Van Dyke said. “What has always stood out about Kalea is the person she is – a leader, resilient, hardworking and disciplined.
Her dedication to the daily work, film, extra training, and meeting with coaches, set the standard within our Washington program. Kalea was always looking for ways to get one percent better, and that mindset elevated the level of everyone around her.”
Eichenberger spent three seasons on Montlake after a standout freshman campaign at Cal State Bakersfield. In 56 career appearances for the Huskies, the 6-0 forward posted 13 points on five goals and three assists.
After sitting out most of the non-conference season due to injury, Eichenberger returned to the Dawg XI from the Big Ten opener on, scoring two of the season’s most pivotal goals during Washington’s magical postseason run.
The pacey winger put the Huskies up less than four minutes into the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game vs. No. 9 Michigan State, unleashing a perfectly placed rocket into the upper 90 from the top of the 18-yard box. Washington would go on to claim the Big Ten double over the Spartans on penalties.
Three matches later, Eichenberger was up to her old tricks. Just under 13 minutes into UW’s Sweet 16 matchup with top-seeded host Virginia, the SoCal product picked out top bins with her left-footed missile from outside the 18 to give the Dawgs another early lead. The Huskies made good once again on penalties, advancing to the Elite Eight for the third time in program-history.
“We’re incredibly proud of Kalea and look forward to watching her continue to grow and make her mark at the professional level,” Van Dyke said.
Eichenberger won’t have to wait long for a reunion with Suliafu as the former Huskies will square off in each club’s season-opener on Saturday, March 14, at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UW_WSoccer on Instagram, X, Threads, Facebook and TikTok and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source gohuskies.com ’
ADVERTISEMENT
