The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Soccer’s Cyera Hintzen drafted by the NWSL’s Utah Royals
01.16.2020 | Soccer
Senior forward becomes Texas soccer’s second NWSL pro draftee with fourth round selection (No. 31 overall)
AUSTIN, Texas – On Thursday afternoon, Texas soccer senior forward Cyera Hintzen became the second Longhorns player to be drafted into the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) after being selected by the Utah Royals at No. 31 overall via the fourth selection of the fourth round.
Hintzen will join forces with goalkeeper Abby Smith, UT's other previous NWSL draftee from back in 2016, as part of the pro squad in Utah.
The NWSL is currently a nine-team Division I women's professional soccer league featuring national team players from both Canada and the U.S., international players as well as American domestic players that began play back during the 2013 season. The participating clubs are the Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Portland Thorns FC, Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, Utah Royals FC and the Washington Spirit. Based in Chicago, Ill., the NWSL is supported by the Canadian Soccer Association and the United States Soccer Federation.
During the recently wrapped 2019 campaign, Hintzen battled through an early injury to score five goals and dish four assists to rate third on the squad with 14 points over 17 starts up top. She completed her career on the Forty Acres with 27 goals (tied for fourth in school history), 18 assists (tied for seventh in school history) and 72 points (fourth in school history). A clutch performer throughout her time at UT, the Garland, Texas, native registered three match-winning goals in 2019 (against Gonzaga, at Kansas, TCU) to boost her career total to 12, the fourth-most in Texas program history. Often at her best late in matches, Hintzen scored all three of her 2019 match-winners during the second half. Including the goals to defeat Gonzaga (80:56) and TCU (87:34), she tallied seven career match-winners in the 81st-minute or later. Hintzen also established a new single-match career-high by dishing three assists during the season-opening, 4-3 win over Gonzaga (Aug. 22) on her way to earning an honorable mention nod on Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week.
Hintzen joined Kansas' Addisyn Merrick & Katie McClure as 2020 NWSL draftees from the Big 12 Conference.
