Jessica Garziano | |
Birth Date: | 19 March 2001[1] |
Birth Place: | Melville, New York |
Height: | 5 ft 7 in |
Position: | Forward |
Currentclub: | Brooklyn FC |
Clubnumber: | 9 |
Collegeyears1: | 2019–2023 |
College1: | St. John's Red Storm |
Collegecaps1: | 90 |
Collegegoals1: | 22 |
Years1: | 2023–2024 |
Clubs1: | Long Island Rough Riders |
Years2: | 2024– |
Clubs2: | Brooklyn FC |
Caps2: | 6 |
Goals2: | 2 |
Club-Update: | October 12, 2024 |
Jessica Garziano (born March 19, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Brooklyn FC of the USL Super League. She played college soccer for the St. John's Red Storm.
Garziano was raised in the Long Island hamlet of Melville, New York. She attended Half Hollow Hills East and was named to New York all-state teams in 2017 in 2018. She played three seasons of ECNL club soccer for SUSA Academy.[2]
Garziano played five seasons as a midfielder for St. John's Red Storm. She was her team's top assist provider with five in her freshman season in 2019. She ranked third in the Big East Conference with seven goals in twelve games in the spring of 2020–21, earning first-team All-Big East honors. She scored once and added ten assists in the fall of 2021, helping St. John's reach the final of the conference tournament, and converted in a penalty shootout to help reach the third round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. She continued to lead St. John's offense in 2022, with team highs of four goals and five assists.[2]
Garziano's production more than doubled in her final college season in 2023, when she scored ten goals (second in the conference) and added eleven assists (first), contributing directly to almost two-thirds of her team's scoring. She was voted the Big East midfielder of the year, second-team United Soccer Coaches All-American, and first-team All-Big East, her fourth conference selection overall. She left St. John's as the all-time assist leader (34).[2] [3]
Garziano played two seasons for the Long Island Rough Riders of the pre-professional USL W League. She helped lead the team to second place in its division in 2023 and first place in 2024.[4]
After college, Garziano was drafted 44th overall by Angel City FC in the fourth round of the 2024 NWSL Draft but was not signed by the team.[5] She instead signed with USL Super League club Brooklyn FC on June 24, 2024, ahead of the league's inaugural 2024–25 season.[6] On September 8, in Brooklyn's first game, she scored the club's first-ever goal with the help of a penalty in a 1–1 draw at Spokane Zephyr FC. She opened in a 2–0 win over Dallas Trinity FC in Brooklyn's first home match on September 25. For her performance, she was named the league's Player of the Month for September.[7]