ASU Soccer: Nicole Douglas drafted in third round by Washington Spirit

Jan 13, 2023 - 1:47 AM

Arizona State’s all-time leading scorer Nicole Douglas was selected in the third round (26th overall) by the Washington Spirit in the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League Draft.

One of the greatest players in program history, Douglas’s name is stamped all over the Sun Devil soccer record book. In 2022, she broke Stacey Tullock’s 21-year record of 50 goals as a Sun Devil. Douglas finished her collegiate career with 60, including a program record 18 game-winners.

She also topped Tullock’s record for career points, tallying 140 (60 goals and 20 assists) over her five seasons in Tempe.

Douglas also holds the single-game record for goals, becoming the first Devil to score four goals in a single game in ASU’s 5-1 win over Oregon in October.

Last month, she became the first Sun Devil to become a two-time All-American, as she was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America second-team. In 2021, she earned third-team honors, becoming the first ASU All-American since 2002.

Douglas helped lead the Sun Devils back to the NCAA tournament twice, in 2020 (played in spring 2021) and 2022.

In 2020, the Sun Devils took ninth-ranked Duke to extra time in the second round, but fell just short of the Sweet 16, losing 2-1.

Prior to coming to Tempe, Douglas grew up in London, England, where she played with the Chelsea Ladies Football Club and made appearances on the international stage with the English youth national team.

She chose to come to Tempe in 2018 over offers from schools in the SEC, Big 12, and a professional contract offer from Chelsea. She was drawn to ASU because of the chance to play in the Pac-12, one of the premier conferences in NCAA women’s soccer.

The Spirit struggled in 2022 but were crowned NWSL champions in 2021 with a 2-1 extra-time win over the Chicago Red Stars.

The NWSL regular season kicks off on Saturday, Mar. 25.