Neeku Purcell

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Neeku Purcell
Personal information
Full name Neeku Kazemi Purcell
Date of birth (2003-10-07) October 7, 2003 (age 22)
Place of birth Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Seattle Reign
Number 35
Youth career
2016–2022 OL Reign Academy
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 UCLA Bruins 27 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024–2025 Brooklyn FC 17 (0)
2025– Seattle Reign 0 (0)
International career
2018 United States U-16
2019 United States U-17 3 (0)
2019 United States U-18 1 (0)
2022 United States U-20 7 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of May 10, 2025

Neeku Kazemi Purcell (born October 7, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in Seattle, she played college soccer for the UCLA Bruins, winning the 2022 national championship as a backup. After two seasons at UCLA, she began her professional career with Brooklyn FC in 2024. She then signed with the Reign, becoming the first non-loan transfer from the USL Super League to the NWSL. She has represented the United States at the youth level, appearing at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Early life and college career

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Purcell was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, one of two twin sisters born to Elham Kazemi and Mark Purcell. Both of her parents went to UCLA. She attended the Northwest School, where she played basketball and lettered in three seasons.[1] She played club soccer for the OL Reign Academy from its inception in 2016.[2] She was rated by TopDrawerSoccer as the eighth-best player of the 2022 class, part of UCLA's second-ranked recruiting class.[3]

UCLA Bruins

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Purcell made 8 appearances (all off the bench) for the UCLA Bruins in her freshman season in 2022, serving as the understudy to Lauren Brzykcy. She appeared briefly in the first round of the NCAA tournament but was unused in the rest of the competition as UCLA won its second national championship.[1][4] In her sophomore season in 2023, she started all 19 games and kept 11 clean sheets (including 4 combined shutouts). UCLA won the Pac-12 Conference and earned a one seed in the NCAA tournament, where the team was upset by UC Irvine in the first round.[1][5]

Club career

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Brooklyn FC

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Brooklyn FC announced on August 6, 2024, that the club had signed Purcell ahead of the USL Super League's inaugural season.[6] She made her professional debut on September 29, 2024, starting in a 1–0 win against Lexington SC. She eventually won the starting job over Sydney Martinez and saw out the fall series with consecutive clean sheets against Lexington on December 7 and Dallas Trinity on December 14.[7][8] Brooklyn led in the standings at the winter break but proved unable to replicate its form in the spring and ended in sixth place.[9] Purcell finished the season with 4 clean sheets in 17 appearances (16 starts).[10]

Seattle Reign

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On June 3, 2025, hometown club Seattle Reign announced Purcell's signing on a short-term goalkeeper replacement contract.[10] The move was the first-ever non-loan transfer of a player from the USL Super League to the NWSL.[11] On December 8, the Reign announced a one-year contract extension through the following season.[12]

International career

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Purcell was called up to the United States youth national team at the under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-20 levels.[13] She started all four knockout rounds for the United States at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, conceding no goals as they won the tournament.[7] She started the country's second game at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, a 3–0 loss to the Netherlands, as the United States did not make it out of the group stage.[7] She was called up by Emma Hayes into Futures Camp, practicing alongside the senior national team, in January 2025. She was the only USL Super League player called into the camp.[8]

Honors and awards

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UCLA Bruins

United States U-20

References

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