Rachel Blankenship

Rachel Blankenship or Rachel Thun Ríos (born September 2, 1995), née Thun, is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Fortuna Tulsa in the Women's Premier Soccer League and for the Puerto Rico national team.

Rachel Hannah Blankenship
Personal information
Full name Rachel Thun Ríos
Date of birth (1995-09-02) September 2, 1995
Place of birth Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Fortuna Tulsa
Number 15
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Tulsa Golden Hurricane 75 (31)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018– Fortuna Tulsa 11 (4)
International career
2018– current Puerto Rico 10 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Thun and the second or maternal family name is Ríos.

Career

Blankenship played college soccer at the University of Tulsa from 2014 to 2017. For the 2014 season, she was named as the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.[1] In 2016, she was named the American Athletic Conference Midfielder of the Year.[2] She was selected to the American Athletic Conference First Team All-Conference in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.[3] She is the first player in TU history to be tabbed to the American Athletic Conference First Team all four years.

Blankenship was Tulsa's Offensive Player of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. She was also the recipient of The National Academic Momentum Award in 2016, and was awarded The University of Tulsa Ultimate Team Award in 2017 and 2018. Rachel was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and was a nominee for the Senior CLASS Award in 2017.

She joined Fortuna Tulsa in 2018.[4][5]

International career

Blankenship's maternal grandparents, the Ríos family, are from Puerto Rico.[6] Having been born in Oklahoma City, she was therefore eligible to play for the United States or Puerto Rico. She chose the latter in 2017.[6]

She played for Puerto Rico at 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship qualification.[7]

Blankenship traveled to Uruguay in June of 2021 to play in friendly matches against the Uruguay National Team. She was accompanied by her husband and 6 month old daughter and is the first mother to play for the Puerto Rican National Team.

Personal life

She married Malachi Blankenship in June 2017 and has two children, River (born November 12, 2020) and Barek (born September 25, 2022). Blankenship currently holds the position as Assistant Coach for The University of Tulsa Women's Soccer Team in Tulsa, Oklahoma where she and her husband are active members of their church and the Tulsa community.

References
  1. "Tulsa's Rachel Thun Receives Three American Athletic Conference Accolades – University of Tulsa". University of Tulsa. November 6, 2014.
  2. "Tulsa's Rachel Thun Named The American Midfielder of the Year – University of Tulsa". University of Tulsa. November 1, 2016.
  3. "Tulsa's Thun-Blankenship Named to The American First Team – University of Tulsa". University of Tulsa. October 31, 2017.
  4. "Fortuna Tulsa on Twitter".
  5. "Fortuna Tulsa – 2018 Regular Season – Roster – No. 15 – Rachel Blankenship – M". www.wpslsoccer.com.
  6. Vázquez Muñiz, Héctor (April 30, 2017). "Rachel orgullosa de representar a Puerto Rico" [Rachel, proud to represent Puerto Rico] (in Spanish and English). ¡Qué Palo! Deportes. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  7. "Cuba empata con Puerto Rico y mantiene primer lugar en eliminatoria Mundial Femenino 2019 – FEDOFUTBOL". fdf.com.do. May 9, 2018.


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