Julie Johnston’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Julie Beth Johnston (born April 6, 1992) is an American soccer player and FIFA Women’s World Cup champion. She is currently a defender for the United States women’s national soccer team as well as the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women’s Soccer League, the highest division of women’s professional soccer in the United States. She first appeared for the United States national team during an international friendly against Scotland on February 9, 2013. She has since made 45 total appearances for the team and scored eight goals.
Johnston has represented the United States at one FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament in 2015. At 23, she was the second youngest member of the team behind 22-year-old Morgan Brian. In the 59th minute of the team’s semifinal match against Germany on June 30, Johnston pulled down Germany’s Alexandra Popp inside the penalty box and was given a yellow card. Celia Sasic of Germany took the subsequent penalty kick but missed the net. The United States went on to win the match 2–0 to advance to the World Cup final. Johnston played every minute of all seven games of the World Cup and was subsequently named to the FIFA Women’s World Cup All-Star Team.
Johnston played collegiate soccer with the Santa Clara University Broncos from 2010 to 2013. Following her collegiate career, Johnston was selected third overall by the Chicago Red Stars in the 2014 NWSL College Draft that took place on January 17, 2014. She is currently in her third season with the Red Stars.

Early life

Born in Mesa, Arizona to Kristi and David Johnston, Julie was raised with her older sister Melanie. Johnston played club soccer for Arizona Arsenal Soccer Club, formally Gilbert Soccer Club, from 2000 to 2004 on the U-9 through U-12 teams. In need of a more challenging environment, Johnston switched to play for Sereno Soccer Club in Phoenix. Regarding her switch to the team, Johnston stated that “it ended up being the best decision [she’s] ever made.” Sereno was a nationally known club with alumni that have gone on to play in college, on professional teams, and for national teams. Johnston played with the team from 2004 to 2010 on the U-13 through U-19 teams. She won the state title nine times during her time there and was captain of the team.

Johnston attended Dobson High School in Mesa from 2006 to 2010, where she volunteered as a student athletic trainer all four years. She never played for the soccer team at the school, instead opting to devote her time to playing for Sereno. While at Dobson, Johnston was a member of the National Honor Society.

Santa Clara Broncos, 2010–2013

Johnston attended Santa Clara University where she majored in communications and played as a midfielder for the Broncos women’s soccer team. In 2010, as a college freshman, she played in 20 games, starting 16 and accumulating 1,519 minutes of playing time. At the end of the season, she led the team in assists with five and recorded the third-most shots on the team with 31. She was named WCC Freshman of the Year and received NSCAA All-West Region Second-Team, Soccer America All-Freshman First-Team, All-WCC Second-Team, and WCC All-Freshman team honors. As a sophomore, Johnston started all 21 games and led the Broncos with nine goals and four assists. She scored four game-winning goals in matches against Cal Poly, WSU, Cal and Nevada. She was a MAC Hermann Trophy semi-finalist and was named to the NSCAA All-American First-Team as well as the All-WCC First-Team. In her junior year, Johnston started 15 of the 16 games she played and led the Broncos with eight goals and was second on the team with five assists. She scored three game-winning goals and recorded an assist in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament in a match against Long Beach State. She was subsequently named to the All-WAC First Team and NCAA Division I Women All-West Region First Team. She was a MAC Hermann Trophy semi-finalist and was named U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year. In 2013, Johnston played in 22 games and led the team with eight assists and four game-winning goals. She made a total of 12 goals in the season and recorded an assist in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament in a match against University of California at Berkeley. At the end of the season, she was named to the NSCAA All-American First Team, NSCAA All-West Region First Team, All-WCC First Team and College Sports Madness All-WAC First Team. She was also named WCC Player of the Year and College Sports Madness WCC Player of the Year.

Club career

Chicago Red Stars, 2014–

On January 17, 2014, Johnston was selected third overall in the first round of the 2014 NWSL College Draft by the Chicago Red Stars. Johnston subsequently signed with the team for the 2014 season. She made her first appearance for the team on April 19, 2014 in a match against the Western New York Flash. She scored the only goal of the match in the 59th minute. In the 2014 season, Johnston started in 21 matches and scored two goals. The Red Stars finished fifth in the regular season with a 9–7–8 record and did not advance to the playoffs. Johnston was named NWSL Rookie of the Year following the 2014 season.

In 2015, Johnston missed almost half of the NWSL season due to commitments with the United States women’s national team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada. She returned to the Red Stars on July 22 during a match against the Boston Breakers, which ended in 2–1 victory for the Red Stars. She made 11 appearances for the Red Stars during the 2015 season, playing 990 minutes. The Red Stars finished second in the regular season with a 8–3–9 record and advanced to the playoffs. The Red Stars faced FC Kansas City in the semifinals of the playoffs on September 13. Johnston started in the match, which ended in a 0-3 defeat for the Red Stars and they were eliminated from the playoffs. Following the 2015 season, Johnston was named to the NWSL Best XI.

Johnston made seven appearance for the Red Stars in the 2016 season before joining the national team in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

International

Youth national teams

In 2006, Johnston attended the United States U-14 National Identification Camp. In 2009, Johnston was called into a U-18 national team training camp from May 30 to June 7 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

In 2012, Johnston competed in international under-20 youth soccer and scored a goal against Switzerland at the La Manga Tournament in Spain. Heading into the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, she had 13 caps and four goals for the U-20 team. Johnston captained the United States team to the Japan 2012 U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup; winning the 2012 CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship along the way. She played in three games in the qualifying tournament and scored three goals, including one in the 4–0 semifinal victory over Mexico that sent the USA to Japan. In Japan, Johnston captained her team to win the FIFA under-20 world cup, and won the Bronze Ball award herself.

In 2013, Johnston played for the U-23 team in the Four Nations Tournament in La Manga, Spain. The team won the tournament, beating England in the final on March 7.

Senior national team

First caps

Johnston was first called up to the national team in January 2013, when she was on the 29-player roster for a training camp leading up to two matches against Scotland in early February. Johnston made her first appearance for the national team in their first match of the year on February 9, 2013 against Scotland. She came in for Becky Sauerbrunn in the 83rd minute to help the United States win the match 4–1.

Johnston traveled to Europe with the national team for matches against Germany and the Netherlands in early April. On April 9, Johnston started in the midfield in the match against the Netherlands. Johnston scored in the 73rd minute but the referee ruled that she was offside and the goal was called back. The United States won the match, 3–1. In late May, Johnston was named to the 21-player roster that traveled to Canada to train in preparation for a match against Canada on June 2. She did not appear in the match.

Johnston started off 2014 at a national team training camp from January 8 to 15 at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Carson, California. Johnston was not named to the roster for the 2014 Algarve Cup in March. In late April, Johnston was named to a 22-player roster for a match against Canada on May 8. She was then named to the roster for two games against France on June 14 and 19. Johnston was named to a 19-player roster for a match against Switzerland on August 20 in Sandy, Utah. Johnston came in for Sauerbrunn in the second half and the United States went on the win 4–1.

Johnston joined the national team for a training camp at the end of August in order to prepare for two matches against Mexico in September as well as the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Qualifying tournament in October. Initially, she was not named to the roster for the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship that served as a qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. However, one day before the team’s first match of the tournament, Johnston replaced an injured Crystal Dunn on the roster. The United States qualified for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup after a semifinal win against Mexico on October 24. Following the CONCACAF Qualifying tournament, Johnston was named to the 24-player roster for the International Tournament of Brasília in Brazil that took place from December 10 to 21. Johnston made one appearance in the opening game of the tournament on December 10 against China, which resulted in a 1–1 draw. The final game against Brazil was a 0-0 draw, but the tournament title was given to Brazil, who had more points from the group stage.

2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Johnston started off 2015 at a 21-day training camp in 2015 from January 5 to 25 at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California. Following the training camp, Johnston was named to the 24–player team that would travel on a 13–day trip to Europe for matches against France and England in mid-February. On February 21, Johnston was named to the 25-player roster for the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal. She started three matches of the tournament, including in the final against France on March 11. During the game, Johnston scored her first international goal in the 7th minute to help the United States defeat France 2–0.

On April 14, 2015, Johnston was named to the 23-player roster that would represent the United States at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was one of the five United States players that played every minute in all seven matches for the United States during the World Cup. In the 59th minute of the team’s semifinal match against Germany on June 30, Johnston pulled down Germany’s Alexandra Popp inside the penalty box and was given a yellow card. Celia Sasic of Germany took the subsequent penalty kick but missed the net. The United States went on to win the match 2–0 to advance to the World Cup final. In the final, the United States faced Japan on July 5. In the 52nd minute, Johnston attempted to block a free kick but instead scored an own goal. However, the United States still went on to win the match and the World Cup title. Following the tournament, Johnston was named to the FIFA Women’s World Cup All-Star Team. Johnston joined the national team on a Victory Tour following their World Cup win that started in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 16 and ended in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 16.

2016 Summer Olympics

Johnston joined the national team for their first training camp of the year at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California from January 5 to January 21. She was then named to the 20-player roster for 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament. The United States qualified to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after a semifinal win against Trinidad and Tobago on February 19. The United States won the tournament after defeating Canada 2-0 on February 21.

Johnston was named to the roster for the 2016 SheBelieves Cup that took place from March 3 to 9. She came in for Alex Morgan in the 80th minute of the team’s opening match of the tournament on March 3 against England. She also made appearances in other two matches of the tournament, helping the United States win the 2016 SheBelieves Cup with a 2-1 win over Germany in their final game.

Johnston joined a 23-player roster for a training camp ahead of two matches against Colombia in early April. In the second match on April 10, Johnston played all 90 minutes and scored two goals to help the United States defeat Colombia 3-0. Johnston was on the roster for another two-game series against Japan in early June. She started in both games and scored a goal in the 27th minute of the second match on June 5.

On July 12, 2016, Johnston was named to the 18-player team that would represent the United States at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Johnston made her Olympic debut on August 3 in the team’s opening match against New Zealand, a 2-0 victory. She did not appear in the team’s second group match on August 6 due to a sore groin.

Player statistics

World Cup and Olympic appearances

International goals

Personal life

Johnston’s fiancé is Zach Ertz, a tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League. The two met while in college, at a Stanford baseball game. On February 26, 2016 Johnston and Ertz got engaged at the same baseball stadium where they met.

In popular culture

Video games

Johnston was featured along with her national teammates in the EA Sports’ FIFA video game series in FIFA 16, the first time women players were included in the game.

Ticker Tape Parade and White House honor

Following the United States’ win at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Johnston and her teammates became the first women’s sports team to be honored with a Ticker Tape Parade in New York City. Each player received a key to the city from Mayor Bill de Blasio. In October of the same year, the team was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House.

Honors and awards

Individual

College

• WCC Freshman of the Year: 2010
• NSCAA All-West Region Second Team: 2010
• Soccer America All-Freshman First Team: 2010
• All-WCC Second Team: 2010
• WCC All-Freshman Team: 2010
• MAC Hermann Trophy Semi-Finalist: 2011, 2012
• NSCAA All-American First Team: 2011, 2013
• All-WCC First Team: 2011, 2012, 2013
• Preseason All-WCC: 2011
• Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Year: 2012
• NCAA Division I Women All-West Region First Team: 2012
• NSCAA All-West Region First Team: 2013
• WCC Player of the Year: 2013
• College Sports Madness WCC Player of the Year: 2013
• College Sports Madness All-WCC First Team: 2013

Club

• NWSL Rookie of the Year: 2014
• NWSL Best XI: 2015

International

• U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year: 2012

Team

• CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship: 2012
• FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: 2012
• Four Nations Tournament: 2013
• CONCACAF Women’s Championship: 2014
• Algarve Cup: 2015
• FIFA Women’s World Cup: 2015
• 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying: 2016
• SheBelieves Cup: 2016

• ^