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Abi Brighton
Personal information
Full name Abigail Crosby Brighton[1]
Date of birth (2002-03-29) March 29, 2002 (age 23)[2]
Place of birth Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S.
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Juventus
Number 33
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2024 Vanderbilt Commodores 93 (10)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2025– Juventus 12 (0)
International career
2025– United States U–23 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of March 30, 2025

Abigail Crosby Brighton (born March 29, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Serie A Femminile club Juventus. She played college soccer for the Vanderbilt Commodores, earning All-American honors.

Early life and college career

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Brighton was born in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to John and Stephanie Brighton, and raised in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.[2] She has an older brother, James, who played college soccer for Clemson. Brighton attended Heritage Academy in Hilton Head, where she captained the soccer team from 2012 to 2018.[3] She played club soccer for Tormenta FC.[4]

Vanderbilt Commodores

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Brighton was a five-year starter for the Vanderbilt Commodores, scoring 10 goals and making 15 assists in 93 appearances (92 starts). In her freshman season in 2020, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped lead Vanderbilt to their first SEC tournament title since 1994. In the opening round, she scored and assisted in a 4–2 win against Mississippi State (her rocket against Mississippi State made SportsCenter's top 10 plays), and she scored the last goal in a 3–1 victory over Arkansas in the final. Vanderbilt lost to Penn State in their opening game in the NCAA tournament. She finished the season with 3 goals and 2 assists in 16 games and was named to the SEC all-freshman team.[2][5]

Brighton made a career-high five assists in 21 games in her junior season in 2022, including the tying assist in a 1–1 draw against Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament, before making her penalty kick as they advanced in a shootout. In the NCAA tournament, she assisted the only goal in a 1–0 win against Clemson in the first round before losing to Northwestern in the next game. She became team captain of the Commodores in her senior year. She returned for a fifth and final season (granted to college athletes because of the pandemic) in 2024. In her last NCAA tournament, she led Vanderbilt to an upset win against top-seeded defending champions Florida State in the second round, assisting on the second goal in a 3–3 draw and making the winning penalty kick in the ensuing shootout. Vanderbilt lost to Penn State in the next round.[2][6] Described as "arguably the spine of the team" for her facilitating play, Brighton was named to the All-SEC second team in her last two seasons and third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American in her last season.[2][7]

Club career

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Juventus

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Italian club Juventus announced on January 8, 2025, that they had signed Brighton to her first professional contract on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[8] She made her professional debut three days later, substituting for Eva Schatzer in a 3–0 win against Sampdoria.[9] She was a starter in seven of the team's eight championship round league games, helping Juventus secure its sixth Serie A Femminile title.[10][11] On May 17, she started in the final of the 2024–25 Coppa Italia, where Juventus completed the domestic double with a 4–0 win against Roma.[12]

International career

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Brighton was called into United States national under-14 team training camp in 2016 and later invited to virtual camp at the under-20 level in 2021.[13][14] She was called into training camp with the United States under-23 team, practicing alongside the senior national team, in March 2025.[15]

Honors

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Juventus

Vanderbilt Commodores

Individual

  • Third-team All-American: 2024
  • Second-team All-SEC: 2023, 2024
  • SEC all-freshman team: 2020
  • SEC tournament all-tournament team: 2020

References

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  1. ^ "Vanderbilt Commencement Program 2024" (PDF). Vanderbilt University. p. 30. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Abi Brighton". Vanderbilt Commodores. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Hidalgo Bellows, Kate (November 27, 2020). "Hilton Head siblings help carry college soccer teams to conference wins – on the same day". The Island Packet. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  4. ^ Shealer, Sheldon (January 21, 2018). "Recruiting Roundup: January 22–28". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Hays, Graham (October 31, 2024). "Let's Just Play". Vanderbilt Commodores. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  6. ^ Joffer, Prince Akeem (November 23, 2024). "FSU soccer falls in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Vanderbilt". Tomahawk Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  7. ^ Hall, Grace (November 27, 2024). "Soccer: History written in the 2024 season". The Vanderbilt Hustler. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  8. ^ "Abi Brighton joins Juventus Women!". Juventus FC. January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  9. ^ "Bianconere sail past Sampdoria". Juventus FC. January 11, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  10. ^ "Abi Brighton 2024-2025 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Stars Again | Juventus Women are Champions of Italy". Juventus FC. April 18, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Bianconere brush aside Roma to lift Coppa Italia". Juventus FC. May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  13. ^ Shain, Jeff (January 24, 2016). "Storm Academy soccer duo getting national look". The Island Packet. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  14. ^ "U.S. U20 WNT Virtual Camp Roster". United States Soccer Federation. May 20, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  15. ^ "24 Players Called Up for U.S. U-23 Women's National Team Training Camp in Los Angeles". United States Soccer Federation. March 26, 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
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