Samantha Kerr is an Australian soccer player who is regarded as one of the best in women’s football. The footballer has been hailed for her incredible dribbling skills as well as her ability to maneuver the ball in a highly mesmerizing manner. As someone who comes from a family of athletes, Kerr has shown, over the years, that she is willing to tow the path of excellence her family has been on.
In the course of her career, Samantha Kerr has played for different clubs and was the all-time leading scorer in both the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States and the Australian W-League. She now plays for the Chelsea Women’s team. Apparently, her story is one worth reading.
Samantha Kerr Biography
It was on the 10th of September 1993 that Samantha Kerr was born in East Freemantle, Perth in Western Australia. Her father is Roger Kerr, an English man, and her mother is Roxanne Kerr, an Indian who also comes from an athletic family. Growing up, Kerr developed a love for sports at an early age.
Even before the age of 10, Kerr had already started playing Australian rules football. This may have been because both her father and older brother, Daniel Kerr, were professional Australian rules footballers Smanatha Kerr continued playing Australian rules football until she turned 12 years old when she switched to soccer due to gender restrictions.
Samantha Kerr’s Soccer Career
Upon her switch to soccer, Kerr joined the Western Knights Soccer Club in the town of Mosman Park. She trained and played there from 2006 to 2008. After three years at the Western Knights, she trialed for the Western Australian State Team before moving to Perth Glory.
At age 15, she made her first appearance with her new team, the Perth Glory Women. Her 3-year stint with the team was successful as it saw her clinch the 2009 W-League (Australia) for Goal of the Year; the goal was long-range against Sydney FC. In the 2010/ 2011 season, Samantha scored 3 goals in 10 matches delivering a victory to Perth Glory with a brace on 14th January 2011 against Adelaide United. She was also voted Players’ Player at the 2009 W-League Awards.
By the 2013 National Women’s Soccer League inaugural season, Kerr had moved to the Western New York Flash. She made a six-goal record in her 21 appearances although her team lost the final match to Portland. She also played in the 2014 season earning the title of week 9 Player of the Week. In the 2016/ 2017 season, the striker bagged both the Penny Tanner Media MVP Award and the Julie Dolan Medal.
In between her stay in Flash, she went on trade to Sky Blue F.C. in 2015. She clinched so many goals but two, in particular, earned her the Week 18 NWSL Player of the Week. Finishing the 2017 season with 17 goals, a record-breaker, ultimately made her the MVP Award and NSWL Golden Boot winner.
Samantha retained the Golden Boot in the 2018 season as she scored a total of 16 goals. She achieved this feat under The Chicago Red Stars to whom she had been traded by the Sky Blue F.C., alongside fellow professional, Nikki Stanton.
On the 13th of November 2019, Chelsea announced that Kerr would be joining the club for the second half of the 2019–20 FA WSL season on a 2.5-year contract Eventually, Kerr made her Chelsea debut against Reading on 5 January 2020[55] and scored her first goal against Arsenal on 19 January. She continues to play for Chelsea at the moment. More so, she has already scored 22 goals in her first 26 appearances for the club by the end of the 2021 season.
Samantha Kerr’s International Career
On the international scene, it is important to note that Samantha Kerr also plays on the Australian senior national team. She made her debut appearance in 2009 February. The next year, she scored her first international goal at the age of 16 during the 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup final against North Korea.
Kerr has played in several competitions for her country. She competed at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. She also competed in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in Canada where she helped her nation reach the quarterfinals for the first time ever before they were defeated by 2011 champions Japan.
In 2017, Samantha Kerr rose to become the top goalscorer at the inaugural Tournament of Nations in the United States. She led Australia to win the tournament and that same year, she was named the 2017 AFC Women’s Footballer of the Year. The footballer also took part in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France where she once again displayed her prowess. She became the first Australian footballer — male or female — to score a hat-trick at a World Cup tournament.
She is currently representing the country at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo Japan. She scored a brace against Great Britain to help Australia clinch the semi-final spot in an epic match that stretched into extra time and ended 4 – 3.
Honors She Has Won Thus Far
Kerr has won several trophies for her country and different clubs and has also set many records and clinched some individual recognitions. Here are some of her achievements:
Sydney FC
- W-League Championship (2013)
Western New York Flash
- NWSL Shield (2013)
Perth Glory
- W-League Premiership (2014)
Chelsea
- FA Women’s Super League: 2019–20,[3] 2020–21[125]
- FA Women’s League Cup: 2019–20,[126] 2020–21[127]
- FA Women’s Community Shield: 2020[128]
Australia
- AFC Women’s Asian Cup (2010)
- AFF U-16 Women’s Championship (2009)
Who Is Samantha Kerr Dating?
Samantha Kerr is openly gay and has revealed she was in love with a fellow footballer, Nikki Stanton. Stanton is an American soccer player who plays for Klepp IL of the Toppserien. Samantha Kerr opened up about her relationship with Stanton in 2019. Unfortunately, the relationship came to an end in July 2021.
Before they parted ways, Kerr shot a short film for her major sponsor Nike where she spoke glowingly about Stanton and later explained that it was the first time she publicly spoke about her lover.
Currently, Sam Kerr is dating U.S. football star Kristie Mewis. The pair became an item after she parted ways with Nikki. Kerr confirmed that they were an item shortly after her breakup in August 2021.
Read Also: Alexi Lalas: 7 Things You Don’t Know About The Polarizing Soccer Star
What Is Her Salary?
The deal that Samantha Kerr signed with Chelsea reportedly fetched her more than $600,000 a season.
Net Worth
Samantha Kerr is apparently a wealthy woman. Apart from the salary she earns at Chelsea, she also has endorsements to boost her yearly income. Kerr signed a $1 million endorsement with Nike signed in 2019. She also has other deals. At the moment, the footballer is reportedly worth $2 million. This figure is expected to rise in the coming years.
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