Today, Angel City Football Club (ACFC) announced the signing of forward Simone Charley to a two-year contract. Charley’s rights were acquired through a trade with the Portland Thorns. In exchange, Portland has received full roster protection in the upcoming 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft presented by Ally, $100,000 in allocation money, and LA's 2022 natural second-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft presented by Ally. The Vanderbilt University grad joins ACFC after three seasons with the Thorns as a leading scorer and fan favorite.
'We are delighted to welcome Simone Charley to Angel City,' said Eni Aluko, ACFC Sporting Director. 'I believe Simone is one of the most exciting forwards in the NWSL with consistent goal-scoring abilities and a work ethic from the front line that sets her apart. Simone has incredible potential to develop to even further heights at Angel City and, in the future, I believe, representing her national team of choice. She will be central to the club's success on and off the pitch. We know Simone was a fan favorite at Portland and a person who cares deeply about the community, so we are so excited about building that connection with our fans and community at Angel City.'
Charley has an unconventional yet meteoric rise within the soccer universe. In 2018, she was not drafted by any NWSL team, but invited personally by the Portland Thorns Head coach Mark Parsons to try out. She made the team and in her first season in 2019 with the Thorns she made 11 appearances with six starts. During her debut season with the Thorns, Charley was named to the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team roster for the Nordic Tournament, where she scored in a 2-0 win over Norway. In the 2021 season, she appeared in 20 matches and tallied five goals. In addition to the NWSL, Charley also played for the W-League team Canberra United in Australia from 2019 to 2020, where she scored five goals in 11 games.
“I am excited to be joining Angel City in their inaugural season,” said Charley. “I love that Angel City is a purpose-driven club, so I am thrilled to be a part of what ACFC is building both on and off the pitch. I am looking forward to growing as a player as we work towards the ultimate goal of winning a championship.”
Charley graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2017 with a degree in both psychology and sociology, where she was a dual-sport athlete in soccer and track and field. She played and started in 19 matches with four goals and six assists in her final season as a graduate student in 2017. In 2017, she was named Second Team All-Southeast Region and earned Second Team ALL-SEC honors. She also earned a Masters from Vanderbilt in Medicine, Health, and Society from Vanderbilt in 2018.
Charley will debut with the forthcoming Angel City roster under Head Coach Freya Coombe in Spring 2022 in Los Angeles at The Banc of California Stadium.
Today’s news precedes Angel City’s roster-building milestones of the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft on December 16 and the 2022 NWSL Draft on December 18.
