Opal Curless

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Opal Curless
Opal Curless of Fatih Vatan Spor (February 2024)
Personal information
Full name Opal Courtney Curless
Date of birth (1998-05-18) May 18, 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Mount Desert Island, Maine, United States
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Defender / midfielder
Team information
Current team
Fatih Vatan Spor
Number 88
Youth career
Mount Desert Island HS
FC Stars
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 36 (14)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2021 MTK Hungária FC
2022–2024 Valadares Gaia F.C. 44 (2)
2024– Fatih Vatan Spor 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 5, 2024

Opal Courtney Curless (born May 18, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Fatih Vatan Spor in the Turkish Women's Super League.[1]

Early years[edit]

Curless is 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall at 58 kg (128 lb),[2] and plays as a defender or midfielder.[1][3][4]

She was a member of the school team during her secondary education at Mount Desert Island High School in her hometown, and was named Maine Gatorade Player of the Year in 2016, and also was selected to the All-New England Team.[3] In 2014, she was part of Black Bear United and Acadia Fire FC.[5] She also played for the local club FC Stars.[3]

She played college soccer at Florida Gulf Coast Eagles between 2016 and 2019.[3] She scored 14 goals in 36 matches played.[6]

Club career[edit]

Opal Curless playing for Fatih Vatan Spor in the 2023-24 Turkish Super League.

In July 2020, Curless traveled to Hungary and started her professional soccer career,[6] playing for Budapest-based club MTK Hungária FC in the Női NB I. She left the club at the end of 2021.[2]

On January 1, 2022, she went to Portugal to play for Valadares Gaia F.C. in the 2021–22 season of the Liga BPI. She remained there for the next season. She scored two goals in 44 matches played.[2] She also took part in the Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga Feminina matches. Her last appearance was on January 7, 2024.[7]

In the beginning of February 2024, she moved to Turkey and signed a deal with the Istanbul-based club Fatih Vatan Spor to play until the end of the second half of the 2023–24 Women's Super League.[4] She appeared in 12 matches.[1]

International career[edit]

Curless was called up to the U.S. girls' U-14 team training camp in 2012 held in Carson, California.[3][5]

Personal life[edit]

Opal Courtney Curless was born to Michael and Abigail Curless in Mount Desert Island, Maine.[1][3][8] She has a brother, Audyn.[8]

After graduating from Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor, Maine in 2016, she started her collegiate career at Syracuse University before transferring to Florida Gulf Coast University and majoring in psychology.[3][6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Opal Courtney Curless" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Opal Curless". Football Database. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "2019 Women's Soccer Roster - 20 Opal Curless". Florida Gulf Coast University FGCU. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Transfer Açıklaması - Opal Courtney Curless" (in Turkish). Fatih Vatan Spor Kulübü. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b "U.S. U14 GNT to Hold First Camp of 2012". Top Drawer Soccer. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Popper, Chris (28 August 2020). "Former Trojan Opal Curless Playing Soccer Professionally in Hungary". WDEA. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  7. ^ "88 Opal Curless". SoccerZZ. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b "2017 Women's Soccer Roster - 8 Opal Curless". Women's Soccer. Retrieved 25 May 2024.