Ella Sanchez

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Sánchez and the second or maternal family name is Stickel.
Ella Sanchez
Sanchez with Mexico in 2025
Personal information
Full name Ella Ryan Sanchez Stickel[1]
Birth name Ella Ryan Sanchez[2]
Date of birth (2005-03-08) 8 March 2005[2]
Place of birth Ohio, U.S.
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 FC Juárez
Number 27
Youth career
–2023 Racing Louisville
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Racing Louisville (USL W) 16 (4)
2023–2025 Pachuca 49 (3)
2026– FC Juárez 1 (1)
International career‡
2022 United States U-17 7 (0)
2025– Mexico 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 January 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 June 2025

Ella Ryan Sanchez Stickel (born 8 March 2005) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Liga MX Femenil club FC Juárez. Born in the United States, she plays for the Mexico national team. She signed with Pachuca out of the Racing Louisville Academy at age 18 in 2023.

Sanchez represented the United States at youth level, appearing at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. In 2025, she changed her allegiance to Mexico and debuted for them at senior level.

Early life

Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Sanchez attended Ballard High School, where she set the school scoring record with 144 goals and 60 assists in three seasons. She was twice named first-team all-state.[3][4] She was named the Kentucky Gatorade Girls Soccer Player of the Year for her junior season when she scored 64 goals and helped the team to the regional tournament semifinals.[4][5]

Sanchez played youth soccer for Racing Louisville while her father was the director of the Louisville City and Racing academy programs.[6][7] She was named ECNL All-American in 2021.[8] On August 21, 2021, she dressed for the Racing first team when they played Bayern Munich in the final of the Women's Cup exhibition tournament.[9][10] She played for Racing's USL W League side in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.[5][11]

Club career

Sanchez signed her first professional contract with Mexican club Pachuca on July 3, 2023.[12] Her first goal in Liga MX Femenil came off the bench against Santos Laguna, scoring the last in a 4–0 win on March 25, 2024.[13]

Sanchez became a regular first-team player for Pachuca in the Clausura (spring portion) of her second season.[14] On March 16, 2025, she scored the only goal of the game against Puebla at Estadio Cuauhtémoc.[15] In May, she appeared as a substitute in both legs of the Clausura final, where Pachuca defeated América to win their first league title.[14][16]

In December 2025, Sanchez signed with fellow Liga MX Femenil club FC Juárez.[17] She scored a goal in her debut for Juárez in a 3–2 loss to Mazatlán on January 6, 2026.[18]

International career

Sanchez holds United States and Mexican citizenship.[1] She was called into virtual training camp with the United States under-17 team in February 2021.[9] The following year, she was selected to the roster for the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in India. She appeared in three games and started in the team's quarterfinal match again Nigeria, where they lost on penalties.[19][20] She was invited to train with the combined under-18/under-19 team in April 2023.[21]

Sanchez was called into the inaugural training camp of the Mexico under-23 team in March–April 2025.[22] She received her first senior call-up with Mexico in May.[23] She made her international debut for Mexico on June 3, 2025, starting in a 1–0 friendly win against Uruguay.[19]

Personal life

Sanchez the second oldest of four children born to Shana (née Stickel) and Mario Sanchez.[9][24] Her father played professional soccer before becoming a soccer coach, and her mother played college soccer at Cal Poly.[25][6] Her older brother, Sebastian, turned professional with Louisville City.[26]

Honors

Pachuca

References

  1. ^ a b "Ficha Jugadora – Ella Ryan Sanchez Stickel". Liga MX Femenil (in Mexican Spanish).
  2. ^ a b "Squad List: FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022" (PDF). FIFA. 4 October 2022. p. 16. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  3. ^ Woodson, Dyuce (28 September 2021). "How the name Sanchez and soccer go hand-in-hand in Louisville". WLKY. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Gatorade 2021–2022: Player of the Year – Girls Soccer – Kentucky". Gatorade. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b Frakes, Jason (22 September 2022). "Ballard's Ella Sanchez selected to US Under-17 Youth National Soccer Team". Courier Journal. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Sanchez family comes together with LouCity, Racing Academy". WHAS-TV. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  7. ^ Saxon, Jonathan (9 March 2021). "Parenting and coaching have shown Mario Sanchez the direct approach is his best approach". Courier Journal. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Girls ECNL announces 2020–21 All Americans". Elite Clubs National League. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  9. ^ a b c Kirven, J.L. (20 June 2024). "'She's absolutely the best player in the state': Meet Ballard midfielder Ella Sanchez". Courier Journal.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ^ "Sanchez marks another 'first' for Racing's academy, making senior team squad". LouCity | Racing Academy. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Trio of set pieces earn Racing a win in its W League opener". Racing Louisville FC. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  12. ^ Club Pachuca Femenil [@tuzasoficial]; (3 July 2023). "She is Ella!". Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Instagram.
  13. ^ Gutiérrez, Paulina (25 March 2024). "Un gran Tuzalto". Once Diario. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Ella Ryan Sanchez Stickel". Flashscore. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  15. ^ Santoy, Hector (16 March 2025). "Tuzas perdonan a Puebla y ganan por la mínima diferencia". El Sol de Hidalgo (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  16. ^ a b "Pachuca beats America on aggregate to capture its first Liga MX Femenil title". Associated Press. 12 May 2025. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  17. ^ "Presentan a Ella Sánchez como nueva futbolista de las Bravas". Tiempo La Noticia Digital (in Spanish). 23 December 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  18. ^ "Cae Bravas ante Mazatlán" (in Spanish). FC Juárez. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  19. ^ a b Ella Sanchez at Soccerway
  20. ^ Clark, Travis (17 October 2022). "USA Wins Group at U17 World Cup". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
    Clark, Travis (21 October 2022). "US U17 WNT World Cup Run Comes to an End". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  21. ^ "U20, U18/19 Rosters Announced for NC Camps". United States Soccer Federation. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  22. ^ Welch, RD (3 May 2025). "Mexico U-23 WNT: Mexico holds its first-ever Under-23 camp — One NWSL pro and five NCAA players called up". Women's Soccer Express. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  23. ^ Cuautle, Omar (16 May 2025). "Charlyn Corral regresa a la Selección Mexicana Femenil para jugar vs Uruguay en Puebla". En Linea Deportiva (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  24. ^ "Mario Sanchez – Head Coach – Men's Soccer". SIU Edwardsville Cougars. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  25. ^ Lane, Tom (12 May 2023). "Racing Louisville academy star, Ballard senior Ella Sanchez will soon decide if to turn pro or play in college". WDRB. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  26. ^ Wilson, Erin (1 October 2022). "Racing Louisville Academy player heads to World Cup". Spectrum News 1 Kentucky. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
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