In its over 30 years of existence, no Alabama Women’s Soccer player had been named the Southeastern Conference Forward of the Year. That is, until Riley Mattingly Parker.
Off an incredible season with scoring that shattered program records, the fifth-year captain’s achievements didn’t stop with the honor of SEC Forward of the Year. She also earned the titles of All-American, CSC Academic All-American, Three-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week, and SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year in addition to being named to the prestigious list of players who were Semifinalists for the 2022 MAC Hermann Trophy. With a knack for finishing strong, Mattingly Parker also ended up tied as the Crimson Tides career leader in game-winning goals with 10 to her name.
While it seems nearly impossible to make such a list of achievements sound anymore impressive, Mattingly Parker manages to do just that. In 2021, the Texas native was forced to redshirt her senior season after she tore her ACL.
In about a year’s time, Mattingly Parker went from not being sure if she would ever play soccer again to leading her team to their first ever College Cup Semifinal. Something like that easily shows the determination and dedication that Mattingly Parker clearly possesses.
The world of professional women’s soccer is certainly anything but easy. But I believe that this player’s accomplishments and the trials she’s overcome to get where she is today prove that she is beyond ready to play at the next level.
Whether quantified by the drive that constantly sends her running up the field to disrupt her opponents, the precision that’s lead her to a season of 17 goals, the love of her teammates that had her shagging balls for them through an ACL tear recovery, the selflessness that led to 7 assists, or the cleverness that has her tucking in her jersey to challenge other players to even try and foul her, this SEC Forward of the Year would be an incredible asset to any NWSL team looking for a dynamic forward or attacking minded midfielder.