Rachel Lowe (soccer)

For other people named Rachel Lowe, see Rachel Lowe (disambiguation).

Rachel Lowe
Rachel Lowe playing for Melbourne Victory, December 2023
Personal information
Full name Rachel Georgia Wehl Lowe[1]
Date of birth (2000-11-19) 19 November 2000 (age 23)
Place of birth Sydney, Australia
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Forward / Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Melbourne Victory
Number 23
Youth career
West Pymble FC
Northern Tigers FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 UCLA Bruins 11 (1)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Western Sydney Wanderers 27 (2)
2020–2023 Sydney FC 47 (9)
2023– Melbourne Victory 23 (12)
International career‡
Australia U20 22 (5)
2018– Australia 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 March 2020

Rachel Georgia Wehl Lowe (born 19 November 2000) is an Australian soccer player who plays as a forward or midfielder for Melbourne Victory in A-League Women and internationally for the Australia national team. She previously played for Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC in Australia and UCLA Bruins in US college soccer. She made her debut for Australia in 2018 against China.

Early life and education

Born in Sydney, Lowe grew up in the Inner West and Northern Sydney. She started her football career with West Pymble FC, playing in a mixed team alongside her twin brother, Edward, before joining Northern Tigers FC in 2011. After three seasons with Tigers, she joined the Football New South Wales Institute (FNSWI) program,[2] where she was coached by notable coaches such as Leah Blayney and Craig Foster. She attended Pymbles Ladies' College. A natural sporting talent, Lowe also played girls cricket at State and National level, and for Gordon District Cricket Club.[3]

College career

Lowe committed to UCLA in 2018[4] and joined the Bruins in 2019.[5] On 23 August 2019, she made her collegiate debut in a 3–0 victory against Iowa State, scoring her first goal in the 58th minute.[6] Lowe chose not to return to the Bruins in 2020.[7]

Club career

From 2016 to 2018, Lowe played for the Football New South Wales Institute (FNSWI) program in the NPL NSW, and scored 19 goals in 42 appearances for the side.[8]

Western Sydney Wanderers (2016–2019)

At age 15, Lowe signed with the Western Sydney Wanderers for the 2016–17 season and made her debut in Round 2 against Sydney FC. She made a total of 9 appearances for the club in her first season. In September 2017, she re-signed with the Wanderers.[9] She finished the 2017–18 season with 1 goal in 8 appearances. In September 2018, Lowe re-signed for a third season with the club.[10] She finished the 2018–19 season with 1 goal in 10 appearances.[citation needed] In June 2019, Lowe left Australia to join American college team UCLA Bruins.[11]

Sydney FC (2020–2023)

In August 2020, Lowe returned to Australia and joined previous club's cross-city rivals Sydney FC.[12]

Melbourne Victory (2023–)

In August 2023, Lowe joined her previous club's rivals Melbourne Victory.[13]

International career

Rachel Lowe during the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship semi-final match vs Japan on 6 November 2019

Lowe was called up to represent Australia at the 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, where she scored in a 5–2 victory against Vietnam, helping her side progress to the semi-finals.[14] She made 5 appearances for Australia U20 at the 2018 AFF Women's Championship, scoring once against Timor-Leste.[15]

In February 2018, Lowe received her first call up to the senior team for the 2018 Algarve Cup in Portugal.[16][17] She made her senior debut on 5 March 2018, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 victory over China.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Rachel Lowe". UCLA Athletics. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  2. ^ Amies, Nick (24 October 2018). "Lowe sets her eyes on France". Northern Suburbs Football Association. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  3. ^ Adno, Carly (26 July 2013). "A sporting chance for girls". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  4. ^ Smith, Ryan; McCarthy, Gabriel; Hong, Joy. "The Rundown: Nov. 21". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Women's Soccer Announces 2019 Freshman Class". UCLA Athletics. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  6. ^ "UCLA Wins Season Opener, 3–0, Over Iowa State". UCLA Athletics. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  7. ^ Subijano, Eric (9 August 2020). "Rachel Lowe: Eyes on the Future". Beyond 90. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Rachel Lowe". SportsTG. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Wanderers re-sign Chloe O'Brien and Rachel Lowe". Western Sydney Wanderers. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Wanderers secure young guns". Western Sydney Wanderers. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Women's Soccer Announces 2019 Freshman Class". UCLA Bruins. 21 June 2019. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Sydney FC Unveil Westfield W-League Squad For 2020/21". Sydney FC. 13 August 2020. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Rachel Lowe". Melbourne Victory. 21 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Lowe key in defeat of Vietnam". Western Sydney Wanderers. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  15. ^ Appleton, Molly (5 July 2018). "Young Matildas share the scoring in a nine goal victory". The Women's Game. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  16. ^ "Rachel Lowe replaces Emily Gielnik in Westfield Matildas' 2018 Algarve Cup squad". Westfield Matildas. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Lowe on a high after late Algarve Cup call-up". Westfield Matildas. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Lowe makes Matildas debut against China". Western Sydney Wanderers. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2019.