Amanda DaCosta

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Amanda DaCosta

| image = Amanda DaCosta (cropped).jpg

| caption =

| full_name = Amanda Jaqueline Paswall{{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/adacosta13/ |title=Amanda (DaCosta) Paswall |website=Instagram |access-date=June 15, 2022}}

| birth_name = Amanda Jaqueline DaCosta{{cite web|title=List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/09/2013 and 30/09/2013|url= http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/more/~/media/071EB339BC944DA7811D02EFD0C064F8.ashx|publisher=The Football Association|accessdate=May 24, 2015|format=PDF|page=2}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1989|10|07|df=y}}

| birth_place = Katonah, New York, United States

| height = 1.63 m

| position = Midfielder

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| collegeyears1 = 2007–2010

| college1 = Florida State Seminoles

| collegecaps1 = 96

| collegegoals1 = 17

| years1 = 2011

| clubs1 = Washington Freedom

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 = 2011

| clubs2 = MagicJack

| caps2 =

| goals2 =

| years3 = 2012

| clubs3 = Boston Breakers

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| years4 = 2012–2014

| clubs4 = Liverpool Ladies

| caps4 = 40

| goals4 = 3

| years5 = 2015

| clubs5 = Washington Spirit

| caps5 = 17

| goals5 = 3

| years6 = 2016

| clubs6 = Chicago Red Stars

| caps6 = 14

| goals6 = 0

| years7 = 2017

| clubs7 = Boston Breakers

| caps7 = 11

| goals7 = 1

| nationalyears1 = 2006

| nationalteam1 = United States U17

| nationalcaps1 =

| nationalgoals1 =

| nationalyears2 = 2008

| nationalteam2 = United States U20

| nationalcaps2 =

| nationalgoals2 =

| nationalyears3 = 2009–2012

| nationalteam3 = United States U23

| nationalcaps3 =

| nationalgoals3 =

| nationalyears4 = 2015–2017

| nationalteam4 = Portugal

| nationalcaps4 = 19

| nationalgoals4 = 0

}}

Amanda Jaqueline Paswall ({{nee|DaCosta}}; born 7 October 1989) is an American-born Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Washington Spirit, Chicago Red Stars and Boston Breakers in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), Liverpool Ladies in England's FA WSL, the Washington Freedom and MagicJack in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) and for the Portuguese national team. DaCosta was recently inducted in the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame for her outstanding college career (3x All-American, 4x All-ACC, NCAA Freshman of the year, and National Finalist).

Early life

DaCosta is a native of Somers, New York and attended Somers High School where she was five-year varsity soccer athlete. She earned all-section and all-league honors four times and was named league MVP twice. From 2000 to 2005, she played five years for both the ENY North ODP team as well as the Region 1 ODP team.

=Florida State University=

DaCosta was a four-year starter for Florida State Seminoles. During her tenure with the Seminoles, she served as the team captain in 2010 and led the team to a 16–6–1 mark and a sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. She scored a total of 17 goals. She shared the FSU school record for career game-winning assists (10), ranked third in career assists (24) and is ranked fourth in career games started (94).

DaCosta was a First-Team All-ACC selection and NSCAA All-Southeast Region team in 2010. She was named to the NSCAA All-Southeast Region Second Team in 2009 and NSCAA and Soccer Buzz First Team All-American in 2008. In 2010, DaCosta was named as a First Team All-ACC member, making her the first athlete in school history to garner all-ACC accolades all four years of her career.{{cite web|url=http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/dacosta_amanda00.html|title=Florida State Seminoles Official Athletic Site|website=Florida State Seminoles|accessdate=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523205314/http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/dacosta_amanda00.html|archive-date=May 23, 2012|url-status=dead}}

DaCosta was inducted into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Dustin |title=Ten former Seminole Greats to be inducted into FSU Athletics Hall of Fame |url=https://www.si.com/college/fsu/football/ten-former-seminole-greats-and-moore-stone-award-honorees-to-be-inducted-into-fsu-athletics-hall-of-fame |access-date=2022-12-09 |website=Sports Illustrated Florida State Seminoles News, Analysis and More |date=14 July 2022 |language=en}}

Playing career

File:Amanda DaCosta.jpg

=Club=

==Washington Freedom / magicJack, 2011==

In 2011, DaCosta was drafted to the Washington Freedom in the Women's Professional Soccer league.{{cite web|title=Da Costa Drafted|url=http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/011411aaa.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202003635/http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/011411aaa.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 2, 2013|publisher=Florida State University|accessdate=November 12, 2012}} The team later became MagicJack after a change in ownership and move to Florida.

In December 2011, she was signed to Sky Blue FC, however the WPS league folded before the 2012 season began.{{cite web|title=Da Costa Signs With Sky Blue FC|url=http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/122111aab.html|publisher=Florida State University|accessdate=November 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523183938/http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/122111aab.html|archive-date=May 23, 2012|url-status=dead}}

==Boston Breakers, 2012==

In 2012, DaCosta joined the Boston Breakers in the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite.{{cite web|title=Amanda Da Costa bio|url=http://www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com/playerbios/amandadacosta/index_E.html|publisher=Boston Breakers|accessdate=November 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823165659/http://www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com/playerbios/amandadacosta/index_E.html|archive-date=August 23, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

==Liverpool LFC, 2013–2014==

In late 2012, DaCosta signed with Liverpool L.F.C. for the 2013 FA WSL season.{{cite web|title=Liverpool Make a Winning Start|url=http://www.liverpoolladiesfc.com/news/liverpool_make_a_winning_start.html|publisher=Liverpool Ladies|accessdate=January 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310082835/http://www.liverpoolladiesfc.com/news/liverpool_make_a_winning_start.html|archive-date=March 10, 2013|url-status=dead}} (Liverpool Ladies had not, as yet, made an official announcement of DaCosta's signing, however DaCosta announced the move on her [https://twitter.com/ADacosta13 Twitter page], and subsequently played in Liverpool's first preseason match against Manchester City Ladies).

She scored her first goal for Liverpool Ladies against Arsenal Ladies at Emirates Stadium in the FA Women's Super League on 37 minutes on May 7, 2013.

==National Women's Soccer League, 2015–2017==

In 2015 DaCosta played for Washington Spirit in National Women's Soccer League, helping the team reach the playoffs' semifinal where it lost to Seattle Reign FC. On January 25, 2016 Chicago Red Stars announced the acquisition of DaCosta from Washington Spirit along with a fourth round pick in 2017 NWSL College Draft in exchange for an unnamed player.{{cite web|url=http://chicagoredstars.com/red-stars-acquire-amanda-da-costa-and-2017-draft-pick/|title=Red Stars Acquire Amanda Da Costa and 2017 Draft Pick|accessdate=January 29, 2016|archive-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823161642/http://chicagoredstars.com/red-stars-acquire-amanda-da-costa-and-2017-draft-pick/|url-status=dead}}

On November 3, 2016, it was announced that DaCosta was traded from Chicago to the Boston Breakers.{{cite web|url=http://www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com/NEWS/927269.html|title=Breakers acquire midfielder Amanda Da Costa from Chicago – Boston Breakers|website=www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com|access-date=2016-11-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823163252/http://www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com/NEWS/927269.html|archive-date=August 23, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} On August 8, 2017, DaCosta announced her retirement from professional soccer.{{cite web|url=http://www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com/NEWS/937121.html|title=Breakers midfielder Amanda Da Costa announces retirement - Boston Breakers|website=www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com|access-date=2017-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821044452/http://www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com/NEWS/937121.html|archive-date=August 21, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

=International=

In 2006, DaCosta was a member of the under-17 national team. In March 2008, she competed with the under-20 team at the 2008 Cyprus Cup. She played a key role in helping the U.S. advance to the championship final against the full Canadian National team.

DaCosta was invited to participate in training camp with the U.S. U-23 Women's National Team in Cleveland, Ohio in 2009 ( June 12–19) and twice in 2010 in Carson, California ( January 13–20) and Sunrise, Florida. ( March 7–14).{{cite web|title=Amanda Da Costa profile|url=http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/dacosta_amanda00.html|publisher=Florida State University|accessdate=November 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523205314/http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/dacosta_amanda00.html|archive-date=May 23, 2012|url-status=dead}} In 2012, she was an active member of the U.S U-23 squad, and ended her campaign netting the game winner for the U.S to beat Norway in the 3-Nations Tournament (Stjordalen, Norway).{{Cite web |url=http://www.ussoccer.com/news/u-23-wnt/2012/06/u23-wnt-defeats-norway-41-to-win-three-nations-tournament.aspx |title=U-23 WNT Defeats Norway 4-1 to Win Three Nations Tournament - U.S. Soccer |access-date=March 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619051856/http://www.ussoccer.com/News/U-23-WNT/2012/06/U23-WNT-Defeats-Norway-41-to-Win-Three-Nations-Tournament.aspx |archive-date=June 19, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}

On December 1, 2015, she made her first appearance for the Portugal women's national football team, in a Euro 2017 qualifier against Spain. DaCosta subbed on in the 46th minute. She represented Portugal at the final tournament in the Netherlands. DaCosta won a total of 19 caps for Portugal.{{cite web |title=Amanda Da Costa |url=https://www.fpf.pt/Jogadores/Jogador/playerId/1605014/contextId/416 |publisher=Portuguese Football Federation |accessdate=15 July 2018 |language=Portuguese}}

Coaching career

In August 2012, DaCosta announced that she would be coaching with Tallahassee United Futbol Club (TUFC) and Cornerstone Middle School as well as for Florida State University in an outreach skills program dubbed Project 4.0.{{cite web|title=Amanda Da Costa Blog: Life outside the lines|date=27 August 2012 |url=http://equalizersoccer.com/2012/08/27/amanda-dacosta-blog-life-outside-the-lines/|publisher=Equalizer Soccer|accessdate=November 12, 2012}}

Broadcasting career

In 2012, DaCosta did the color commentary for the Seminoles soccer team on ESPN3.{{cite web|title=No. 2 Duke Travels to No. 1 FSU; ESPN3 on Thursday| date=12 September 2012 |url=http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=205683792|publisher=Duke University|accessdate=November 12, 2012}}

Honors

Liverpool

WSL Women's Super League (2): 2013; 2014

Individual

FSU Athletics Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2022

References

External links

[http://www.ussoccer.com/teams/u-23-wnt/d/amanda-dacosta.aspx US Soccer Federation player profile]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150321164908/http://washingtonspirit.com/persons/amanda-dacosta/ Washington Spirit player profile]
[http://equalizersoccer.com/tag/amanda-dacosta/ Amanda DaCosta blog on Equalizer Soccer]

Category:1989 births

Category:Living people

Category:Portuguese women's footballers

Category:Women's association football midfielders

Category:Liverpool F.C. Women players

Category:Women's Super League players

Category:Portugal women's international footballers

Category:Portuguese expatriate women's footballers

Category:Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England

Category:Expatriate women's footballers in England

Category:People from Katonah, New York

Category:Soccer players from Westchester County, New York