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Samantha May Kerr OAM (born 10 September 1993) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for FA Women's Super League club Chelsea, and the Australia women's national team, which she has captained since 2019.
- 10 September 1993 (age 30)
- 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
- Samantha May Kerr
- Overview
- Early life and career
- The Matildas
- Clubs in the United States, England, and Australia
Sam Kerr (born September 10, 1993, Fremantle, Western Australia) Australian football (soccer) player who was named captain of the Matildas, the women’s national team, in 2019. The star striker later became the all-time leading scorer for the team. Kerr was also a standout in professional clubs in the United States, England, and Australia.
Kerr was born the youngest of four siblings in a family with a long tradition of athletics. Her father, Roger Kerr, was born in Kolkata to a featherweight boxer for Bengal and a mother who played basketball. After moving to Perth as a child, he played Australian rules football, a contact sport with similarities to rugby. He became a professional player with the West Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League and later a coach in the WAFL. His eldest son, Daniel Kerr, Sam Kerr’s brother, also became a professional athlete, playing Australian rules football. Meanwhile, Sam Kerr’s mother, Roxanne Kerr, was the daughter and niece of players in the WAFL. Therefore, Sam Kerr naturally played Australian rules football while growing up. Mounting injuries from competing in the sport, however, led her to take up association football at age 12. In 2008, after several years of junior-level play, she joined the Perth Glory football club, which is part of the W-League, Australia’s highest division of professional women’s football. That same year she became a member of both the under-17 and under-20 Australian national teams.
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At age 15 Kerr debuted with the Matildas as a substitute in a match against Italy (2009). The following year she played in her first major tournament, the Asian Cup, in China. She helped the Matildas secure their first-ever title in that contest, scoring the opening goal in the team’s victory over North Korea in the final. In 2011, at age 17, Kerr made her first appearance at the Women’s World Cup, where she started in two matches for Australia.
A series of injuries in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup, however, slowed Kerr’s rise and threatened to prevent her from returning to the tournament. She managed to recover and started in all five of the matches the Matildas played that year. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she notched her first goal on the world stage during group play. Kerr helped the Australian team advance to the quarterfinals before the team was eliminated by Brazil. In 2018 Kerr again was a driving force for the Matildas during their run to the Asian Cup final, but this time the Australian squad narrowly lost the title match to Japan.
In addition to playing for the Matildas, Kerr divided her time between the W-League and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the top level of U.S. women’s soccer. In the NWSL she had stints with the Western New York Flash (2013–14), the New Jersey-based Sky Blue FC (2015–17), and the Chicago Red Stars (2018–19). While playing for the Sky Blue in 2017, she became the NWSL’s all-time leading scorer when she recorded her 34th career goal during a match against FC Kansas City. Kerr was named the NWSL’s Most Valuable Player for the 2017 and 2019 seasons. Meanwhile, during her time with the Perth Glory in the W-League, she twice received the league’s Julie Dolan Award for best player, earning the honour in both the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons. In 2019 Kerr netted her 64th career goal in W-League play, becoming the all-time leading scorer in that league as well.
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Toward the end of 2019 Kerr signed with Chelsea FC of England’s top-division Football Association’s Women’s Super League (WSL). She made her debut with the club early the next year. By the following season (2020–21) Kerr had become Chelsea’s main scoring threat. She helped lead Chelsea to the WSL title that season, scoring 21 goals. That tally earned her the Golden Boot award as the WSL’s top scorer. In 2022 Kerr was awarded the Order of Australia medal in recognition of her services to the sport of football.
News about Sam Kerr, Australia, Paris Olympics
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Also in the news
Inspired by the former sprinter Cathy Freeman, Australia's captain Sam Kerr reflects on living the pinnacle of her career in FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™.
Jul 19, 2023 · Kerr is the undisputed star, the main event, the central character of not only the biggest Women’s World Cup in history, but a World Cup that Australia desperately hopes to win on home soil. Her...
Jul 30, 2023 · Kerr transformed Chelsea into the best women’s team in the country, winning four straight Women’s Super League (WSL) titles, three FA Cups and two League Cups with the only thing missing a ...
- Ben Morse
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Position: Striker. DOB: 10 September, 1993 (age 30) Height: 1.68m (5 ft 6 in) Australian forward Sam Kerr joined the Blues on a two-and-a-half year deal ahead of the second half of the 2019/20 Barclays Women’s Super League season before signing an extension, keeping her at the club until 2024.
Jul 20, 2023 · She initially refused a trial for the state soccer side. Roxanne recalls the coach telling the family Sam was the first person ever to say no to him. A young Kerr on the programme for the 2006...
