Kyah Simon


Kyah Pam Simon is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for PSV of the Eredivisie Vrouwen. In 2011, Simon became the first Indigenous Australian player to score a goal in a FIFA World Cup.
Simon has played for Sydney FC, Central Coast Mariners, Western Sydney Wanderers, and Melbourne City in the Australian W-League, as well as Boston Breakers and Houston Dash in the American National Women's Soccer League.

Early life

Kyah was born in Blacktown, NSW of Aboriginal-Australian descent. Growing up amongst a family of rugby players in Quakers Hill, New South Wales, near Sydney, Australia, Simon began playing football for the Quakers Hill under-8s and fell in love with the game. As a youth, she played for the Hills Brumbies before moving across to Penrith Nepean United. At age fifteen, she broke her leg just on the verge of earning a scholarship with the NSW Institute of Sport, but that did not deter her from pursuing her dream. She made her national debut for the Australia women's national soccer team the following year at age 16.

Club career

Central Coast Mariners

Kyah made her debut for the Central Coast Mariners against Melbourne Victory on Saturday, 25 October 2008. Kyah then made her scoring debut during Round 3 against Canberra United, scoring a double to assist the Mariners to a 2–1 win away from home.

Sydney FC

Simon joined Sydney FC for the 2009 W-League Season, playing in the first round against former club the Central Coast Mariners.
She was the top scorer in the 2010–11 W-League with 11 goals in 12 games. She also earned Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Players Player of the Year honours.

Boston Breakers

In April 2012, Simon signed with the Boston Breakers for the first and only season of the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite. She finished the season as the team's leading scorer with 12 goals and 26 points. She also ranked second in the league in the same categories. Simon logged 1,052 minutes with the Breakers and finished with two assists.
In 2013, Simon signed as a free agent with the Breakers for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League.

Western Sydney Wanderers

In September 2013, Simon signed with Western Sydney Wanderers.

Return to Sydney FC

After being injured for most of the 2013–14 season and hardly playing, Simon returned to Sydney FC for the 2014 season.

Return to Boston Breakers

On 30 June 2015, after leading the Australia women's national soccer team to a quarter-final of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the Boston Breakers announced the signing of Kyah Simon; returning her to the National Women's Soccer League.
In January 2017, citing a need to "get my mind and body back to 100 percent health and fitness, and be ready for the next season", it was announced that Simon would not return to the Boston Breakers for the 2017 season. The Breakers retain the rights to her contract for the 2017 season.

Melbourne City

On 6 October 2017, Simon returned to Australia, joining Melbourne City.

Houston Dash

After the Breakers folded ahead of the 2018 NWSL season, the NWSL held a dispersal draft to distribute Breakers players across the league. Her rights were selected 6th overall by Houston. On 28 February, the Dash announced they signed Simon to a contract. She made her debut for the Dash on 28 April against the North Carolina Courage in a 2–0 loss. Simon scored her first goal of the season in a 1–1 draw against the Portland Thorns FC on 9 May. Following the 2019 NWSL season, the Dash chose to waive Simon, placing her on the re-entry wire.

International career

Simon made her debut for the Australia women's national soccer team in August 2007, at the age of 16, in a match against Hong Kong. She scored her first goal in a win over Brazil in the 2008 Peace Cup. In 2010, she scored the winning penalty for Australia to win the 2010 Asian Cup.
Simon appeared at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, where she scored both of Australia's goals in a 2–1 win over Norway to ensure qualification for the quarter finals. She was the first male or female Indigenous Australian player to score a goal in a World Cup tournament.
In Canada during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup round of 16 match against higher ranked Brazil, Simon slotted in the winning goal on a rebound after an initial attempt by Lisa De Vanna bounced off the Brazilian goalkeeper Luciana. The Matildas qualified for a historic quarter-final match after the 1–0 win against Brazil, however were knocked out by Japan in the quarterfinal. Simon played each of Australia's 5 matches and scored 3 goals, including both goals in a 2–0 win against Nigeria in group stage.

In popular culture

Television and film

In 2013, Simon was featured in an hour-long episode of ESPN's Aussies Abroad entitled, The Matildas, which profiled four Australian national team players and their experience playing internationally.
Simon was also one of the subjects of a football documentary titled by award winning filmmaker Ashley Morrison. This documentary tells the story of two Aboriginal female footballers and their journey to the World Cup. The other footballer featured in this documentary is Lydia Williams.

Magazines

In June 2011, Simon was on the cover of the Australian FourFourTwo Magazine along with fellow Matilda's Melissa Barbieri, Sam Kerr, Thea Slatyer and Sarah Walsh.

Career statistics

International appearances

International goals

Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
119 June 2008Suwon Sports Complex, Suwon, South Korea1–01–02008 Peace Queen Cup
26 March 2010Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane, Australia3–23–2Friendly
312 May 2011Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford, Australia2–03–0Friendly
420 June 2011Jahnstadion, Göttingen, Germany3–23–2Friendly
56 July 2011BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany1–12–12011 FIFA Women's World Cup
66 July 2011BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany2–12–12011 FIFA Women's World Cup
73 September 2011Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Jinan, China1–05–12012 Olympics qualifying
813 September 2012Carroll Stadium, Indianapolis, United States3–04–0Friendly
920 November 2012Bao'an Stadium, Shenzhen, China3–07–02013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup preliminary round 2
1020 November 2012Bao'an Stadium, Shenzhen, China6–07–02013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup preliminary round 2
1122 November 2011Bao'an Stadium, Shenzhen, China2–04–02013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup preliminary round 2
1219 May 2015Valentine Sports Park, Sydney, Australia3–04–0Friendly
1312 June 2015Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg, Canada1–02–02015 FIFA Women's World Cup
1412 June 2015Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg, Canada2–02–02015 FIFA Women's World Cup
1521 June 2015Moncton Stadium, Moncton, Canada1–01–02015 FIFA Women's World Cup
1629 November 2015Incheon Sungui Stadium, Incheon, South Korea1–01–0Friendly
172 March 2016Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan2–09–02016 Olympics qualifying
182 March 2016Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan4–09–02016 Olympics qualifying
192 March 2016Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan5–09–02016 Olympics qualifying
204 March 2016Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan1–02–02016 Olympics qualifying
219 August 2016Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, Brazil4–06–12016 Summer Olympics
228 March 2017Albufeira Municipal Stadium, Albufeira, Portugal1–01–12017 Algarve Cup
2326 November 2017GMHBA Stadium, Geelong, Australia1–15–1Friendly
2410 April 2018Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan1–08–02018 AFC Women's Asian Cup
2510 February 2020Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown, Sydney, Australia3-06-02020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
2610 February 2020Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown, Sydney, Australia6-06-02020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Honours

Club

;Sydney FC
;Melbourne City
;Australia