TAMUC – Sports

Haywood signs with Aston Villa Ladies FC.

BIRMINGHAM, England – Former Texas A&M University-Commerce star soccer player Sophie Haywood has signed a professional contract with Aston Villa Ladies FC, as announced by the club this week.

Haywood collected numerous awards in her two-year career with the Lions. She was the Lone Star Conference Academic Player of the Year, United Soccer Coaches Second Team Scholar All-American, CoSIDA Academic All-District, USC First Team All-Region, D2CCA Second Team All-Region, First Team All-LSC, and Academic All-LSC as a senior in 2017. In 2016 she was named the Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year, Second Team All-LSC, and earned LSC All-Tournament Team honors.

“This is a great opportunity for Sophie,” said A&M-Commerce head soccer coach Neil Piper. “Aston Villa is a big club in England. She has definitely earned the opportunity to play at this level.”

Haywood finished her A&M-Commerce career with 14 goals and 10 assists during two seasons, totaling 38 career points. She played more than 3,300 minutes with eight game-winning goals, to rank 10th in program history.

“Sophie has huge amounts of potential,” said Aston Villa Ladies head coach Gemma Davies to official club website ladies.avfc.co.uk. “She’s a playmaker, very good at bringing players into the game and has a natural ability to finish. She’s certainly someone to watch as she starts growing and getting used to English football again.”

Haywood and AVLFC begin their season on Saturday, August 18, against Sheffield United Women FC.