Esmeralda Negrón
Personal information
Date of birth (1983-01-15) 15 January 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Harrington Park, New Jersey, United States
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2004 Princeton Tigers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2012 New Jersey Wildcats
2005–2006 USCCO Compiegne[2]
2006–2007 FFC Brauweiler Pulheim[3]
International career‡
United States U-21
United States U-23
2010 Puerto Rico 9 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 August 2010[4]

Esmeralda Negrón (born 15 January 1983) is an American-born Puerto Rican retired footballer and current coach. She has been a member of the Puerto Rico women's national team. She was voted the second greatest Princeton University female athlete of the decade (2000–2010) for her time leading Princeton University women's soccer team.[5][6]

Early life

A native of Harrington Park, New Jersey, Negrón attended Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan.[7]

College career

Princeton made the NCAA tournament in all four seasons Negrón was on the team, advancing to the second round in her freshman season of 2001. During her days at Princeton, Negrón scored 47 goals as part of her 112 career points, both Princeton records for both the men's and women's programs. The unforgettable season of 2004 saw Negrón score 20 goals with 12 assists for a total of 52 points, all Princeton single-season records, leading the Tigers to the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship semifinals. She was a 2004 first-team All-America, a 2003 third-team All-America, a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year and a three-time first-team All-Ivy League selection. She won the von Kiensbusch Award her senior year as Princeton's top senior sportswoman.

Her Princeton career concluded with a record-breaking run to the NCAA Final Four in 2004 with then freshman teammate Diana Matheson, a member of the Canadian National Team.[8][9][10] No other any Ivy League team has ever reached the NCAA Final Four of a 64-team tournament.[11][12]

Club career

Negrón played professionally for the New Jersey Lady Stallions and New Jersey Wildcats of the USL W-League.[13][14]

International career

During the summer of 2004, Negrón played internationally with the United States U-21 team in Iceland and was a member of the pool for the full U.S. National Soccer Team. However, in 2010, she played officially for Puerto Rico at senior level.

International goals

Scores and results list Puerto Rico's goal tally first

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 19 March 2010 Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico  Saint Kitts and Nevis 2–0 7–0 2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying qualification
2 6–0
3 7–0
4 13 May 2010 Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago  Antigua and Barbuda 3–0 8–0
5 6–0

Coaching career

Negrón served as Assistant Coach for Seton Hall University and Princeton University women's soccer programs.[15] After serving as Assistant Coach during Princeton's second Ivy League perfect season and second-best NCAA appearance of reaching the Round of 32,[16] Negrón founded her own soccer training academy, Champions League Soccer Academy.[17]

Business ventures

In September 2020, Negron, along with sports media executive Hannah Brown,[18] launched ata football, a streaming platform focused on women's football. It was acquired by DAZN Group on August 15, 2023.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Esmeralda Negron – USWNT – US Womens Soccer Official Site – U.S. Soccer". USWNT. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "USCCO". USCCO Oise. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "Tambi Announces Hiring of Esmeralda Negron as New Assistant Women's Soccer Coach". Shupirates.com. Seton Hall University.
  4. ^ Esmeralda Negron at Soccerway
  5. ^ "Top Female Athletes of the Decade: No. 2 Esmeralda Negron '05". Princeton Tigers. Princeton University. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  6. ^ Woulfe, Tyler. "Negron leads women's soccer on magical run to final four". The Daily Princetonian. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  7. ^ Desimone, Bonnie. "Princeton's Soccer Gem, in Spirit and in Name", The New York Times, December 2, 2004. Accessed May 13, 2016. "Negron excelled at Northern Valley-Old Tappan (N.J.) High School and on her club team but was not heavily recruited, in part because she was set on attending Princeton."
  8. ^ "For Princeton and Ivy League, Final Four at Last". Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  9. ^ Bernstein, Viv. "Princeton's Steep Climb Finally Ends". New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  10. ^ "Princeton Final Four" (PDF). Ivy League Sports. Princeton University. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  11. ^ Tomlinson, Brett. "Extra Point: After Two Decades, 'Shacks' Is Saying Goodbye To The Team She Built". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  12. ^ "It Was Four Years Ago Today..." TigerBlog. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  13. ^ "Esmeralda Negron Bio". GoPrincetonTigers.com. Princeton Athletics. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  14. ^ DeSimmone, Bonnie. "Princeton's Soccer Gem, in Spirit and in Name". New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  15. ^ "Tambi Announces Hiring of Esmeralda Negron as New Women's Soccer Coach". Shupirates.com. Seton Hall University.
  16. ^ "Women's Soccer Moves On In NCAA Tournament, Beats West Virginia". Princeton Athletic Communications. November 10, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  17. ^ "CLSA". Champions League Soccer Academy. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  18. ^ https://leadersinsport.com/sport-business/leaders-events/leaders-sport-awards/leaders-under-40-2/hannah-brown/
  19. ^ https://www.dazn.com/en-GB/news/soccer/ata-football-joins-dazn-the-home-of-womens-football/1kmovcpuf8j1r1x01a6td6uwp5
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