Lia Godfrey
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_11_(cropped).jpg) Godfrey with Virginia in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lia Eugenia Godfrey[1] | ||
| Date of birth | November 8, 2001[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Fleming Island, Florida, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | San Diego Wave | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2025 | Virginia Cavaliers | 107 | (28) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2026– | San Diego Wave | 4 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| 2016 | United States U-15 | ||
| 2016 | United States U-16 | ||
| 2016–2018 | United States U-17 | 8 | (4) |
| 2020 | United States U-19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2019 | United States U-20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2023 | United States U-23 | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of March 28, 2026 | |||
Lia Eugenia Godfrey (born November 8, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Virginia Cavaliers, earning All-American honors four times. She represented the United States at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
Godfrey was born and raised in Fleming Island, Florida,[2] the daughter of Tim and Stefannie Godfrey, and has a twin brother and older sister. Her father ran track at South Florida. She is of Italian and Filipino descent on her mother's side.[3][4] Godfrey joined Clay County Soccer Club at age five, and her club coach tabbed her as "the next Morgan Brian" at an early age.[5] She played DA club soccer for Clay County (which later became United Soccer Alliance) and ECNL soccer for Jacksonville FC.[3] She was twice named United Soccer Coaches All-American, and TopDrawerSoccer ranked her as the tenth-best recruit of the 2020 class. She graduated from Fleming Island High School.[3]
College career
Godfrey started all but her first game with the Virginia Cavaliers as a freshman in 2020, a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She scored 4 goals and led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 9 assists in 21 games, helping Virginia to both the ACC and NCAA tournament semifinals. She was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, TopDrawerSoccer National Freshman of the Year, second-team All-ACC, second-team United Soccer Coaches All-American, and first-team TopDrawerSoccer Best XI.[3][6] She scored 3 goals and led the team with 12 assists as a sophomore in 2021, earning first-team All-ACC and second-team All-American honors. Virginia went undefeated in conference play to claim the ACC regular-season title, before losing to Florida State in the ACC tournament final and BYU in the NCAA tournament third round.[3][7]
Godfrey scored 8 goals with 5 assists in 23 games in her junior season in 2022, being named first-team All-ACC and first-team All-American. She scored a brace against Xavier in the NCAA tournament as Virginia made the quarterfinals.[3] In 2023, she missed the entire season after suffering a knee injury in the spring.[4] She came back to the field in 2024, scoring 2 goals with 3 assists in 19 games.[3] She helped Virginia back into the NCAA tournament, which they had missed the year prior.[8] She returned to form in her sixth and final season in 2025, starting all 22 games and scoring a career-high 11 goals with 4 assists.[3] Virginia made the ACC tournament semifinals and earned a one seed in the NCAA tournament, losing in the third round on penalties.[9] She was named first-team All-ACC, first-team All-American, and the ACC Midfielder of the Year.[10]
Club career
San Diego Wave FC announced on December 30, 2025, that they had signed Godfrey to her first professional contract on a two-year deal with options to extend another two years.[2] She made her professional debut on March 14, 2026, as a 64th-minute substitute for Gabi Portilho in a season-opening 1–0 loss to the Houston Dash.[11] The following week, she scored her first professional goal in the 87th minute to secure a 2–1 win over the Utah Royals.[12] Later that month, she became the second Wave rookie after Jaedyn Shaw to score in three consecutive games,[13] being named NWSL Player of the Week on March 31 after the club's 3–1 win over the Portland Thorns and 2–0 win over the Chicago Stars.[14] Her performances across San Diego's opening four games earned her the honor of March 2026 NWSL Rookie of the Month and a spot on the NWSL Team of the Month.[15][16]
International career
Godfrey received her first youth national team call-up at the under-15 level in 2015. The following year, at age 14, she played for the under-17 team and was the United States's youngest player at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[5][17] She missed the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup due to an ACL tear.[18] She later appeared in friendlies at the under-19, under-20, and under-23 levels.[19]
