Dahlkemper was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and raised in Menlo Park, California. She has two brothers, Andrew (the older) and Joseph (the younger) and is the daughter of Andrew and Susan Dahlkemper. She attended Sacred Heart Preparatory and played on the soccer team.[2] In 2010, she was named Gatorade California Girls Soccer Player of the Year and a Parade All-American.[3]
In 2013, Dahlkemper signed with the Pali Blues in the W-League.[6] The team won the western conference title[7] as well as the national championship in July 2013.[8]
Western New York Flash
In January 2015, Dahlkemper was selected by the Western New York Flash in the 2015 NWSL College Draft as the third overall pick.[9][10] She was signed to the team in March[11] and made her debut in April.[12] Dahlkemper won the NWSL Championship with the Flash in 2016.
Dahlkemper became part of the North Carolina Courage in 2017 after the Western New York Flash was sold to the owners of North Carolina FC.[14] She played every minute for the Courage in 2017 helping them win the NWSL Shield. Dahlkemper was named to the 2017 NWSL Best XI.[15] Dahlkemper was voted NWSL Defender of the Year for the 2017 Season.[16]
In 2018 Dahlkemper played 19 regular season games for North Carolina. She was an important part of North Carolina's defense which broke the record for fewest goals conceded and repeated as NWSL Shield winners.[17] She was named to the 2018 NWSL Best XI and was a finalist for Defender of the Year, losing to her Courage teammate Abby Erceg.[18] North Carolina won the 2018 NWSL Championship with a 3–0 win over Portland, and didn't concede any goals in the playoffs.[19]
Manchester City
On January 16, 2021, Dahlkemper joined Manchester City of the English FA WSL on a two-and-a-half-year deal,[20] becoming the third American international to sign for the club during the 2020–21 season following Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle's arrivals in summer.[21]
On August 20, 2021, Manchester City announced that Dahlkemper had left the club.[22]
Houston Dash
On August 29, 2021, Houston Dash announced that they had acquired Dahlkemper from the North Carolina Courage.[23]
San Diego Wave
On November 22, 2021, Dahlkemper was announced as the first-ever player signing by NWSL expansion club San Diego Wave FC.[24] Dahlkemper was plagued with injuries in 2022, including fracturing a rib in May, and dealing with a back injury causing her to miss games throughout the year. She was ultimately given a Season-Ending Injury designation in October 2022, missing the 2022 NWSL playoffs.[25] Dahlkemper had surgery on her back in November 2022, stating on her social media it was transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) surgery to relieve her sciatic nerve pain.[26]
Dahlkemper made her return to the field on August 5, 2023, in a Challenge Cup game against Angel City, and was named to NWSL's August Best XI of the Month in her first month back.[27]
Bay FC
On August 26, 2024, Bay FC announced that they had acquired Dahlkemper from San Diego Wave FC in exchange for $50,000 in allocation money. Dahlkemper then signed a contract extension through 2026 with an option for 2027.[28] Dahlkemper debuted for her hometown team in a friendly against FC Barcelona, and later that week debuted in a 3-1 away to Portland Thorns in which she scored her first goal for Bay. She became the fifth ever NWSL player to score in back to back regular season matches for different clubs, having scored in the previous week for San Diego Wave in her final match with the club.[29]
International career
Dahlkemper in 2017
In 2013, Dahlkemper represented the United States under-23 women's national soccer team at the 2013 Four Nations Tournament helping the under-23 team win the championship. She played in the 2014 Six Nations Tournament as a member of the under-23 team and helped lead the team to win the championship for a second time.[2][30]
Dahlkemper received her first call-up to the U.S. Women's National Team in October 2016 for a set of friendlies against Switzerland. On October 19 she earned her first cap, as she came in as a second-half substitute.[31] Due to a sepsis infection contracted at the end of 2016, Dahlkemper was unable to appear for the U.S. WNT until June 2017.[32]
Following her recovery from sepsis, Dahlkemper quickly became a mainstay for the United States in central defense. She played her first 90 for the U.S. WNT against Norway on June 11, 2017. Dahlkemper would start 10 of the final 11 games of the year, accumulating 945 minutes in 2017, which was fifth highest on the team.[33]
In 2019, Dahlkemper was the starting central defender for the national team beside Becky Sauerbrunn at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, marking her first World Cup appearance. Dahlkemper and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher were the only players to start every match of the tournament for the United States, with Dahlkemper playing every minute of the team's seven games aside from coming off in the 82nd minute against Chile in the group stage.[35] Dahlkemper and the United States defeated the Netherlands 2–0 in the final to win the United States' fourth Women's World Cup title.
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