Estelle Johnson

Estelle Laura Johnson (born 21 July 1988) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays a defender for NWSL club Sky Blue FC and the Cameroon women's national team. She previously played for the Western New York Flash as well as the Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), Sydney FC of Australia's W-League and Washington Spirit in the NWSL.

Not to be confused with Estelle Johnson (Civil War nurse).

Estelle Johnson
Johnson playing for Washington Spirit in 2016
Personal information
Full name Estelle Laura Johnson
Date of birth (1988-07-21) July 21, 1988
Place of birth Maroua, Cameroon[1][2]
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Sky Blue FC
Number 24
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2009 Kansas Jayhawks 85 (4)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Philadelphia Independence 33 (1)
2011–2012 Sydney FC 11 (1)
2012 New York Fury
2013 Western New York Flash 16 (0)
2015–2018 Washington Spirit 51 (2)
2019– Sky Blue FC 5 (0)
National team‡
2019– Cameroon 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 July 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 June 2019

Early life

Johnson was born in Cameroon to an American father and Malian mother. She moved to multiple countries for her father's job but her family eventually settled in Colorado when she was in elementary school.[3] She grew up in Fort Collins where she was a four-year letterwinner at Rocky Mountain High School.[4] As a freshman, Johnson was named the best defensive player by the team. She earned all-conference first team honors as a freshman, sophomore and junior and was named all-state during her junior and senior years. She was named team MVP as a sophomore and a junior.[5]

Johnson was a member of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Region IV pool. She also captained the club team, Fort Collins Arsenal.

College career

University of Kansas

Johnson attended the University of Kansas where she played for the Jayhawks from 2006–2009. During her freshman season, she appeared in all 19 matches with 18 starts. She ranked fifth on the team with 1445 minutes played and helped the Jayhawks shut out eight opponents and hold 0.98 goals against average. She was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and was selected to the Cal Invitational All-Tournament Team. As a sophomore, she started all 21 matches for a total of 1,883 minutes – third most on the team. She was named Third Team All-Central Region by Soccer Buzz. During her junior season, Johnson started all 23 matches, playing a program-record 2,110 minutes. She was named All-Central Region by Soccer Buzz and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) as well as to the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team and academic all-conference team.[6]

Club career
July 4, 2013; Chicago Red Stars vs Western New York Flash. Playing at midfield, left to right: Leon-16, Zerboni-7, Grings-21, Estelle Johnson-12

Philadelphia Independence

Johnson was selected by the Los Angeles Sol during the 2010 WPS Draft; however, the team folded before the 2011 season and Johnson signed with the Philadelphia Independence as part of the 2010 WPS Dispersal Draft. She made 16 appearances for the club, including 13 starts. Johnson joined the Independence for the 2011 season. She made 15 starts in 17 appearances for a total of 1,403 minutes and scored one goal.[7]

Western New York Flash, 2013–2014

In 2013, Johnson was drafted to the Western New York Flash in the National Women's Soccer League. She was selected during the first round (seventh overall) of the 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft.[8]

Washington Spirit, 2015–2018

Johnson was traded to the Spirit on February 24, 2015 in exchange for defender Toni Pressley.[9] In her first season with the Spirit, she played in all but one game (due to personal commitment), logging 1685 minutes. In 2016, Johnson played in eleven matches, totaling 990 minutes. She has started in 30 of her combined 31 appearances over the two seasons.[10]

Sky Blue FC, 2019–present

In January 2019, Johnson was traded to Sky Blue FC along with teammates DiDi Haracic and Caprice Dydasco for the third overall and 29th picks of the 2019 NWSL College Draft.[11]

International career

Johnson became interested in playing for Cameroon, her country of birth, after watching the team reach the Round of 16 in the 2015 FIFA World Cup. She struggled to work out the details with the team, until coach Alain Djeumfa joined the team in January 2019 and her place on the team was finalized.[3]

Johnson was named to the Indomitable Lionesses' squad on 1 May 2019[12] and made her debut 16 days later against Spain in a 0–4 friendly loss.[13] The same month, she was named to the final roster for Cameroon for the 2019 FIFA World Cup in France.

At the 2019 World Cup, Johnson played every minute in the Lionesses' four matches, spanning three group stage games as well as the team's 0–3 loss to England in the Round of 16.[14]

Honours
Individual

References
  1. "Estelle Johnson : " Ça me fait vraiment du bien de revenir dans mon pays "" (in French). Lion Indomptable. May 16, 2019. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019.
  2. "Set your goals and work hard". February 27, 2018. It is also my dream to wear a US jersey or an African team jersey as my mum Djeneba is from Mali and I was born in Cameroon
  3. "VAN DIEST: American players integrating well with Cameroon's national team". Toronto Sun. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  4. "Estelle Johnson". Kick 442. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  5. "Estelle Johnson". Western New York Flash. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  6. "Estelle Johnson". University of Kansas. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  7. Estelle Johnson at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  8. "NWSL rosters taking shape". ESPN. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  9. "Washington Spirit sign defender Estelle Johnston after acquiring rights in trade with WNY Flash – Washington Spirit". washingtonspirit.com.
  10. "Estelle Johnson – Washington Spirit". washingtonspirit.com.
  11. "Sky Blue FC bolsters roster with addition of Dydasco, Haracic and Johnson". skybluefc.com. January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  12. "Estelle Johnson". Beyond the Lines Media. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  13. "Spain vs. Cameroon - 17 May 2019". Women Soccerway.
  14. "Estelle Johnson". FIFA.com. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  15. "IFFHS WOMAN TEAM - CAF - OF THE DECADE 2011-2020". IFFHS. January 28, 2021.
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