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Samantha May Kerr (born 10 September 1993) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for FA Women's Super League club Chelsea, and the Australia women's national team, which she has captained since 2019. Known for her speed, skill, and tenacity, Kerr is widely considered one of the best strikers in the world, and one of Australia's greatest athletes.Kerr is the all-time leading Australian international scorer, and is the all-time leading scorer in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States. She is the only female soccer player to have won the Golden Boot in three different leagues and on three different continents—the W-League (Australia/New Zealand) in 2017–18 and 2018–19, the NWSL (North America) in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and the Women's Super League (Europe) in 2020–21 and 2021–22.Kerr started her career at the age of 15 with Perth Glory where she played from 2008 to 2012, before moving to Sydney FC. In 2013, she joined the Western New York Flash for the inaugural season of the NWSL and helped lead the team to win the NWSL Shield. She later played for Sky Blue FC and the Chicago Red Stars in the same league. In 2019, Kerr indicated her interest to play in Europe, and having fielded multiple offers from clubs such as Olympique Lyonnais, Kerr ultimately signed with Chelsea, so far winning 8 trophies with the club, including back-to-back-to-back Women's Super League titles, as well as helping the team reach the UEFA Women's Champions League final for the first time in 2021.Kerr earned her first senior international cap in 2009 at the age of 15 and has since represented Australia at the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup tournaments, the 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023 FIFA Women's World Cups, and the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. During the 2019 World Cup, she became the first Australian player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup tournament. In 2021, she captained the team to their historic first ever semi-final of a major tournament during the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics, resulting in their best ever 4th-place finish. Early life Kerr was born in East Fremantle, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. She is the daughter of Roxanne (née Regan) and Roger Kerr. Her father, a professional Australian rules football player, was born in Calcutta to an English father (a featherweight boxer) and an Indian mother who played basketball. Her mother also comes from a sporting family: her father Harry and uncle Con Regan were professional footballers in the West Australian Football League and another uncle J. J. Miller was a champion jockey who won the Melbourne Cup in 1966 with Galilee. Kerr played Australian rules football when she was young. Both her father and older brother, Daniel Kerr, were professional Australian rules footballers. She played the sport until switching to association football at the age of 12, mostly due to gender restrictions.Despite facing some struggles transitioning from Australian rules football to association football, at age 13, she was spotted by Perth Glory striker Bobby Despotovski who described her athleticism and raw talent as "exceptional". At age 15, she made her W-League and international debuts. Club career Western Knights, 2006–2008 Kerr first started playing football as a junior at Western Knights in Mosman Park. After three years at the Western Knights, she trialled for the Western Australian State Team before moving to Perth Glory. Perth Glory, 2008–2011 Kerr made her debut for Perth Glory at the age of 15 during the 2009 W-League season. She was voted Players' Player at the 2009 W-League Awards and awarded Goal of the Year for her long–range goal against Sydney FC in round 8. During the 2010–11 season, Kerr started in all 10 matches and scored three goals. She scored a brace in the first half of a match against Adelaide United on 14 January 2011 lifting Perth to a 2–1 victory. Western New York Flash, 2013–2014 In 2013, Kerr signed with the Western New York Flash. She made 19 starts in her 21 appearances for the club and scored six goals. After defeating Sky Blue FC 2–0 in the semi-finals, the Flash lost 2–0 to Portland in the final.Kerr returned to the Flash for the 2014 season. Head coach Aaran Lines said of Kerr, "With her attributes – her speed, athleticism and instincts – if she continues to develop at the rate she is, Sam can become one of the best strikers in the world." Kerr started in all 20 matches and was the team's leading scorer with 9 goals. She was named NWSL Player of the Week for week 9 after recording a brace and assist against Portland. Following the 2014 season, Kerr was traded to Sky Blue FC in exchange for Elizabeth Eddy and a first-round pick—fourth overall—in the 2015 NWSL College Draft. The Flash used that pick to draft Sam Mewis. Return to Perth Glory, 2014–2015 In August 2014, Kerr returned to Perth Glory on a one-year deal as one of six Matildas to sign for Perth. She would open her account in Perth's second match against Adelaide United to give Perth the lead in the second half which they would win. The following match she scored a double in her team's 10–1 rout of Western Sydney Wanderers. After missing out in the next four games, Kerr would go and score eight goals in the final four games of the regular season which included a hat-trick against her former team in Sydney FC.She continued her regular season form in the following season when she scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Melbourne Victory in the opening round of the competition. That would be the only goal that she would score in the season with her leg giving way in a non-contact ankle injury which forced her out for the rest of the season. This wouldn't stop Perth from giving her a one-year contract extension before the start of that season. In the 2016–17 W-League season she scored ten goals, led the team to the Grand Final, and earned the Julie Dolan Medal and the Penny Tanner Media MVP Award. In October 2018, she became the first marquee player of the W-League when she was reportedly offered $400,000 contract to stay in Perth instead of going overseas where she was offered $100,000 less. The marquee signing delivered in the 2018–19 W-League season, when she finished top of the goal scoring charts with 17 goals at above a goal a game. This included a hat-trick in the semi-final against Melbourne Victory which booked Perth's spot into the grand final. Sky Blue FC, 2015–2017 In 2015, Kerr joined Matildas teammate Caitlin Foord at Sky Blue FC following their participation at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. Kerr's six goals in her nine appearances ranked first on the team.During the 2016 season, Kerr made nine appearances for Sky Blue after being away with the national team in preparation for the 2016 Rio Olympics. She scored five goals during the regular season. Kerr was named NWSL Player of the week for Week 18 after scoring two goals: an 80th-minute equaliser against th.... Discover the Alexia Purdy popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Alexia Purdy books.