Sydney Leroux

Leroux played collegiate soccer for UCLA from 2008 to 2011, under head coaches Jill Ellis (2008–10) and B. J. Snow (2011). During her freshman season, she started in 18 of the 19 games in which she played. She was the sixth-highest scorer on the team, with five goals and six assists, for a total of 16 points during the season, and was named to the All-Freshman Team in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10). During her second year, she led UCLA in scoring with 48 points (23 goals, two assists) and was a semi-finalist for the Hermann Trophy. Her 23 goals ranked second in the Pac-10 and she tied with her teammate Lauren Cheney for a new single-season record at UCLA. Leroux earned Soccer America MVP second team, Second-team All-Pac-10, and 2009 NCAA All-Tournament Team honors the same year. During the first round of the 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, she tied the school's record for most goals scored in a single match after scoring four during her team's 7–1 victory over Boise State.

During the Bruins' first game of Leroux's junior season in 2010, she scored four goals against Cal Poly Pomona as her team won 7–0. She was subsequently named Pac-10 Player of the Week. Leroux scored the game-winning goal during the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, helping the Bruins defeat the UCF Knights 2–1 and advance to the third round, where they lost to Stanford. As a junior, Leroux ranked fifth in UCLA history for career points (91) as well as fourth in goals (41) and…

2011: Vancouver Whitecaps

Leroux had briefly played for the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2005 at the age of 15, and she returned to the club for the 2011 season. She finished the regular season as the second top goalscorer in the league, with 11 goals in 11 appearances. She scored once as the Whitecaps won 4–3 over Santa Clarita Blue Heat in the Western Conference Final, which saw them advance to the W-League Championship Final Four. Leroux was named to the All-Western Conference team and was named 2011 W-League Rookie of the Year.

2012: WPS Draft and Seattle Sounders Women

Leroux was the number one pick by the Atlanta Beat in the 2012 Women's Professional Soccer Draft, but the league folded before she could play for the team. During the summer of 2012, Leroux signed with the Seattle Sounders Women of the W-League, joining her U.S. national teammates Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Stephanie Cox, and Megan Rapinoe. Sounders head coach Michelle French described Leroux as a powerful attacker and "consummate goal scorer" who "prides herself on her defensive recovery and ability to win the ball back." Due to her national team commitments and preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Leroux made only two regular season appearances for the club, scoring two goals and serving one assist. With the presence of the national team players, the Sounders sold out nine of their ten home matches at the 4,500 capacity Starfire Stadium. Average attendance during the 2012 season for the…

Youth national teams

By virtue of her parents' nationalities, Leroux was eligible to represent either Canada or the United States. Playing for Canada at the age of 14, she was the youngest individual to participate in the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup, held in Thailand. She served as captain of Canada's under-15 team that traveled to Germany in 2005. Leroux received clearance from FIFA to change her allegiance to the United States. In January 2006, she was named to the United States under-16 national team. In 2008 she helped the under-20 national team win the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Santiago, Chile. She scored in the first half of the final against North Korea. She also represented the United States at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and ended her under-20 career as the country's all-time leading scorer in Under-20 Women's World Cup play with 10 goals. At the under-20 level, she is among the country's most capped players with 36 games and is the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. with 30 goals. In 2012, she was named the 2011 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year, playing for both the senior and under-23 national teams.

U.S. senior national team

Leroux played at the 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament as a member of the United States senior national team. In her second cap for the senior side, Leroux scored five goals in a CONCACAF Olympic qualifying match between the U.S. and Guatemala; the final score of the…

Leroux was born on May 7, 1990 in Surrey, British Columbia, to a white Canadian mother, Sandi Leroux, and a Black American father, Ray Chadwick. Her mother played third base for the Canadian national softball team. Her father was a professional baseball player who pitched briefly for the California Angels in 1986. Leroux's parents separated when her mother was three months pregnant with her, and Leroux was raised primarily by her mother. Leroux played baseball for Whalley Little League from 1994 to 2004. Leroux attended Johnston Heights Secondary School in Surrey for two years, where she was the leading scorer on the soccer team. As a track and field athlete, she won Provincials in the 4 × 100 meters relay with her team. Leroux played three seasons of club soccer with Coquitlam City Wild, helping the team to Provincial Cup Championships in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Leroux's prolific goalscoring helped the team win the under-14 national championship in 2003. She secured a bronze medal in helping the team finish third at the under-16 national tournament in 2005. The same year, Leroux played in three matches for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the W-League, recording two assists. At the age of 15, she was the youngest player to ever play for the club. She also won a championship as part of a British Columbia select team at the Canada Games in 2005. At an early age, Leroux knew she wanted to play for the United States women's national soccer team. To pursue her goal, she moved to…