Emily Colton

Emily Margaret Colton (born June 23, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for USL Super League team DC Power FC. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, helping both teams to national title game appearances.

Early life

Colton grew up in Carlsbad, California, the daughter of Jeffery and Debra Colton, and has two sisters. She and her twin sister, Abbie, began playing soccer when they were five years old.

College career North Carolina Tar Heels Colton played three seasons for the North Carolina Tar Heels and started all 67 games for the team, scoring 10 goals and providing 8 assists. In her freshman season in 2021, she led the Tar Heels in scoring with 7 goals in 18 games and named to the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI second team. In her sophomore season in 2022, she helped North Carolina to the finals of both the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. In the national title game, she assisted Avery Patterson's second goal in a loss to UCLA. She started all 24 games and scored 7 goals with 7 assists—both marks tied with or behind only Caiya Hanks and Emily Murphy. Her assist against No. 2–ranked Virginia and her lone goal against No. 1 Stanford made Wake Forest the first team to defeat the top two ranked teams consecutively. She also helped defeat defending national champions Florida State 4–1, ending their 32–game unbeaten streak. She ranked second in the nation in TopDrawerSoccer midseason player rankings. In the NCAA tournament, she helped lead Wake Forest to its first national title game in program history, beating Stanford 1–0 in the semifinals before losing 1–0 to her former team North Carolina in the final. She was named second-team All-ACC, third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American, and second-team TopDrawerSoccer All-American at the end of the season.

Club career USL Super League club DC Power FC announced on January 31, 2025, that the club had signed Colton to her first professional contract on a two-year deal. She made her professional debut on February 23, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–3 draw with the Carolina Ascent. She recorded her first professional assist on April 26, setting up Gianna Gourley in a 1–0 win against Brooklyn FC.

On August 30, 2025, Colton scored her first professional goal for DC, opening a 2–2 draw against the Spokane Zephyr. On January 7, 2026, she signed a one-year contract extension through the following season. She was named to the All-League First Team at the end of the season, having led the league in chances created.

International career

Colton was called into training camps with the United States under-15 team in 2018 and the under-17 team in 2019. With the under-20 team, she won the 2022 Sud Ladies Cup and the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, which qualified the team for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. In the qualifiers, she scored 3 goals and led the United States with 5 assists in 7 games and was named to the all-tournament team.

Honors and awards

North Carolina Tar Heels Atlantic Coast Conference: 2022

United States U-20 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship: 2022 Sud Ladies Cup: 2022

Individual USL Super League All-League First Team: 2025–26 Third-team All-American: 2024 Second-team All-ACC: 2024 ACC all-freshman team: 2021