Mikayla Cluff

Mikayla Shae Cluff (née Colohan; born February 25, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Mikayla Cluff
Personal information
Full name Mikayla Shae Cluff
Birth name Mikayla Shae Colohan[1]
Date of birth (1999-02-25) February 25, 1999[2]
Place of birth Kaysville, Utah, United States
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Orlando Pride
Number 8
Youth career
2010–2017 La Roca
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 BYU Cougars 93 (53)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Utah Royals FC Reserves 9 (6)
2022– Orlando Pride 40 (4)
International career
2016 United States U17
2022– United States U23
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 15, 2023

Cluff played college soccer for the BYU Cougars and became one of the most decorated players in program history as a three-time United Soccer Coaches All-America first team selection, three-time WCC Player of the Year, four-time All-WCC first team honoree and 2021 Hermann Trophy finalist.[3][4]

Early life

Born in Kaysville, Utah, Cluff played four years of soccer at Davis High School, setting a new Utah high school assists record twice as the school won three straight state championships and Cluff was named to the All-State first team each year from 2014 to 2016.[5] She played club soccer for La Roca Futbol Club for seven years and captained the Olympic Development Program Region IV team in 2015.[6][7] She also grew up playing basketball and admitted that although she was better at it, felt soccer provided more of a challenge.[5]

BYU Cougars

Cluff played five seasons of college soccer at Brigham Young University between 2017 and 2021 while also earning a degree in exercise and wellness. As a freshman she registered an assist against Penn State on her Cougars debut. She ended her first year with three goals and five assists in 11 appearances, and was named to the All-West Coast Conference Freshman Team.[8]

Starting all 19 games as a sophomore, Cluff totaled five goals and led the team with seven assists as BYU claimed the West Coast Conference (WCC) regular season title. At the end of the season Cluff was named to the 2018 All-WCC first team as well as the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region first team and All-America second team.[7][9]

In 2019, she once again started every game, scored 16 goals and tallied a further seven assists as BYU defended the regular season title and reached the NCAA Elite 8 for only the third time in program history.[10] Individually Cluff was named 2019 WCC Player of the Year,[11] ranked fifth nationally in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 100,[7] and earned United Soccer Coaches All-America first team honors for the first time.[12] She also earned All-WCC first team honors for a second time.[13]

Cluff elected to delay her pro career and return for the delayed 2020–21 season despite being drafted in January 2021, following the NCAA's offer of a waiver in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that meant drafted players could retain college eligibility.[14][15] She started in all 16 games, scoring 11 goals including tying the program record nine-game scoring streak as the Cougars finished second in the WCC behind Santa Clara Broncos.[16] Individually, Cluff was an All-WCC first team selection for the third time, earned her second United Soccer Coaches All-America first team selection, ranked #2 nationally in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 behind Kelsey Turnbow, and retained her WCC Offensive Player of the Year title (the award split from player of the year to offensive and defensive player ahead of the 2020–21 season).[7]

A few weeks before the season was supposed to start I told her I was questioning my decision of coming back to BYU. She was like, 'Kayla, you can take us to the national championship. You have an opportunity to win a national championship or do something that no one's ever done at BYU.' That was everything that I needed to hear and everything that I wanted to play for.

—Cluff on head coach Jennifer Rockwood's influence.[17]

With the previous season not counting towards a year of eligibility, Cluff returned for a fifth and final season with BYU in fall of 2021 following discussions with head coach Jennifer Rockwood.[17] For the fourth consecutive season, Cluff started every BYU game. She scored a career-high 18 goals and registered a career-high 15 assists as the Cougars regained the WCC title and made a run to the National Championship game for the first time in program history. The final finished goalless and went to a penalty shootout. Cluff took BYU's opening kick and scored but Florida State Seminoles won 4–3.[18] Individually she earned All-WCC first team honors for a fourth consecutive year, a third United Soccer Coaches All-America first team selection and was named WCC Offensive Player of the Year again matching only Mandy Clemens (1997–99) and Christine Sinclair (2002, 2004, 2005) as a three-time WCC Player of the Year.[3] She was also named NCCA Women's Division I Player of the Year on TopDrawerSoccer's Top 100[19] and was one of three MAC Hermann Trophy finalists, eventually losing out to Jaelin Howell.[20] Cluff departed as the second-highest goalscorer in BYU women's soccer history with 53 behind Shauna Rohbock who scored 94 goals (1995–98).[4]

Club career

Utah Royals Reserves

In the 2019 college offseason, Cluff played for Utah Royals FC Reserves in their inaugural WPSL season. The team topped the Central Region Conference and progressed to the playoffs.[21] Cluff scored both goals during a 2–1 victory over Fortuna Tulsa in the semi-finals and scored again in the Championship game as Utah lost 4–3 to Pensacola FC.[22][23] In total, Cluff scored eight goals in 12 appearances.[24]

Orlando Pride

On January 13, 2021, Cluff was selected in the second round (14th overall) of the 2021 NWSL Draft by Orlando Pride. Despite not declaring, a rule change amid the COVID-19 pandemic meant that any player that had exhausted three years of college eligibility could be selected.[25] Having returned to BYU for the 2021 NCAA college soccer season, Cluff signed a two-year contract with Orlando ahead of the 2022 season on January 26, 2022.[26] She made her professional debut on March 19, 2022, starting in the season opener against Washington Spirit in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. She scored her first NWSL goal on May 18, 2022 against North Carolina Courage.

International career

In April 2016, Cluff was named to a 26-player squad for the United States under-17 training camp held at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California.[27] In January 2022, Cluff was named to an 18-player under-23 training camp held in Austin, Texas and including a closed-doors scrimmage against the senior national team.[28]

Personal life

Cluff is the cousin of former United States youth international and BYU Cougars soccer player Cloee Colohan. Like Cluff, Colohan was also drafted into the NWSL, 14th overall in 2014.[29]

On January 7, 2022, she married professional baseball player Jackson Cluff in a ceremony at the Draper Utah Temple. The pair met while both studying at Brigham Young University.[30]

Career statistics

College summary
Team Season Total
Division AppsGoals
BYU Cougars 2017[31] Div. I 113
2018[32] 195
2019[33] 2316
2020–21[34] 1611
2021[35] 2418
Total 9353

Club summary
As of match played October 15, 2023.[2]
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Playoffs Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Utah Royals FC Reserves 2019 WPSL 96—32128
Orlando Pride 2022 NWSL 18260—242
2023 22250—272
Total 40411000514
Career total 4910110326312
  1. NWSL Challenge Cup

Honors

BYU Cougars

Individual

References
  1. "Graduates – Baccalaureate Degrees, Exercise Sciences – Exercise and Wellness: Bachelor of Science, April 2021" (PDF). One Hundred and Forty-Sixth BYU Commencement: College of Life Sciences Convocation. Brigham Young University. April 22, 2021. p. 9. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. "Mikayla Cluff - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  3. "BYU collects eight All-WCC honors, Colohan Offensive Player of the Year for the third time in a row". BYU Cougars.
  4. "Colohan is BYU's first four-time All-American soccer player". Daily Herald.
  5. "Former Davis High soccer star takes BYU to 'Elite Eight'". Davis Clipper.
  6. "Mikayla Colohan drafted by Orlando Pride". La Roca Futbol Club.
  7. "Mikayla Colohan - W Soccer". BYU Cougars.
  8. "WCC Announces 2017 Women's Soccer All-Conference Team". wccsports.com.
  9. "WCC Announces 2018 Women's Soccer All-Conference Team". wccsports.com.
  10. Gurney, Brandon (November 29, 2019). "BYU women's soccer: Cougars run out of magic in a crushing 5-1 loss to top-ranked Stanford Cardinal in NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight". Deseret News.
  11. "Eye on the Y: BYU soccer dominates West Coast Conference honors". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  12. Coaches, United Soccer. "NCAA Division I Women's All-America Teams Announced".
  13. "WCC Announces 2019 Women's Soccer All-Conference Team". wccsports.com.
  14. "Orlando Pride Announces 2021 Preseason Opening Day Roster". www.orlandocitysc.com.
  15. "NCAA DI Council approves moving fall championships to the spring". www.ncaa.com.
  16. "McCarthy, Cougars sink Pilots 4-0 on Senior Day". BYU Cougars.
  17. "Why BYU women's soccer was so motivated, finishing second in the College Cup finals in 2021". Daily Herald.
  18. "FSU tops BYU in PKs to win another national title". ESPN. December 7, 2021.
  19. "Postseason Women's Top 100 released". TopDrawerSoccer.com.
  20. "2021 Women's MAC Hermann Trophy Finalists Announced". United Soccer Coaches.
  21. Kelly, Ryan (July 15, 2019). "URFC Reserves win WPSL Central Region". RSL Soapbox.
  22. "Utah Royals FC Reserves Advance to WPSL National Championship". Real Salt Lake.
  23. "Uchenna Kanu helps Pensacola to win the US Women's Premier Soccer League title". www.goal.com.
  24. "Utah Royals FC Reserves - 2019 Regular Season - Mikayla Colohan". wpslsoccer.sportngin.com.
  25. Poe, Julia. "Orlando Pride reinforce midfield, attack with 2021 NWSL draft selections". orlandosentinel.com.
  26. "Orlando Pride Signs 2021 NWSL Draft Selection Mikayla Cluff". www.orlandocitysc.com.
  27. "U.S. U-17 WNT heads to Carson, Calif. for training camp". SoccerWire.
  28. "U.S. Under-23 Women's Youth National Team Will Come Together In Austin, Texas From Jan. 23-28 For First Training Camp Since Start Of Pandemic". www.ussoccer.com.
  29. "Cloee Colohan Marble". Train Like A Girl Athletics.
  30. "BYU's Mikayla Colohan named country's top college soccer player following team's 'magical' season". Church News. December 22, 2021.
  31. "2017 season stats". BYU Cougars.
  32. "2018 season stats". BYU Cougars.
  33. "2019 season stats". BYU Cougars.
  34. "2020–21 season stats". BYU Cougars.
  35. "2021 season stats". BYU Cougars.
  36. "2021 NCAA Division I Women's All-Americans Announced". United Soccer Coaches.
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