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Abi Brighton
Personal information
Full name Abigail Brighton
Date of birth (2002-03-29) March 29, 2002 (age 22)[1]
Place of birth Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S.
Position(s) Center midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Juventus
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2024 Vanderbilt Commodores 93 (10)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024– Juventus 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Abigail Brighton (born March 29, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Serie A Femminile club Juventus. She played college soccer for the Vanderbilt Commodores, where she was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection.

Early life and college career

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Brighton was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, to John and Stephanie Brighton, and raised in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.[1] She has an older brother, James, who played college soccer for Clemson. Brighton attended Heritage Academy in Hilton Head, where she captained the soccer team from 2012 to 2018.[2] She played club soccer for Tormenta FC.[3] She was called into United States national under-14 team training camp in 2016 and later invited to virtual camp at the under-20 level in 2021.[4][5]

Vanderbilt Commodores

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Brighton was a five-year starter for the Vanderbilt Commodores, scoring 10 goals and making 15 assists in 93 appearances (92 starts). In her freshman season in 2020, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped lead Vanderbilt win their first SEC tournament since 1994. In the opening round, she scored and assisted in a 4–2 win against Mississippi State (her rocket against Mississippi State made SportsCenter's top 10 plays), and she scored the last goal in a 3–1 victory over Arkansas in the conference final. Vanderbilt lost to Penn State in their opening game in the NCAA tournament. She finished the season with 3 goals and 2 assists in 16 games and was named to the SEC all-freshman team.[1][6]

Brighton made a career-high five assists in 21 games in her junior season in 2022, including the tying assist in a 1–1 draw against Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament, before making her penalty kick as they advanced in a shootout. In the NCAA tournament, she assisted the only goal in a 1–0 win against Clemson in the first round before losing to Northwestern in the next game. She became team captain of the Commodores in her senior year. She returned for a fifth and final season (granted to college athletes because of the pandemic) in 2024. In her last NCAA tournament, she led Vanderbilt to an upset win against top-seeded defending champions Florida State in the second round, assisting on the second goal in a 3–3 draw and making the winning penalty kick in the ensuing shootout. Vanderbilt lost to Penn State in the next round.[1][7] Described as "arguably the spine of the team" for her facilitating play, Brighton was named to the All-SEC second team in her last two seasons and third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American in her last season.[1][8]

Club career

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Juventus

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Italian club Juventus announced on January 8, 2025, that they had signed Brighton through the 2026–27 season.[9]

Honors

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Vanderbilt Commodores

Individual

  • Third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American: 2024
  • Second-team All-SEC: 2023, 2024
  • SEC all-freshman team: 2020
  • SEC tournament all-tournament team: 2020

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Abi Brighton". Vanderbilt Commodores. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  2. ^ Hidalgo Bellows, Kate (November 27, 2020). "Hilton Head siblings help carry college soccer teams to conference wins – on the same day". The Island Packet. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Shealer, Sheldon (January 21, 2018). "Recruiting Roundup: January 22–28". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  4. ^ Shain, Jeff (January 24, 2016). "Storm Academy soccer duo getting national look". The Island Packet. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  5. ^ "U.S. U20 WNT Virtual Camp Roster". United States Soccer Federation. May 20, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  6. ^ Hays, Graham (October 31, 2024). "Let's Just Play". Vanderbilt Commodores. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  7. ^ Joffer, Prince Akeem (November 23, 2024). "FSU soccer falls in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Vanderbilt". Tomahawk Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Hall, Grace (November 27, 2024). "Soccer: History written in the 2024 season". The Vanderbilt Hustler. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "Abi Brighton joins Juventus Women!". Juventus FC. January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
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