Ella Sanchez
Ella Ryan Sanchez Stickel 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 [C.F. C.F. Pachuca (women)|Pachuca (women)|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. 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.Sanchez played youth soccer for Racing Louisville while her father was the director of the Louisville City and Racing academy programs. She was named ECNL All-American in 2021. 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. She played for Racing's USL W League side in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Club career
Sanchez signed her first professional contract with Mexican club Pachuca on July 3, 2023. 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.Sanchez became a regular first-team player for Pachuca in the Clausura of her second season. On March 16, 2025, she scored the only goal of the game against Puebla at Estadio Cuauhtémoc. In May, she appeared as a substitute in both legs of the Clausura final, where Pachuca defeated América to win their first league title.
In December 2025, Sanchez signed with fellow Liga MX Femenil club FC Juárez. She scored a goal in her debut for Juárez in a 3–2 loss to Mazatlán on January 6, 2026.
International career
Sanchez holds United States and Mexican citizenship. She was called into virtual training camp with the United States under-17 team in February 2021. 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. She was invited to train with the combined under-18/under-19 team in April 2023.Sanchez was called into the inaugural training camp of the Mexico under-23 team in March–April 2025. She received her first senior call-up with Mexico in May. She made her international debut for Mexico on June 3, 2025, starting in a 1–0 friendly win against Uruguay.