Laurel Ansbrow


Laurel Marie Ansbrow is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for Boston Legacy FC of the National Women's Soccer League. She played college soccer for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and helped the team to its first [2024 NCAA Division I women's association football|soccer championship game|national title game] appearance in 2024.
IG laurelansbrow

Early life

Ansbrow grew up Cary, North Carolina, the younger of two daughters born to Jane and Mark Ansbrow. She played club soccer for the North Carolina Courage Academy, becoming team captain and earning ECNL all-conference honors twice. She committed to Wake Forest during her junior year at Apex High School, where she was also an all-conference selection.

College career

Ansbrow became a starter for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in her sophomore year in 2022, leading the team in minutes played that season and the following one. In her senior year in 2024, she helped Wake Forest achieve one of its best-ever seasons, playing alongside Zara Chavoshi in central defense. In the regular season, back-to-back shutouts against No. 2 Virginia and No. 1 Stanford made Wake Forest the first team to beat the top two ranked teams consecutively; another win against Florida State ended a 32–game unbeaten streak for the reigning champions. Wake Forest broke its program record from the previous year with only 11 goals allowed in the regular season. In the NCAA tournament, she helped Wake Forest to its first national title game in program history, beating Stanford 1–0 in the semifinals before losing 1–0 to North Carolina in the final. Ansbrow was named the No. 70 player of the 2024 season by TopDrawerSoccer and received the Elite 90 Award for having the highest grade point average at the NCAA College Cup. In three seasons as a starter, she played in 64 games and scored 2 goals.
During college, Ansbrow played for the North Carolina Courage U23 in the USL W League and was named in the Team of the Year after leading the Courage to the national final in 2023.

Club career

Fort Lauderdale United

Fort Lauderdale United announced on January 23, 2025, that the club had signed Ansbrow to her first professional contract through the rest of the USL Super League's inaugural season. She made her professional debut on February 8, playing the entire match and assisting Jasmine Hamid in a 2–2 draw against the Tampa Bay Sun. She appeared on the field for every minute of United's spring games as the club placed fourth in the inaugural standings. The league named Ansbrow to the Team of the Month after both of her first two months. In the playoffs, she played the entirety of two extra-time contests as United won 2–1 against the Carolina Ascent in the semifinals but lost 1–0 to the Tampa Bay Sun in the final.

Boston Legacy

On July 17, 2025, National Women's Soccer League expansion team Boston Legacy announced that the club had signed Ansbrow to a two-and-a-half-year deal with the team option to extend another year. Before the Legacy began play in 2026, she returned to Fort Lauderdale United on loan and played every minute for the club in all but one game over the entire year.

Honors and awards

Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Fort Lauderdale United FC
Individual