Penelope Elizabeth Hocking (born December 29, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women's Soccer League.[2]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Penelope Elizabeth Hocking[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | December 29, 1999||
Place of birth | Anaheim, California, United States | ||
Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Chicago Red Stars | ||
Number | 55 | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2018–2021 | USC Trojans | 72 | (54) |
2022 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 23 | (7) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2023– | Chicago Red Stars | 17 | (3) |
International career‡ | |||
2018 | United States U20 | ||
2022 | United States U23 | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of March 16, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of April 15, 2023 |
Hocking grew up in Anaheim, California, and played high school soccer for Canyon High School.[3][4][5]
Hocking played NCAA Division I women's soccer for the USC Trojans from 2018 to 2021, and for the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2022.
Hocking set a USC Trojans women's soccer record for career goals scored on October 7, 2021, with her 49th, surpassing the previous record held by Isabelle Harvey since 2000.[6] She finished her career with the Trojans with 54 goals scored, at the time the 12th most in Pac-12 history,[7][8] in her 72 career games played.[9]
In 2022, Hocking transferred to Penn State to play her extra year of NCAA eligibility granted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10] She scored seven goals, and her 11 assists tied for the Big Ten Conference lead for the season.[7][10]
National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Chicago Red Stars selected Hocking with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft.[10][11]
On March 20, 2023, Hocking signed a three-year contract with the Red Stars, with an option for a fourth year.[12]
On March 25, 2023, Hocking made her debut for the Red Stars in a 2–3 loss against San Diego Wave FC as a starter.[13] On April 15, in her third start and appearance, Hocking scored her first professional goals as a brace against Kansas City Current in a 4–2 victory.[14]
Hocking played for the United States women's national under-20 soccer team and competed in the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[4][15] She was also named to the under-23 roster for training camp in January 2022 and also for the 2022 Thorns Spring Invitational pre-season tournament against NWSL teams in March 2022.[16]
Hocking's parents are former Cypress College basketball player Venetta Dorlis and former Major League Baseball player Denny Hocking. Her paternal grandmother was a youth soccer coach.[4] Hocking has a fraternal twin sister, Iliana, and they were the first twins born to a member of the Minnesota Twins.[17][18] Penelope and Iliana played together at Canyon High School.[5]
Penelope and Iliana were the first sisters selected in the same NWSL Draft. Iliana played collegiate soccer as a midfielder for the Arizona Wildcats, a Pac-12 rival of USC that pitted the sisters against each other.[19] Iliana was drafted by NJ/NY Gotham FC with the 44th overall pick.[20]
At the University of Southern California, Hocking majored in computer science.[21]
Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Playoffs[b] | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Chicago Red Stars | 2023 | NWSL | 16 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | 19 | 5 | |
2024 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
Career total | 17 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
Penn State Nittany Lions
Individual