MAKING STRIDES: Madison Curry warms up before a recent game with Angel City Football Club of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWASL). Recently graduated Princeton University women’s soccer star defender Curry has made a solid debut for the club this season, playing in 14 games, including making 13 starts. (Photo provided courtesy of Angel City Football Club)

By Justin Feil

Madison Curry hasn’t taken long to exceed expectations at the professional level.

Recently graduated Princeton University women’s soccer star Curry has become the fifth former Tigers player to compete in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) after being selected by Angel City Football Club with the ninth pick of the fourth round. She has played 14 games, including making 13 starts, far more than she ever anticipated already this season.

“It’s been an absolute whirlwind,” said Curry. “I think if you were to ask my expectations at the beginning of the season, it would never be that I would be starting. I was thinking this year would just be a development year for me. To be on the field with the team has been absolutely incredible and incredibly hard in many ways. But I love this team, and I love going to practice every day.”

Curry was named a first-team All-Ivy League defender in her final three seasons at Princeton, but she wasn’t expecting to have a big impact in her first season with Angel City. For the Southern California native just to be selected after five years (Curry took a gap year) at Princeton by the Los Angeles-based club was mind-blowing.

“I never in a million years would have thought I’d get drafted to Angel City just because they had enough defenders, and really good ones at that,” said the 5’5 Curry, who hails from Coto de Caza, Calif. “So to be here has been a really special experience for me and my family, with them being able to come to every one of my home games and me playing in the stadium where I watched so many games growing up. It’s been really surreal being on the other side. I was in the stands growing up and now I’m on the field. It’s really crazy.”

Curry was selected by Angel City on January 12, 10 days before her final semester began at Princeton. Curry capably navigated soccer while finishing her degree in neuroscience. Only five players were taken after her in the deepest draft that the NWSL has held, but Curry has quickly become a vital part of her team’s defense after a swift transition from the college level.

“I think they always tell you it’s a shocking switch,” said Curry. “It stayed shocking for like a month. I still have experiences in games where I’m like oh my gosh, this is what being in the NWSL means. My first game, I was playing against Marta (Brazilian soccer start Marta Vieira da Silva), and I was thinking, what am I even supposed to do right now? It was crazy. It’s so much faster. You have to make decisions really quick, and I think that’s been the biggest adjustment for me.”

Curry didn’t have much time to watch the professional game before she was playing it. She played the final 15 minutes of Angel City’s March 22 game. She made her first start and became the lowest drafted NWSL player to ever start when she filled in for an ill teammate March 30 against Kansas City. The start was even more memorable when she notched the first goal of her Angel City career.

“I wasn’t supposed to start that game and then I did. I was sort of shell-shocked,” said Curry. “It was Kansas City at their home stadium which is insane. On that goal — first off, at Princeton I didn’t go in the box for corners so going in the box for corners is a new thing for me, and I don’t remember the goal that well because I was blacking out while it was happening. I remember thinking, if I miss it’s going to be horrible because nobody else would miss on this team. The ball just bounced in front of me, it was pure fate. I’d like to say that I did something special, but it was my other teammates who did what they needed to do and I was just in the right place at the right time. We lost that game, so it was a bittersweet thing for sure.”

When Mary Alice Vignola suffered a knee injury, it put Curry in a regular starting role at the same left back spot she mastered at Princeton, and shortly thereafter she had to move to center back and learn a new spot when Sarah Gorden was also injured.

“I hadn’t played it in about seven years and it was different,” said Curry. “I’m like a run-up-the-field type of girl, so I’m trying to learn how to get a handle on that. You just have to take everything in stride and be able to be vulnerable and ask questions and to be able to get things wrong but not take it personally is huge.”

Even playing left back came with a learning curve. Curry’s obligations were different with Angel City than they had been at Princeton, but she felt she could pick them up fine.

“At club I moved around a bit which was awesome,” said Curry. “I think versatility is a really big gift in this game. Obviously at Princeton I played left back and I was kind of free to go and do wherever I wanted and whatever I felt necessary. It was really awesome. That led me to be the player I am. But it also made this transition harder in the sense that I had to learn the traditional role over again.”

The defender has been a quick study. Through July 20, Curry ranked ninth in tackles won in the NWSL with 27. Every other player ahead of her, though, has had the benefit of playing in more games. Curry has stuck to the traits that made her great for head coach Sean Driscoll’s Princeton squad and has been able to showcase them in the pros.

“I’m not scared of a challenge,” said Curry. “Sean loved that about me — I always wanted to go against the best player and see how I could handle that. My coaches now appreciate that I am willing to go through fire and be the best that I can, even if I’m not always successful or I don’t perform the best ever. I take it in my stride and do what’s best for the team. I think that’s a big part of who I am as a player.”

Curry still sees plenty of growth in her future. She is trying to absorb as many of the suggestions from Angel City’s coaches as she can.

“They’re pushing me to be the next level in possession, just making decisions quicker,” said Curry. “I still get caught in two minds sometimes just because I’m not used to the speed quite yet. It’s not instinct for me to move the ball that fast yet. And also refining my defensive instincts. I am up there in the league in tackles and interceptions. That’s been cool, but now it’s about refining my knowledge. I am at center back now and not left back for the time being. The principles are a little different, so I’m trying to learn those as quickly as possible so I’m the most comfortable there.”

With each passing week, Curry is growing more accustomed to the NWSL. She already was making her pro debut months before graduating from college, a rapid leap from the college game. She was the only of Angel City’s three draft picks to earn a contract following preseason.

“I think I still have those bouts of imposter syndrome just because it’s my first year, thinking am I really supposed to be out on this field right now, playing with all these amazing players?” said Curry. “In those moments, you just have to go back to everyday when you go to training, you believe in yourself and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. It’s definitely gotten better, but the first couple months I was very much in the hold of imposter syndrome.”

Curry has always challenged herself. She gained experience with the Kansas City Current II and the SoCal Reds FC sides in the Women’s Premier Soccer League. While taking a gap year from Princeton in 2022, she trained back home in California with a semi-pro men’s team.

“I think every team I’ve played on has led me to being able to do this,” said Curry. “With the semipro team, it was the mental aspect. I was never going to physically beat them to a ball. They’re 23-year-old men. But I can try to outsmart them and work my way there. And I think with Princeton, Sean and Mike (Poller, the Princeton assistant coach), they really believed in me and pushed me to be a better player and leader and person than when I showed up to Princeton. I always had talent, but they pushed me in a lot of ways other people haven’t, which was a really cool experience. And the fact that I started to get comfortable being uncomfortable — which I think is a really helpful space — and if I hadn’t learned that prior to Angel City then I don’t think I would have been successful at this level so far.”

Curry has been entirely able to focus on playing soccer after graduating in May. She is enjoying adjusting to the professional lifestyle.

“At Princeton you have to balance being a student and an athlete,” said Curry. “Being both of those things at a very high level, it’s very demanding time-wise. I don’t think we had a lot of time to rest or recover. We were always going, going, going. That was my life for five years. Getting to this point, at first I thought it was fake because you’re at the facility for half the day and then you go home and rest and nourish your body and watch film if you feel up to it and get ready for the next day. For me, it’s been about finding a life outside of soccer so I don’t let soccer take over my whole life. I’ve been trying to pick up new hobbies. I’m trying to read more, and read fun things not scientific articles like I was doing for years and years and years.”

Curry is reading a lot of writer Colleen Hoover’s romance/drama books for now and focusing on helping Angel City improve. The club defeated Club América, 2-1, in the first game of Summer Cup on July 20. They face Bay FC and San Diego in their next two Summer Cup games and have a friendly scheduled against FC Juarez on August 18 before returning to NWSL regular-season action at San Diego Wave on Aug. 24. Angel City sits 11th out of 14 NWSL teams.

“The team itself is really unified and we all know what we need to do moving forward,” said Curry. “It’s just refining the little things that sort of lead us to the bigger picture of scoring more goals and keeping more out of the net. We’ve had it all there, now we have to get a little more nuanced, a little more accuracy with passes and passes in the final third and with our defending, it’s just cleaning things up and believing that we’re good enough and we can do this because we very well can. It’s meant to be in the second half of the season, not the first.”

Curry will be doing her part to help her team regardless of where they need to use her. And while she’s thrilled to be back in California playing in the stadium where she once watched games, she is hoping that her schedule allows for her to come support the Princeton team this fall.

“I hope I can come back and watch a game because I love the team still so much,” said Curry. “I’m such a West Coast girl that you’re going to have to rip me from the West Coast to visit. My season goes until November, so I’m hoping there’s a week that lines up with catching one of their games. I’d love to see them.”

The Tigers are proud of the way Curry has made a quick transition into the NWSL. Her expectations for making an impact this season may not have been very high at the start, but with already more than 1,000 minutes under her belt, she looks like a fourth-round steal for Angel City.

“I’m really thankful for my coaches at Angel City for trusting me enough to be on the field in my rookie season as a defender,” said Curry. “That’s really special in and of itself. I think going forward I think I’m not satisfied with how I’m playing and I think I can only grow and get better. Looking for the future, I want to become the best professional player I can be and develop as much as I can and never be satisfied with what I’ve done. I will continue looking at how I can improve and make the team better and create a legacy at Angel City and beyond.”