Maddie Dahlien

College career

Dahlien played in all 26 games, starting 5, and scored 4 goals with 3 assists for the North Carolina Tar Heels as a freshman in 2022, earning a place on the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) all-freshman team. She played in 21 games, making 5 starts, and scored 1 goal with 7 assists as a sophomore in 2023. In the NCAA tournament semifinals, she drew the penalty for the opening goal and scored the third goal in a 3–0 win against Duke. North Carolina won 1–0 against Wake Forest in the final, securing the program's 23rd national title and first since 2012.

Club career

Seattle Reign FC announced on January 8, 2025, that the club had signed Dahlien to her first professional contract on a three-year deal. She made her professional debut with a start in the season-opening 1–1 draw against Gotham FC. On April 18, she scored her first professional goal less than four minutes into the game against the Portland Thorns, which stood as the difference in a 1–0 win. She was the second-youngest player to score in a Cascadia rivalry game after Portland's Olivia Moultrie. Head coach Laura Harvey deployed Dahlien at both left winger and left wingback over the course of the season. She finished her rookie season with 4 goals and 4 assists in 26 games, helping the Reign place fifth in the standings. In the playoffs, she came on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 loss to the Orlando Pride. She was one of three nominees for NWSL Rookie of the Year, losing to Lilly Reale.

Dahlien appeared off the bench in every game at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. In the quarterfinals, trailing Germany 2–0, the United States came back in the last moments of regulation with a goal from Jordynn Dudley and an own goal forced by Ally Sentnor in the 90+8th and 90+9th minutes—the latter off Dahlien's deflected cross; they advanced in a penalty shootout. Following a semifinal defeat to eventual champions North Korea, Dahlien forced a 119th-minute own goal in a 2–1 extra-time win over the Netherlands, helping the United States finish the tournament in third place, its best result since 2012. She was called up by Emma Hayes into Futures Camp, practicing concurrently with the senior national team, in January 2025.

Dahlien was called up to the senior national team for the first time in January 2026. She made her USWNT debut alongside Reign teammate Sally Menti as a 63th-minute substitute in a 6–0 friendly win against Paraguay on January 24.

Career statistics Club

International

National Team Year Apps Goals United States 2026 3 0 Total 3 0

Honors

North Carolina Tar Heels NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament: 2024

United States SheBelieves Cup: 2026

United States U-20 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup bronze medal: 2024

Individual Third-team All-ACC: 2024 ACC all-freshman team: 2022 ACC tournament all-tournament team: 2024