Alana Simone Cook (born April 11, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for NWSL club Seattle Reign and the United States national team.[2]
![]() Cook with the Seattle Reign in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Alana Simone Cook[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | April 11, 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Worcester, Massachusetts, United States | ||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Defender | ||||||||||||||||
Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Seattle Reign FC | ||||||||||||||||
Number | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
The Pennington School | |||||||||||||||||
Match Fit Academy Colchesters | |||||||||||||||||
College career | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
2015–2018 | Stanford Cardinal | 93 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
2019–2021 | Paris Saint-Germain | 21 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2020 | → OL Reign (loan) | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2021– | Seattle Reign | 65 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
2013 | United States U17 | ||||||||||||||||
2014–2016 | United States U20 | ||||||||||||||||
2017–2019 | United States U23 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
2019– | United States | 29 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 28, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of October 29, 2023 |
Early life
Cook was born in Worcester, Massachusetts to parents Florence and Bryan Cook[3] and raised with sister Brianna in Worcester and Far Hills, New Jersey.[4][5][6] She attended The Pennington School, a boarding school in Pennington, New Jersey, and helped guide the varsity soccer team to regional and state titles.[7][8] Cook was named 2013 New Jersey Prep Player of the Year and 2015 NSCAA High School Scholar Player of the Year.[7]
Twice named NSCAA Youth All-American,[9] Cook played in the NSCAA High School All-America Game and earned Best XI honors.[7] She played club soccer for Match Fit Academy Colchesters and won the 2013 U.S. Youth Soccer National League title with the team.[10]
Cook began representing the United States on its youth national teams as a teenager.[7]
Stanford Cardinal
Cook attended the Stanford University from 2015 to 2018 where she earned a degree in symbolic systems and was a four-year starter for the Stanford Cardinal women's soccer team. She captained the team in her final two seasons. She was named Pac-12 Conference Defender of the Year and a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist in 2018.[7]
Club career
Paris Saint-Germain, 2019–21
In January 2019, Cook elected to forgo the 2019 NWSL College Draft despite her first round draft grade[11] and instead chose to pursue opportunities in Europe, signing a three-year deal with French Division 1 Féminine team Paris Saint-Germain.[12]
OL Reign (loan), 2020
On June 16, 2020, Cook joined OL Reign on a short-term loan for the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup.[13]
OL Reign, 2021–
On June 7, 2021, OL Reign signed Cook to a three-year contract with an option for an extra year on a permanent transfer from PSG.[14]
During the 2021 season, Cook was a starting defender in all 20 matches of the regular season.[2] The Reign finished in second place during the regular season with a 13–8–3 record.[15] After advancing to the NWSL Playoffs, they were eliminated by eventual champions Washington Spirit.[16] Cook was named to the league's Best XI.[17]
In 2022, Cook helped OL Reign finish in first place during the regular season winning the NWSL Shield.[2][18]
International career
Cook has competed for the United States under-17, under-20, under-23, and senior national teams.She captained the under-17 team and made the jump to the under-20 team in 2014 followed by the under-23 team in 2017.[19] She captained the under-23 squad in 2019.[20][21] She is eligible to represent England because of her British father and earned her first senior international call-up in September 2019 as a training player for England's friendlies against Portugal and Brazil.[22]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/USWNT_with_SGOTUS_July_2023.jpg/270px-USWNT_with_SGOTUS_July_2023.jpg)
Cook received her first call-up to the United States national team on October 31, 2019.[23] In June 2023, she was named to the U.S. squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.[24]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Other[b] | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Paris Saint-Germain | 2018–19 | D1F | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
2019–20 | D1F | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
2020–21 | D1F | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
Total | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | ||
OL Reign (loan) | 2020 | NWSL | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
OL Reign | 2021 | NWSL | 19 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
2022 | NWSL | 19 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
Total | 38 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 1 | ||
Career total | 59 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 2 |
International
- As of match played October 29, 2023[2]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
United States | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
2020 | 0 | 0 | |
2021 | 3 | 0 | |
2022 | 15 | 0 | |
2023 | 10 | 1 | |
Total | 29 | 1 |
- Scores and results list United States's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cook goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | April 11, 2023 | St. Louis, Missouri | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Honors
- Stanford Cardinal
- Paris Saint-Germain
- OL Reign
- United States U23
- Nordic Tournament: 2019
- United States
Individual
- Pac-12 Conference Defender of the Year: 2018[7]
- MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist: 2018[7]
- NWSL Best XI: 2021,[32]2022[33]
References
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Alana Cook at Soccerway.com
- Alana Cook at WorldFootball.net
- Alana Cook at Soccerdonna (in German)
- Alana Cook at FBref.com
- Alana Cook at L'Équipe (in French)
- Alana Cook at the National Women's Soccer League
- Alana Cook at Seattle Reign FC
- Alana Cook at Paris Saint-Germain
- Alana Cook at Stanford Cardinal