Stephanie Sparkowski
American soccer player (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stephanie Elisabeth Sparkowski (born April 18, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Swedish Damallsvenskan club Piteå IF. She played college soccer for the Michigan Wolverines.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stephanie Elisabeth Sparkowski[1] | ||
| Date of birth | April 18, 2002[2] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Piteå IF | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2024 | Michigan Wolverines | 39 | (0) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022 | Long Island Rough Riders | 2 | (0) |
| 2025 | Chicago Stars | 0 | (0) |
| 2026– | Piteå IF | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:17, December 31, 2025 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Sparkowski grew up in East Meadow, New York, where she attended East Meadow High School.[1] She captained the school's soccer team and was a four-year varsity letterwinner.[3] As a senior, she was named a Fall All-American and also received the opportunity to play in the 2019 Allstate High School All-American game.[4][5] The very same year, Sparkowski became the first female student to play on East Meadow's football team.[5][6] She played in 7 games as a placekicker, sometimes in a close timeframe with her soccer commitments.[7] She also played basketball and lacrosse for her school, as well as soccer with New York's ODP team.[1]
College career
In her senior year of high school, Sparkowski committed to the University of Michigan.[8] She joined the Wolverines in 2021, but did not see any playing time in her first two seasons of college soccer.[1] She made her collegiate debut early in her junior year, appearing in a dominant victory over Central Michigan on September 4, 2022.[9] However, she only played in 2 more games and continued to experience time as a backup goalkeeper.[10]
Following the departure of Izzy Nino in 2023, Sparkowski quickly ascended to a starting position and played in all 18 of Michigan's matches for two seasons in a row. She was responsible for 6 clean sheets in her first year at the helm and also sported an 81% save percentage. The Big Ten Conference recognized her performances with two consecutive Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honors in September 2023.[1] During the Wolverines' first-round NCAA tournament loss, she made 7 saves to help prevent a more lopsided defeat.[11]
The following season, Michigan and got off to a slow start, conceding goals and going winless in the first 6 game of the season. In their seventh match, a home game against Alabama, Sparkowski helped turn the tide and made several saves to help the Wolverines earn a shutout victory.[12] Later on in the year, she broke her single-game save record and entered double digits, recording 10 against Penn State. In both of her latter two seasons, Sparkowski was recognized with the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.[1]
Club career
Long Island Rough Riders
During the offseason leading up to her junior year of college, Sparkowski played with the Long Island Rough Riders in the pre-professional USL W League.[13] She appeared in four regular season matches and one playoff fixture, recording a clean sheet in all five of her appearances except for the playoff game.[2]
Chicago Stars
After completing her time with Michigan, Sparkowski joined Chicago Stars FC's 2025 preseason squad as a non-rostered invitee.[14] Although she was not offered a contract at the start of the Stars' NWSL campaign, Sparkowski later signed her first professional contract with Chicago on June 3, 2025, inking a roster relief contract to replace injured Stars backup Mackenzie Wood.[15] Following the expiry of her contract, Sparkowski spent three months as a free agent before joining Chicago once again in October 2025; another injury to Wood had opened the door for Sparkowski to play for Chicago on a roster relief contract for the second time.[16] She did not make any appearances for the Stars before departing at the end of the season as a free agent.[17]
Piteå IF
On January 15, 2026, Swedish club Piteå IF announced that they had signed Sparkowski to a two-year contract.[18]
International career
Sparkowski has attended various United States youth national team camps, with her first call-up arriving in 2016.[19] On March 13, 2017, she was invited to an under-16 training camp in San Diego.[20] Eight years later, Lisa Cole summoned Sparkowski back into the youth national team fold, inviting her to an under-23 training camp starting in March 2025.[21]
Personal life
On December 2, 2024, Sparkowski got engaged to Jade Gray.[22]
Career statistics
Club
- As of June 3, 2025
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Playoffs[a] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Long Island Rough Riders | 2022[2] | USL W League | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Chicago Stars FC | 2025 | NWSL | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
- Includes the USL W League Playoffs and NWSL Playoffs