Maribel Flores

Maribel Flores
Personal information
Full name Maribel Flores Hernández
Date of birth (2005-01-08) January 8, 2005
Place of birth Fullerton, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position Left winger
Team information
Current team
 Braga
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2025 USC Trojans 50 (15)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2026– Braga 0 (0)
International career‡
2022 Mexico U17 10 (9)
2023–2024 Mexico U20 10 (3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals as of September 11, 2024

Maribel Flores Hernández (born January 8, 2005) is a professional soccer player who plays as a left winger for Campeonato Nacional Feminino club Braga. Born in the United States, she is a youth international for Mexico. She played college soccer for the USC Trojans, earning second-team All-American honors in 2025.

Early life

Flores was born and raised in Fullerton, California, the daughter of Edith Lopez and Jesus Flores.[1][2] Her mother played soccer into her twenties, and her father played semi-professionally. Flores was raised by her mother and her grandparents.[3][4] She attended Troy High School.[5]

Flores began playing recreational soccer at around age five, soon scoring prolifically. She played club soccer for Fullerton Rangers, Strikers FC, and eventually Slammers FC, where she featured alongside future USC teammates Simone Jackson and Aaliyah Farmer.[2][3] She led the Slammers to the ECNL under-16 national championship in 2021, being named the ECNL National Player of the Year, and the under-19 national title in 2023.[6] She committed to play college soccer at Stanford when she was a junior, but after head coach Jane Alukonis took over at USC, she changed her commitment to the Trojans.[3][7] She was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the No. 18 recruit of the 2023 class.[1]

College career

Flores led the USC Trojans with 6 goals and had 5 assists in 18 games (13 starts) in her freshman season in 2023. She helped the Trojans place third in the Pac-12 Conference, behind UCLA and Stanford, in what was the conference's final year, and reach the second round of the NCAA tournament. She was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, third-team All-Pac-12, and second-team Freshman Best XI by TopDrawerSoccer.[1][3] She missed the start of her sophomore season while at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup before returning to make 15 appearances off the bench in 2024. USC topped the Big Ten Conference and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, falling to Wake Forest on penalties.[1][8] She started all 17 games and scored 9 goals as a junior in 2025, being named first-team Big Ten, second-team All-American, and the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year.[1] After three seasons at USC, she decided to go professional and give up her remaining year of college eligibility.[9]

Club career

In January 2026, Flores signed her first professional contract with Portuguese club Braga through 2027.[9]

International career

Flores was called into the United States youth national team at the under-17 level in 2021.[10] However, she had promised her grandparents that she would represent Mexico and soon received that opportunity.[4] She had a strong debut tournament with 8 goals and 7 assists at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, including the tying goal in the 2–1 final loss to the United States.[11][12] She started all three games at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, scoring the opener in a 2–1 win against eventual tournament champions Spain, but Mexico failed to get out of the group stage.[11]

Flores helped lead Mexico to victory at the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, starting all five games and scoring three goals during the group stage, before beating the United States 2–1 in the final.[11] She suffered a torn meniscus the following May, but recovered to play in all four games (two starts) at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, helping Mexico finish second in their group before losing 3–2 to the United States in the round of 16.[2][11]

Honors and awards

USC Trojans

Mexico U20

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Maribel Flores". USC Trojans. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Cauich, Edward (October 1, 2024). "Maribel Flores, de USC, agradece a México aprendizaje y experiencia en Mundial Sub-20". Los Angeles Times (in Spanish). Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Hallinan, Jack (March 1, 2024). "From Fullerton to Freshman of the Year: The Maribel Flores journey". Daily Trojan. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Flores: Mexico's goal is to win the World Cup". FIFA. August 26, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  5. ^ Albano, Dan (January 27, 2020). "Orange County girls athlete of the week: Maribel Flores, Troy". The Orange County Register. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  6. ^ Olorunfemi, Victor (June 30, 2023). "ECNL Girls: Slammers Win U19 Championship". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  7. ^ Clark, Travis (October 25, 2021). "SIMA Recruiting Roundup: October 25–31". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  8. ^ "USC Women's Soccer Falls in PK's to Wake Forest". USC Trojans. November 29, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Maribel Flores reforça as Gverreiras". S.C. Braga. January 23, 2026. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  10. ^ "US U17 WNT Camp Roster – October". United States Soccer Federation. October 7, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2025 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  11. ^ a b c d Maribel Flores at Soccerway
  12. ^ Chavez, Michelle (August 31, 2024). "Maribel 'Mary' Flores will represent Mexico at U-20 Women's World Cup". USC Annenberg Media. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
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