Catarina Macario

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Catarina Macario
Macario with the United States in 2021
Personal information
Full name Catarina Cantanhede Melônio Macário[1][2]
Date of birth (1999-10-04) October 4, 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder, forward[4]
Team information
Current team
Chelsea
Number 9
Youth career
Flamengo
0000–2007 Cruzeiro
2007–2011 Santos
2012–2017 San Diego Surf
2014 Torrey Pines Falcons
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 Stanford Cardinal 69 (63)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2023 Lyon 27 (19)
2023– Chelsea 3 (2)
International career
2012 United States U14
2013 United States U15
2018–2019 United States U23 5 (5)
2021– United States 17 (8)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place Tokyo 2020 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of March 10, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of April 12, 2022

Catarina Cantanhede Melônio Macário (born October 4, 1999) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Chelsea.[4] Born in Brazil, she plays for the United States national team.

Macario was a decorated collegiate player in the United States. In 2017, she was named "Freshman of the Year" by the TopDrawerSoccer.com and ESPNW Player of the Year. In 2018, Macario won the Hermann Trophy, ESPNW Player of the Year, and the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year Award. In 2019, Macario won the Honda Sports Award and again won the Hermann Trophy.

Early life[edit]

Macario was born in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil, to Ana Maria Cantanhede and José Melônio Macário.[5][2] She started playing football at the age of 4,[6] following the footsteps of her older brother, Estevão (known in the U.S. as Steve). She started playing in the academy of Flamengo in São Luís. She remained there for less than 6 months before switching to the Cruzeiro academy. At the age of 7, she moved with the family to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. In Brasilia, Catarina played for the Santos academy, where she remained until she moved to the United States in December 2011. In Brazil, Catarina had always played for men's teams and only started playing for a women's team after arriving in the United States. In 2011, at the age of 12 and without speaking any English, Macario relocated with her father and brother to San Diego, California in order to pursue her dream of playing soccer. Her mother, a doctor, remained in Brazil in order to financially support the family. While playing for the San Diego Surf as a youth player, she broke the all-time goalscoring record in the ECNL with 165 goals.[7][8][9]

College career[edit]

On February 1, 2017, Macario committed to play collegiately for Stanford University. In her freshman year in 2017, she played 25 matches, scoring 17 goals and clinching 16 assists. As a result of her performance this year she won several awards, including being named "ESPNW Player of the Year",[7] "TopDrawerSoccer.com Freshman of the Year",[10] "Pac-12 Forward of the Year", and "Pac-12 Freshman of the Year".[11]

In her sophomore year in 2018, Macario scored 14 goals with 8 assists in 19 matches played. On December 11, 2018, she received the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year Award.[12] On January 4, 2019, Macario won the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded to the nation's top female and male players.[13][14] Additionally, she was named "espnW Player of the Year" and "Pac-12 Forward of the Year" for the second year in a row.[15][16]

In her junior year, Macario was the winner of the Honda Sports Award, given to the nation's top female collegiate soccer player.[17][18] She was also awarded the MAC Hermann Trophy a second time, becoming the sixth woman to repeat as winner since the award was established in 1988.[19][20]

Stanford won the NCAA Women's College Cup in her freshman and junior years.

On January 8, 2021, Macario announced that she would be forgoing her senior season at Stanford to start her professional career.[21]

Club career[edit]

Lyon (2021–2023)[edit]

On January 12, 2021, Lyon announced they signed Macario for 2.5 years.[22] She made her debut for Lyon in the Division 1 Féminine on February 6, 2021, coming on as a substitute in the 37th minute for Amandine Henry in a 2–1 win against Montpellier.[23] On May 21, 2022 Macario scored in the UEFA Women's Champions League final to help secure a 3–1 victory against FC Barcelona. Macario along with Lyon teammate Lindsey Horan became the fourth and fifth Americans to win the UEFA Women’s Champion League.[24]

Chelsea (2023–present)[edit]

On June 9, 2023, Chelsea announced they had signed Macario on a free transfer from Lyon on a three-year deal.[25] Macario scored her first goal 6 minutes into her debut for Chelsea on March 3, 2024 during a WSL game against Leicester City after returning from an ACL injury she got in June 2022.[26] In her second game for Chelsea, she scored for a 1–0 victory over Everton in the FA Cup three minutes after being subbed in.[27]

International career[edit]

Macario is eligible to play internationally for Brazil and the United States. She was called to represent the United States at several youth levels. Macario stated that she intended to represent the United States at the senior level, turning down several approaches from the Brazilian Football Confederation.[7][9][28][29] She generally plays as a midfielder for the United States, although Vlatko Andonovski has stated she could move to a false nine role in the future.[4]

On October 8, 2020, Macario received her first call up to represent the United States at senior level, though she could not yet do this in games until she received clearance from FIFA.[30][31] Later the same day, she announced on Twitter that she had acquired American citizenship.[32][33][34] On January 13, 2021, U.S. Soccer announced that Macario received clearance from FIFA to represent the United States internationally.[35] On January 18, 2021, Macario debuted for the United States, coming in the half-time of a friendly match against Colombia,[36] thus becoming the first naturalized citizen ever to play for the US senior women's team.[37] In the next game, another friendly against Colombia, she started for the first time, scoring her first international goal, on January 22, 2021.[38]

On June 23, 2021, Macario was included in the United States roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics where they placed 3rd, earning Macario a bronze medal.[39]

Personal life[edit]

Despite declaring herself a fan of Marta, Macario stated that her favorite soccer player is American former forward Mia Hamm.[9]

Macario graduated from Stanford University in 2021 with a BA in communications and minor in psychology.[40]

Career statistics[edit]

College[edit]

School Season Regular season College Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stanford Cardinal[41] 2017 Div. I 19 14 6 3 25 17
2018 14 12 5 2 19 14
2019 19 23 6 9 25 32
NCAA Total 52 49 17 14 69 63

Club[edit]

As of match played March 10, 2024[42]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lyon 2020–21 Division 1 Féminine 7 5 0 0 4 1 11 6
2021–22 Division 1 Féminine 18 13 2 0 13 9 33 22
Chelsea 2023–24 FA WSL 1 1 1 1 0 0 2 2
Career total 26 19 3 1 17 10 46 30


International[edit]

As of match played April 12, 2022
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
United States 2021 12 3
2022 5 5
Total 17 8
Scores and results list United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Macário goal.
List of international goals scored by Catarina Macário
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 January 22, 2021 Exploria Stadium, Orlando, Florida, United States  Colombia 1–0 6–0 Friendly [43]
2 September 21, 2021 TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States  Paraguay 5–0 8–0 Friendly [44]
3 8–0
4 February 23, 2022 Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas, United States  Iceland 1–0 5–0 2022 SheBelieves Cup [45]
5 2–0
6 April 9, 2022 Lower.com Field, Columbus, Ohio, United States  Uzbekistan 5–0 9–1 Friendly [46]
7 April 12, 2022 Subaru Park, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States 2–0 9–0 [47]
8 6–0

Honors[edit]

Stanford Cardinal

Lyon

United States

Individual

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kiefer, David (October 18, 2019). "The Magic of Macario". Stanford Cardinal. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Aos 9 anos menina é uma prodígio no futebol" [At the age of 9, a girl is a soccer prodigy]. Correio Braziliense (in Portuguese). November 30, 2008. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "Catarina Macario" (in French). Olympique Lyonnais. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Wahl, Grant (January 4, 2022). "Is the Catarina Macario Era Upon Us?". Fútbol with Grant Wahl. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  5. ^ "Macario on her hype, Hegerberg, Alexia and 2023". FIFA. May 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Mancini, Gabriella (November 6, 2010). "Craque no futebol, Catarina joga com meninos e sonha em entrar na seleção" [Soccer star, Catarina plays with boys and dreams of entering the national team]. Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). São Paulo. Archived from the original on November 7, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Hays, Graham (November 28, 2017). "She's not Marta (yet), but Catarina Macario is espnW's soccer player of the year". ESPNW. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  8. ^ Hays, Graham (November 9, 2017). "From Brazil to Stanford, from sacrifice to stardom for Catarina Macario". ESPNW. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c de Assis, Joanna. "Comparada a Marta, Catarina Macario brilha no futebol feminino, mas sonha defender os EUA". Esporte espectacular (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "2017 Women's Division I Postseason Awards". Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "Pac-12 announces women's soccer All-Conference honors – 2017". Pac-12.com. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Danna, Kevin. "Roundup: Stanford's Catarina Macario named TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year". PAC-12. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Andrew Gutman, Catarina Macario named Hermann Trophy winners". ESPNW. January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  14. ^ Culver, Jordan. "Hermann Trophy winners are Indiana's Andrew Gutman, Stanford's Catarina Macario". Pro Soccer USA. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Surf Alum Catarina Macario is 2018 ESPNW Player of the Year". Surf Soccer. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Pac-12 announces women's soccer All-Conference honors – 2018". Pac-12.com. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  17. ^ Athletics, Palo Alto Sports Online/Stanford. "Stanford's Macario a Honda Sports Award winner in soccer". www.paloaltoonline.com. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Catarina Macario of Stanford Named Honda Sport Award Winner for Soccer". CWSA. January 6, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  19. ^ "Catarina Macario and Robbie Robinson Awarded College Soccer's Top Honor". Missouri Athletic Club. January 3, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  20. ^ "MAC Hermann Trophy Winners". Missouri Athletic Club. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  21. ^ "Stanford soccer midfielder Catarina Macario decides to forgo senior year, go pro". ESPN.com. January 8, 2021.
  22. ^ Wine II, Donald (January 12, 2021). "Catarina Macario signs pro deal with Lyon". Stars and Stripes FC. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  23. ^ "Olympique Lyonnais vs. Montpellier – 6 February 2021". Soccerway. February 6, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  24. ^ "USWNT Rewind: Horan And Macario Win UEFA Champions League With Lyon". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  25. ^ "USWNT star Catarina Macario to join Chelsea on a three-year deal upon departure from European giants Lyon | Goal.com US". www.goal.com. June 9, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Staff, The Athletic. "USWNT's Macario scores in return for Chelsea". The Athletic. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  27. ^ "Macario scores again as Chelsea reach FA Cup semis". BBC Sport. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  28. ^ Tannenwald, Jonathan (October 9, 2020). "Catarina Macario is on her way to becoming the USWNT's next big star". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  29. ^ "Stanford player may be the next US soccer star, but first she needs citizenship". The Mercury News. November 29, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  30. ^ M. Peterson, Anne (October 8, 2020). "USWNT to hold October camp near Denver; Catarina Macario headlines roster's prospects". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  31. ^ Herrera, Sandra (October 9, 2020). "Vlatko Andovnoski's USWNT camp roster features NWSL mainstays and Brazil-born Stanford star Catarina Macario". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  32. ^ "Officially a U.S. citizen!". Twitter. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  33. ^ Yoesting, Travis. "College Megastar Catarina Macario Is Now A U.S. Citizen — But She's Not Eligible For USWNT Just Yet". The 18. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  34. ^ Creditor, Avi (October 9, 2020). "USWNT's Next Big Thing? Catarina Macario's Path to Eligibility Clears". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  35. ^ "FIFA Approves Eligibility for Midfielder Catarina Macario to Represent The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team". United States Soccer Federation. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  36. ^ "Macario debuts, Rapinoe and Lloyd return for USWNT in win over Colombia". The Equalizer. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  37. ^ Hays, Graham (October 17, 2020). "Stanford star Catarina Macario ready for new chapter with U.S. women's national team". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  38. ^ Baxter, Kevin (January 22, 2021). "Catarina Macario fulfills a dream, scoring a goal in U.S. women's win over Colombia". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  39. ^ "VLATKO ANDONOVSKI NAMES 2020 U.S. OLYMPIC WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM". United States Soccer. June 23, 2021.
  40. ^ Killion, Ann (July 1, 2021). "Catarina Macario: From Stanford to Lyon to Olympics, soccer star ready to soar". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  41. ^ "Catarina Macario Season Statistics". gostanford.com. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  42. ^ Catarina Macario at Soccerway. Retrieved February 6, 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
  43. ^ "Megan Rapinoe Bags a Brace as U.S. Women's National Team Tops Colombia 6-0 to Close Out Two-Game Set in Orlando". U.S. Soccer. January 22, 2021.
  44. ^ "Rose Lavelle Shines in Dynamic Hometown Performance as the U.S. Women's National Team Defeats Paraguay 8-0". U.S. Soccer. September 21, 2021.
  45. ^ a b "U.S. Women's National Team Defeats Iceland 5-0 to Win Third Consecutive and Fifth Overall SheBelieves Cup Title, Presented by Visa". U.S. Soccer. February 23, 2022.
  46. ^ "U.S. Women's National Team Defeats Uzbekistan 9-1 as Forward Sophia Smith Records First Career Hat Trick". U.S. Soccer. April 9, 2022.
  47. ^ "U.S. Women's National Team Defeats Uzbekistan 9-0 as Catarina Macario and Rose Lavelle Score Twice Each". U.S. Soccer. April 12, 2022.
  48. ^ "U.S. Women's National Team Rolls to Title at 2021 SheBelieves Cup, Presented by Visa, With Dominant 6-0 Victory Against Argentina". U.S. Soccer. February 25, 2021.
  49. ^ "Google Cloud Academic All-District® Women's Soccer Team Released" (PDF). academicallamerica.com. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  50. ^ "2019 Women's Division I Postseason Awards". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  51. ^ "NCAA Division I Women's All-America Teams announced – 2018". United Soccer Coaches. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  52. ^ "NCAA Division I Women's All-America Teams announced – 2017". United Soccer Coaches. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  53. ^ "U.S. Women's National Team Defeats Iceland 5-0 To Win Third Consecutive And Fifth Overall SheBelieves Cup Title, Presented By Visa". US Soccer. February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.

External links[edit]