Senior forward Chioma Ubogagu of the Stanford women’s soccer team saw her lifelong dream come true last week when she signed a one-year contract with the English club Arsenal. She will head to London at the conclusion of winter quarter to join the team.
“Honestly, it’s God’s bigger picture,” said Ubogagu, who has been a fan of Arsenal her entire life, to Stanford Athletics. “I’m so grateful that, of all teams, that was the team that had a coach who was familiar with the American game and somehow my name got brought up. Now, I’m leaving in a month. It’s crazy.”
Ubogagu was a four-year starter at Stanford and scored 27 goals in her 89 caps. She will also leave the Farm at fourth on the Cardinal’s all-time list for assists with 35. In her senior campaign this last season, she scored 10 goals and notched seven assists as a captain of the team and played a crucial role in the Cardinal’s run to the NCAA Tournament semifinals, where they lost to Florida State.
In total, she was part of three College Cup appearances for the Cardinal, including the 2011 national championship in her freshman season — the first in program history. That season, she scored 10 goals as one of seven Cardinal players to hit double digits in that metric.
Ubogagu will not sign with Sky Blue FC, which drafted her in the fourth round of the 2015 National Women’s Soccer League Draft. Had she signed with Sky Blue, she would have joined fellow Stanford senior Lo’eau LaBonta.
Contact Do-Hyoung Park at dpark027 ‘at’ stanford.edu.