SSFC Spotlight: Lia Godfrey sets the NWSL on fire

Foxborough, MA - April 3: Boston Legacy FC midfielders Annie Karich and Alba Caño put the squeeze on San Diego Wave FC midfielder Lia Godfrey in the first half. Boston Legacy FC played San Diego Wave FC at Gillette Stadium on April 3, 2026. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images While some may debate the long-term future of the organization, National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women’s soccer is considered the top amateur competition in the world.

The road to the American professional ranks largely flows through various American university campuses, with many players earning their degrees before making the jump. After a heralded youth career, Lia Godfrey spent an extended stretch on campus marked by a deluge of honors and entered the National Women’s Soccer League with the expectation to contribute immediately. The 24-year-old San Diego Wave midfielder has delivered with a flurry of finishes that propelled her side to the top of the table.

Born in Fleming Island, Florida, Godfrey competed at the club level with Clay County Sol, United Soccer Alliance, and Jacksonville FC. She received a bevy of awards, including U. S.

Soccer Development Academy East Region Player of the Year and Best XI along with United Soccer Coaches All-American honors in 2017 and 2019. TopDrawerSoccer ranked her as a four-star recruit and the tenth-best player in her class, with the midfielder displaying a “unique skill set that can solve pressure, score goals from range , and create by her dribbling and her passing. ” Godfrey then matriculated at the University of Virginia and contributed four goals and nine assists in her first season (shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic), receiving Second-Team All-America, Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, and TopDrawerSoccer Freshman of the Year.