Annie Karich

Annie Karich
Personal information
Full name Annie Lee Karich[1]
Date of birth (2003-10-26) October 26, 2003[1]
Place of birth California, United States
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)
Team information
Current team
 Boston Legacy
Number 6
Youth career
2018–2019 Blues FC
2019–2021 Beach FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Santa Clara Broncos 41 (2)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024–2025 SC Freiburg 33 (0)
2026– Boston Legacy FC 1 (0)
2025 → América (loan) 23 (0)
International career
2019 United States U-17
2022 United States U-20
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of March 14, 2026

Annie Lee Karich (born October 26, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Boston Legacy FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Santa Clara Broncos before starting her professional career with Frauen-Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.

Early life

Karich grew up in Surfside, California, the daughter of parents who played college basketball and college lacrosse at Santa Clara University.[2] She began playing soccer when she was three.[3] She played club soccer for Blues SC and Beach SC, winning the ECNL under-16 national title with the former in 2019.[2] Before her freshman year, she had committed to play college soccer for the Santa Clara Broncos.[4] She attended Mater Dei High School, where she earned Trinity League MVP and first-team All-CIF honors.[2] Before starting college, she trained with hometown NWSL expansion team Angel City FC in the 2022 preseason.[5]

College career

Karich had a strong freshman season with the Santa Clara Broncos in 2022, recording a team-high 8 assists and starting all but one game in 20 appearances.[2] She helped the Broncos win the West Coast Conference (WCC) regular-season championship and was named first-team All-WCC and the WCC Freshman of the Year.[6] She started all 21 games and scored 2 goals with 2 assists as a sophomore in 2023.[2] Leading a team that allowed just three goals in conference play, she was named first-team All-WCC and the WCC Defender of the Year.[7] After two seasons at Santa Clara, she decided to go pro and give up her remaining college eligibility.[8]

Club career

On November 24, 2023, German club SC Freiburg announced that they had signed Karich to her first professional contract and she would arrive after the winter break.[9] She made her professional debut in the first game of the year, starting and playing the full match at center back, in a 2–0 win over RB Leipzig on January 27, 2024.[10] She made a solid defensive partnership with Janina Minge, helping the club to three consecutive clean sheets in February/March,[11] before moving to defensive midfielder toward the end of the season.[12] She made 12 league appearances that season.[12] The following season, she made 21 appearances as SC Freiburg finished fifth in the league.[13]

On July 2, 2025, Boston Legacy announced the signing of Karich as the NWSL expansion team's first player, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with the option for a further year.[14] She was loaned to Liga MX Femenil side Club América through the end of the year before Boston's inaugural season.[15] During her time in Mexico, she made key contributions with the most minutes in the squad as América reached the Apertura playoff final.[16]

International career

Karich began training with the United States under-15 team in 2018.[17] She was a regular part of the under-17 team the following year. She was named to the under-20 squad for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup as an injury replacement for her Santa Clara teammate Sally Menti.[18]

Honors and awards

Santa Clara Broncos

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b "2025/26 Concacaf W Champions Cup Club Roster" (PDF). CONCACAF. August 7, 2025. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Annie Karich". Santa Clara Broncos. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  3. ^ "17-Year-Old Soccer STAR Is On Her Way To USWNT! 👀". Whistle. October 19, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ Shealer, Sheldon (April 16, 2018). "Recruiting Roundup: April 16-22". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  5. ^ Eskilson, J.R. (February 18, 2022). "Local club star trains with Angel City". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  6. ^ "West Coast Conference Announces 2022 Women's Soccer Honors". West Coast Conference. November 9, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  7. ^ "WCC Announces 2023 Women's Soccer Honors". West Coast Conference. November 2, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  8. ^ Clark, Travis (February 26, 2024). "Tracking Pro Signings, Early Departures". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  9. ^ "Freiburg verpflichtet US-Amerikanerin Karich" (in German). Sport1. November 24, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  10. ^ "Frauenfußball-Bundesliga: Erfolgreicher Hinrundenabschluss in Leipzig für den SC Freibrg - Die SC-Frauen dürfen sich über einen 2:0-Auswärtssieg (1:0) bei RB Leipzig freuen". RegioTrends (in German). January 27, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  11. ^ Strepenick, Andreas (March 2, 2024). "Ein Abwehr-Ass aus Kalifornien beim SC Freiburg". Badische Zeitung (in German). Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  12. ^ a b "Annie Karich 2023-2024 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  13. ^ "2024-2025 Freiburg Stats (Frauen-Bundesliga)". FBref.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  14. ^ "Boston Legacy FC welcomes first ever signing Annie Karich". Boston Legacy FC. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  15. ^ "Liga MX Femenil: América confirma a su primer refuerzo". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). July 3, 2025. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  16. ^ "América se despide de Annie Karich tras terminar su préstamo para volver a Estados Unidos". Estadio Deportes (in Spanish). December 7, 2025. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  17. ^ "U15 GNT heads to training camp in Cali". United States Soccer Federation. July 17, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  18. ^ Lewis, Michael (August 11, 2022). "ONE IN, ONE OUT: Karich replaces Menti on U.S. U-20 women's roster". Front Row Soccer.
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