Lilly Reale

College career

Reale was a four-year starter for the UCLA Bruins, making 83 appearances. She received All-Pac-12 Conference first-team and TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI honors. UCLA went undefeated to win the Pac-12 conference title but were upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In her sophomore season in 2022, Reale was named the Pac-12 Defender of the Year and second-team All-American by United Soccer Coaches. In the 2022 national title game, UCLA went down 2–0 to North Carolina but recovered late to win 3–2 in overtime. Reale played every minute of the NCAA tournament and was named its Most Outstanding Defensive Player. After the season, she was awarded the Honda Sports Award as the best player in college soccer.

Reale led the Bruins to her second Pac-12 championship in her junior season in 2023. She was named first-team All-American and became the only player to win consecutive Pac-12 Defender of the Year awards (and second to win twice overall after Naomi Girma). With the program's move to the Big Ten Conference in her senior season in 2024, Reale helped UCLA win the Big Ten tournament without conceding in three tournament games. She was named the Big Ten Defender of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten, and first-team All-American.

Club career Gotham FC

Gotham FC announced on January 3, 2025, that they had signed Reale to her first professional contract on a three-year deal. Previously a center back in college, she was moved to left back by head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. She made her professional debut on March 15 as a substitute after Mandy Freeman was ejected late on the opening matchday against the Seattle Reign. The following week, she scored an own goal two minutes into her first professional start, a 2–0 defeat to the Orlando Pride. Despite the error, Amorós said she "was outstanding" over the rest of the game. She scored her first professional goal for Gotham on April 13, heading in the third in a 3–1 win over the North Carolina Courage.

Reale played in all 26 league games, starting 21, as Gotham placed eighth in the standings. She had one goal and logged over 1,900 minutes in the regular season, with only Emily Sonnett playing more for the team as a defender.

Reale began her second season with Gotham at the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup. After losing 1–0 to Corinthians in the semifinals, she assisted the opening goal against AS FAR in the 4–0 win for third place at the Emirates Stadium. On March 14, 2026, she made a homecoming to Massachusetts as Gotham began the NWSL season against expansion team Boston Legacy. She played the full match in a 1–0 victory at Gillette Stadium.

Boston Legacy

On June 17, 2026, Reale was traded to the Boston Legacy in exchange for in allocation funds and in intraleague transfer funds, signing a four-year contract with her hometown club through 2029.

International career

Reale was first called into training camp with the United States national under-15 team in 2017. She played international friendly matches for the under-15 and under-16 teams in 2018 and the under-17 team the following year. While in college, Reale started for the under-20s at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, winning the tournament. She competed with the team at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, where they did not advance out of the group stage. She played friendlies for the under-23 team in 2023. She was called up by Emma Hayes into Futures Camp, practicing concurrently with the senior national team, in January 2025. In May 2025, Reale was called up to the under-23 team for two friendlies against Germany, scoring in the first game.

Hayes gave Reale her first senior national team call-up in June 2025. She made her senior debut in the June 26 friendly against the Republic of Ireland, playing the full match and assisting Alyssa Thompson in the 4–0 win. She was named the U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year following her early senior caps and her rookie season with Gotham FC.

Career statistics

International

National Team Year Apps Goals United States202560 2026 3 0 Total 9 0

Honors and awards

UCLA Bruins NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament: 2022 Pac-12 Conference: 2021, 2023 Big Ten women's soccer tournament: 2024

Gotham FC NWSL Championship: 2025 CONCACAF W Champions Cup: 2024–25

United States SheBelieves Cup: 2026

Individual U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year: 2025 NWSL Rookie of the Year: 2025 NWSL Best XI Second Team: 2025 First-team All-American: 2023, 2024 Second-team All-American: 2022 Pac-12 Defender of the Year: 2022, 2023 Big Ten Defender of the Year: 2024 First-team All-Pac-12: 2021, 2022, 2023 First-team All-Big Ten: 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament Most Outstanding Player: 2022