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Thori Staples Bryan
Personal information
Full name	Thori Yvette Staples Bryan
Birth name	Thori Yvette Staples
Date of birth	April 17, 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth	Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s)	Defender
College career
Years	Team
1992–1995	NC State Wolfpack
Senior career*
Years	Team
1998–2000	Raleigh Wings
1999	Fortuna Hjørring
2001–2003	Bay Area CyberRays
2008	Carolina Railhawks
International career
1993–2003	United States
Medal record
Women's football (soccer)
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thori Yvette Staples Bryan (née Staples; born April 17, 1974) is an American retired soccer defender who previously played for the United States women's national soccer team and the Bay Area CyberRays in the Women's United Soccer Association.

Early life

Bryan grew up in Joppatowne, Maryland and played soccer for the Columbia Crusaders for five years. She won state championships in long jump, 400-meter dash and 800-meter run.^[2]

North Carolina State University

In 1992, her first season with North Carolina State University, she started all 22 games and was named the ACC Rookie of the Year in 1992. During her time at North Carolina, she was a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and All-South Region selection.

Bryan was nominated for the Missouri Athletic Club National Player of the Year award in 1994 and 1995. During her senior year, she started all 22 regular season games while the Wolfpack posted an 18–4–0 record and No. 9 national ranking.^[2]

Playing career

Club

Staples-Bryan played for the San Jose CyberRays in the Women's United Soccer Association, the first professional soccer league in the United States, from 2001 to 2003 and was a key member of the 2001 Founders Cup Championship team.^[3] She was a first round pick and the first American player to be selected in the inaugural draft.^[4]

In 2008, after a more than four-year hiatus after the folding of the WUSA, she returned to play with the Carolina Railhawks in the W-League.^[5]^[6]

International

Bryan made her first appearance for the United States women's national soccer team on March 11, 1993 in a game against Denmark. She would go on to earn 64 caps with the team from 1993 to 2003.^[5]

In 1994, she helped the team win the title at the CONCACAF Qualifying Championship in Montreal and qualify for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Championship and FIFA Women's World Championship in Sweden.

Bryan was a member of the 1995 Women's National Team that placed third at Sweden. She was an alternate on the 1996 Olympic Team.^[2]

In 2003, she was named by national team head coach, April Heinrichs, as one of the 20 players that would travel to China for the Four Nations Tournament.^[7]

Coaching career

Bryan was an assistant coach at Virginia Tech.^[2] She runs the Thori Bryan Soccer Academy in Wake Forest, North Carolina.^[8]

Personal life

Staples Bryan married Kip Bryan in 1998.^[9]

References

^ Markus, Don (July 21, 1995). "Festival matures into major event". The Baltimore Sun. Denver, Colorado. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Thori Bryan profile". Soccer Times. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
^ "Staples-Bryan Back on the Pitch with Carolina Railhawks". North Carolina State University. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
^ Caparaz, Dean (December 21, 2000). "'Rays make Bryan No. 1 American". CNN Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 24, 2001. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Staples-Bryan back in the mix after hiatus". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
^ "NC State Women's Soccer's History of Success". North Carolina State University. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
^ "Thori Bryan Named to US Women's National Team Roster". North Carolina State University. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
^ "Thori Bryan Soccer Academy". Thori Bryan Soccer Academy. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
^ Caparaz, Dean (December 21, 2000). "WUSA: CyberRays make Bryan the No. 1 American". Soccer America. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020. Staples, an alternate for the United States' 1996 Olympic team, played sporadically for the national team until 1998, when she married Kip Bryan.