Natalie Jacobs
Natalie Ann Jacobs is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for the North Carolina Courage of the National [Women's Soccer League]. She played college soccer for the Notre Dame [Fighting Irish women's soccer|Notre Dame Fighting Irish] and the USC Trojans and was drafted by the Washington Spirit in the second round of the 2020 NWSL College Draft. She has also played for the Houston Dash and Liga F club Real Betis.
Early life
Jacobs grew up in Coto de Caza, California. She is the daughter of Jeff and Teresa Jacobs. Her father captained the U.S. [Air Force Academy] soccer team. Jacobs was a 2013 and 2014 NSCAA Youth All-American. She played club soccer for Slammers FC and graduated from Tesoro High School in 2015.College career
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Jacobs played for Notre Dame 2015–2017. In her freshman season, she played in 20 games and made 15 starts for the Irish. Jacobs scored five goals and notched five assists, including a game-winning assist to beat No. 1 ranked Virginia. She was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team and to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Freshman Best XI Second Team. She sat out the 2016 season to play in the 2016 FIFA U-20 [Women's World Cup|U-20 World Cup] with the United States. In 2017, as a redshirt sophomore, she led the Irish in goals, scoring 13 goals and 7 assists. Jacobs also played a team-high of 1,745 minutes, appearing in 22 games for the Irish. She led the ACC in conference goals and was named to the all-ACC second team.USC Trojans
Jacobs transferred to the University of Southern California in 2018.At USC, Jacobs scored 9 goals and 11 assists in 2018–2019. https://usctrojans.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/natalie-jacobs/10539
As a redshirt junior, she played in all 22 games, making 17 starts for the Trojans. She scored 5 goals and made 2 assists, including a goal in each of her first two games. In her final season, she played in all 23 games and made 21 starts for the Trojans. She scored four goals and led the team with nine assists. The Trojans advanced the quarterfinals of the 2019 [NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament|NCAA quarterfinals] where Jacobs scored against the University of North Carolina but ultimately the Tar Heels defeated the Trojans 3–2.