By OkayGoal
For Angel City, it seems to be clicking at the right time: the club hasn’t lost a game since mid-August, and have set themselves up for a real shot at playoff soccer. This late-season surge has been a full team effort, with six players already up to three or more goals on the season.
But it always seems to be one player with her fingerprints all over the stat sheet after each Angel City result: Evelyn Shores. The second-year midfielder is among the NWSL’s league leaders for assists on the season, and has played a massive role in Angel City’s recent success.
For Shores, it was a quick rise to this level of play, and she has now established herself as one of the league’s special young talents.
Georgia Roots
Shores was born in Denver, but grew and made a name for herself in Atlanta, Georgia. At just four years old, she began playing the sport with Tophat SC, the very club she would stay with all the way through high school.
While paving the way for a promising career with Tophat, Shores was also a Westminster Wildcat, playing a few years of soccer in high school with the Atlanta private school. There, she won three straight state championships and was even named an All-American by Just Women’s Sports.
Having hit the soccer scene at such a young age, Shores developed into one of the hottest commodities in the country for university recruiters. This opened up a wealth of possibilities for Shores in her collegiate career, which opened the door to attending one of the best soccer universities in the country.
Battling Adversity at UNC
Shores attended the University of North Carolina, where she would go on to have two seasons filled with highs and lows. Her freshman year was poised to be a massive success: through 13 games, Shores notched four goals and three assists.
However, what was poised to be a remarkable season was cut short due to suffering a torn ACL. Even with missing around a month of the season, she was still named to the ACC All-Freshman team and ACC All-Academic Team. The journey back from the injury was a long one for Shores, but she made it all worth it when she returned late into her sophomore season.
Shores made her return to the pitch in UNC’s regular season finale versus their archrivals in the Duke Blue Devils. She then would go on to play a major role the rest of the way for the Tar Heels en route to UNC’s first NCAA Championship since 2012. After her sophomore season, Shores opted to gain even more experience on the pitch, spending the summer with the North Carolina Courage U-23 team in the USL W-League.
Not Going Anywhere, Anytime Soon
Fast-forward a year later, and Shores was ready for another challenge after finding success both in college and the W-League– that’s when she signed her first professional contract and joined Angel City. And despite just two shortened seasons of collegiate experience, Shores was pro-ready immediately, notching 12 appearances with the club in her first season.
However, 2026 has truly been the year of the Evelyn Shores breakout. She has appeared in all but two games for Angel City, notched three goals, and put up another seven assists, which firmly puts her within the top five assist leaders in the NWSL this season. Whether it was scoring in the season opener versus Chicago, a brace in Louisville or recording two assists against Seattle, Shores has been turning heads the entire season.
Maybe even more importantly, Shores has now firmly entered the fold with the USWNT. She had previously spent extensive time with a few of the youth national teams– but now has officially earned Emma Hayes’ trust and looks to play a role for the team over the course of the next decade. She earned her first call-up in September of this year, and was again in the mix for the recent friendlies versus Spain.
Shores’ rise to the top has been a fast one, as it was just three years ago when she was beginning her long journey back from a torn ACL. But now, between playing a crucial role for a surging Angel City team, or becoming another weapon at the disposal of the USWNT– Evelyn Shores has arrived, and has no plans of going anywhere else anytime soon.
Featured image @evelynshores