Anna Jessica Leat (born 26 June 2001) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for English Women's Super League club Aston Villa and the New Zealand women's national team.
 Leat with Aston Villa in 2022 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anna Jessica Leat[1] | ||||||||||
| Date of birth | 26 June 2001 | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Arrowtown, New Zealand[2] | ||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||
Current team | Aston Villa | ||||||||||
| Number | 21 | ||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||
| East Coast Bays | |||||||||||
| Glenfield Rovers | |||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Georgetown Hoyas | 18 | (0) | ||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2021–2022 | West Ham United | 4 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2022– | Aston Villa | 14 | (0) | ||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | New Zealand U17 | 12 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2018 | New Zealand U20 | 7 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2017– | New Zealand | 22[3] | (0) | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 July 2024 | |||||||||||
Personal life
editLeat was born in Arrowtown.[4] She attended Rangitoto College in Auckland and was named the school's Sportswomen of the Year in 2017 and 2018.[5][6][7]
College career
editIn February 2019, Leat started studying at Georgetown University and joined the Georgetown Hoyas as a freshman.[8] she would play 18 games, starting in 16 and only allowing 19 goals, helping the Hoyas to 10 wins.[5] She returned to New Zealand after the coronavirus pandemic began.[9]
Club career
editLeat played for both East Coast Bays and Glenfield Rovers while at high school.[4][10] While playing for East Coast Bays, she became the first female to be named in a Chatham Cup squad in the 2021 edition.[11][12]
On 7 August 2021 it was announced that Leat had signed with West Ham United who play in the FA Women's Super League.[13] On 11 May 2022, West Ham United confirmed that Leat was not offered a new contract and would depart at the end of the season.[14]
On 13 July 2022 Aston Villa announced the signing of Leat for the 2022–23 season.[15] Leat made her Villa debut on 1 October 2022, in a FA Women's League Cup game against Manchester United. After the match ended in a 1–1 draw, Aston Villa won on penalties thanks to four saves by Leat.[16]
International career
editLeat made her senior starting début at 16 years old,[13] in a 5–0 win over Thailand on 28 November 2017.[17][7]
On 25 November 2018, Leat was part of the New Zealand U17 side who became the first New Zealand team in either women's or men's football to qualify for a semi-final at a World Cup. Leat helped the team win its quarter-final against Japan at the U-17 Women's World Cup in Uruguay by saving two penalties and scoring the winning goal.[2] Her final penalty goal won the public vote as the favourite sporting moment at the 2018 Halberg Awards.[18] The team would then lose 0–2 to Spain in the semi-final[19] but win New Zealand's first ever medal at a World Cup by beating Canada in the third place match.[20]
Leat has also played at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Jordan,[21] the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in France,[22][23] the 2019 FFA Cup of Nations,[24] the 2020 Algarve Cup.[25] and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.[26]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played on 18 May 2024.[27]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Others[a] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| West Ham United | 2021–22 | FAWSL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Aston Villa | 2022–23 | FAWSL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | FAWSL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | FAWSL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
- ^ Appearances in FA Women's League Cup
International
edit- As of match played on 31 July 2024.[3]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 2017 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 0 | |
Honours
editNew Zealand U-17
- 3rd place U-17 World Cup: 2018
New Zealand
Individual
References
edit- ^ a b "List of Players – New Zealand" (PDF). FIFA. 24 September 2016. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (25 November 2018). "From karate, to busker, to big game star: Anna Leat saves them and scores them for NZ". Stuff. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Caps 'n' Goals". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ a b "West Ham United bring in New Zealand goalkeeper Anna Leat | West Ham United". West Ham United. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Anna Leat – Women's Soccer". Georgetown University Athletics. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Rattue, Chris (29 December 2018). "Anna Leat: Football Ferns prodigy on her new American life, Andreas Heraf, saving the planet and more". NZ Herald. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Rangitoto College goalkeeper Anna Leat back in Football Ferns". College Sport Media. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Leat Joins Hoya Program in 2019". Georgetown Hoyas. 21 February 2019.
- ^ "West Ham sign New Zealand keeper Leat". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "North Shore's Football Ferns prepare to take on USA". Stuff. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Anna Leat signs with West Ham United Women". East Coast Bays. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ "East Coast Bays v Hibiscus Coast". New Zealand Football. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Football Ferns goalkeeper Anna Leat signs for FA Women's Super League club West Ham". Stuff. 7 August 2021.
- ^ "West Ham United Women confirm player departures". West Ham United. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Anna Leat joins Villa Women!". Aston Villa. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ "Aston Villa 1–1 Man Utd (4–3 on pens)". Aston Villa. October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Football Ferns too good for Thailand". New Zealand Football. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ Anderson, Ian (21 February 2019). "Tom Walsh wins Supreme title at 2018 Halberg awards". Stuff. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
- ^ Rollo, Phillip (28 November 2018). "Game over for New Zealand at Under-17 Women's World Cup with semifinal defeat to Spain". Stuff. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "New Zealand beat Canada to bronze at Fifa Under-17 Women's World Cup". Stuff. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Leat: "Jordan is a must-win"". Oceania Football Confederation. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Classy goal not enough as New Zealand lose under-20 women's World Cup football opener". Stuff. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "U-20s hold France for remarkable result". Oceania Football Confederation. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ Voerman, Andrew (29 April 2019). "Promising Football Ferns keeper Anna Leat has made herself unavailable for World Cup". Stuff. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Football Ferns beaten in semifinal of Algarve Cup by Italy". NZ Herald. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "World champions United States hit Football Ferns for six at Tokyo Olympics". Stuff. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "A. Leat". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 19 October 2021.