1. Switch from AFL to Soccer
A keen AFL player in her youth, having grown up in a household of AFL fans and players, a young Sam Kerr was forced to switch sports aged 12 when no avenue existed for girls to play Aussie Rules.
Kerr decided to play soccer, joining the Western Knights in Perth’s western suburb of Mosman Park.
2. W-League Debut
Three years after her AFL swap, Sam Kerr made her W-League debut for the Perth Glory on October 25, 2008 at 15 years 45 days of age. To this day it is an Australian record.
3. First W-League Goal
Kerr’s first W-League goal came on December 7, 2008 in a Perth Glory defeat to the (then) Queensland Roar. She scored the first of her team’s goals three goals in a game that finished 3-5 in favour of the Roar.
4. Matildas Debut
After an impressive first W-League season the 15 year old made her debut for the Matildas on February 7, 2009. She came on as a substitute in the 76th minute friendly against Italy.
5. First W-League Player’s Player of the Year Award
Despite her young age, Kerr won her first Players Player of the Year award in her second W-League season in 2009. She would repeat the achievement of the now defunct prize during the 2014 W-League campaign.
6. First Matildas Goal
Kerr found the back of the net for Australia for the first time on May 21, 2010. Coming on as a substitute in a match against South Korea, her goal came from a ricochet shot.
? #OnThisDay 10 years ago, @samkerr1 scored her first goal for the Westfield Matildas!
The celebrations have tidied up a bit since then… ? pic.twitter.com/UNkvfcVeOd
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) May 21, 2020
7. AFC Women’s Asian Cup winner:
Kerr and her fellow Australians won the 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup on May 30, 2010. This marked the first and only time the Australians won the AFC’s top trophy. They have since finished runners-up to Japan twice.
8. Kerr the World Cup Player
Kerr has featured in the 2011, 2015 & 2019 Women’s World Cups. Her World Cup debut came in 2011 when the then 17 year old was substituted into the first game against Brazil.
Her first World Cup goal did not come until the 2019 WWC, when she scored against Italy in Australia’s opening match. She would go on to score a four goal fiesta two games later against Jamaica.
.@samkerr1 reflects on her record four-goal haul ? Jamaica!
⚽�?⚽�?⚽�?⚽�? pic.twitter.com/WslWhuHM92
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) June 18, 2020
9. W-League Championship
After making a change to Sydney FC ahead of the 2012-13 season, Kerr won her first and only W-League Championship. Her three post-season goals helped secure the title for the Sky Blues.
10. NWSL Debut
After five domestic seasons in Australia Kerr made her first move overseas and signed with the Western New York Flash in the inaugural NWSL 2013 season.
Kerr would spend seven seasons in the NWSL, representing the Flash, Sky Blue FC and the Chicago Red Stars before leaving for the FAWSL.
11. NWSL First Goal
Kerr scored her first NWSL goal in her second ever match on April 20, 2013. The 85th minute goal allowed the Flash to get an equalizer and their first point as a club.
12. NWSL Shield Win
With the help of Kerr’s six goals and five assists, the Flash would go onto win the inaugural NWSL season’s Shield, the equivalent of the W-League Premiership.
13. PFA Women’s Footballer of the Year
Kerr won her first Professional Footballers Australia Women’s Footballer of the Year Award in 2013. It was the first of four wins for the striker, winning it in three consecutive years from from 2017-2019. She remains the only player to have won it more than twice.
14. Kerr the Olympian
Kerr was part of Australia’s 2016 Rio Olympics squad. The campaign saw them progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament, with Kerr scoring once in the tournament against Germany.
She was again part of the latest Matildas Olympic campaign. She scored once against New Zealand and twice against Sweden in the group stage. She then scored another brace against Great Britain in the quarter-finals and once in the bronze medal defeat against the United States.
15. Back-to-Back Julie Dolan Medals
Kerr won her first Julie Dolan Medal after the 2016-17 W-League season. She would go on to claim Australia’s top domestic women’s football player prize again the following season, alongside Clare Polkinghorne.
She is the only player to have won it in back to back years, and one of three players with Polkinghorne and Michelle Heyman to have won it twice.
16. First Matildas Hat-Trick:
Kerr’s first Matildas hat-trick came during the Tournament of Nations in 2017 against:
What’s it like to score your first hat-trick for @TheMatildas? We asked @samkerr1. #GoMatildas #ToN2017 pic.twitter.com/qrWZmIAlGL
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 31, 2017
17. First NWSL Player to Score 4 Goals in One Game
On August 19, 2017, Kerr scored four of Sky Blue FC’s five goal to get a dramatic 5-4 win against the Seattle Reign. In doing so she became the first player to net a double brace in the NWSL.
.@samkerr1 is the first #NWSL player to score 4�?⃣ in one game.
Her 15 goals lead the NWSL.
Dramatic 5-4 win for @SkyBlueFC.
???? pic.twitter.com/QaVF4uNnbD— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 20, 2017
18. W-League All-Time Goalscorer
Kerr is the W-League’s leading goal scorer with a total of 69 goals in her ten W-League campaigns. Her last season in the league, 2018-19, saw her set a W-League season record of 17 goals. This was more than half of the Glory’s goals for the year.
19. NWSL All-Time Goalscorer
Kerr is also the leading goalscorer in the NWSL having found the back of the net 77 times in her seven seasons. This is 27 more goals than the second placed record holder Lynn Williams. With 18 goals in her last NWSL season, she holds the record for most goals in one NWSL season.
20. NWSL Most Valuable Player, Golden Boot Winner & Best XI
Kerr won the NWSL’s Most Valuable Player award in 2017 and 2019, the only player to have won it twice.
She also won the NWSL Golden Boot in back-to-back-to-back years in 2017, 2018 & 2019. She remains the only player to win it more than once.
Kerr was also named to the NWSL Best XI her last three years in the American league.
21. First Australian to be shortlisted for the Ballon D’Or
In 2018 Kerr became the first Australian, man or woman, to be shortlisted for the Ballon D’Or. She would repeat this achievement in 2019, once again being named amongst the best 20 players in the world.
22. FA Women’s Super League Debut:
After several seasons playing in both the US and Australia Kerr swapped the NWSL & W-League for the FA WSL. She signed with Chelsea FC and made her debut on January 5, 2020.
23. First FA WSL Goal:
Kerr scored her first FA WSL goal for Chelsea in their 4-1 win against Arsenal on the 19th of January 2020.
Sam Kerr first goal for Chelsea ? pic.twitter.com/8xYVOBZUdc
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) January 19, 2020
24. FA WSL back-to-back League Cups:
The first English silverware won by Kerr was the FA’s Women’s League Cup, also known as the Continental League Cup. She won her first Cup on February 29, 2020 in a 2-1 victory against Arsenal.
Kerr and Chelsea would repeat their victory on March 14, 2021 of the following year with a 6-0 win against Bristol City. The Australian would score a hat trick in the process.
Sam Kerr runs riot! ?
The Aussie star has recorded a stunning hat-trick as Chelsea claimed the Women’s League Cup final. pic.twitter.com/ohS0pNFEOC
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) March 15, 2021
25. FA Women’s Super League Top-Scorer:
In her first full season in the WSL Kerr would become it’s top scorer, putting in 21 goals for Chelsea in their regular season.
26. FA Women’s Super League back-to-back wins:
While Kerr and Chelsea won the 2019-20 curtailed WSL season on a points per game result, they won the subsequent WSL season outright. The Blues finished their 2020-21 season with just one defeat to their name making their squad and Kerr back-to-back WSL winners.
27. Every single celebration back flip:
It’s a @samkerr1 goal for @TheMatildas.
The header finish marks the first goal against @USWNT for the @NWSL back-to-back Golden Boot Winner.#Open | #MKOT pic.twitter.com/vt07XTmvea
— Chicago Red Stars (@chicagoredstars) April 5, 2019
Copyright ©The Women’s Game All rights reserved.