Ran Iwai (岩井蘭, Iwai Ran, born 29 March 2002) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Florida State Seminoles. She won national championships with the Seminoles in 2021 and 2023. She represented Japan internationally at the under-17 level.
 Iwai with Florida State in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 March 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Tokyo, Japan | ||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Florida State Seminoles | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2019 | JFA Academy Fukushima | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020– | Florida State Seminoles | 80 | (4) |
| International career | |||
| Japan U-16 | |||
| 2018 | Japan U-17 | 2 | (0) |
Early life
editIwai was born in Tokyo, the daughter of Ayako and Ayumu Iwai.[1][2] Her father is the head coach of the Japan's men's national flag football team.[1] She has a younger brother, Ray, who plays tackle football at New Mexico.[3] Before taking up association football, Iwai played flag football and won an under-12 national championship in 2013.[1][3] She also ran track at that age and anchored the winning team in a national 4 × 100 meter relay championship.[1]
Iwai joined JFA Academy Fukushima for association football in 2014, where she scored 177 goals over six years.[1][4] She helped win the JFA under-15 national championship in 2016 and youth club championship in 2018.[1] She trained overseas one summer at a camp at Florida State University and was offered a scholarship to play there.[2] She learned English growing up.[3]
College career
editIwai spent her first two years of college playing off the bench for the Florida State Seminoles. She scored one goal in her freshman year in 2020–21, and she appeared in the national championship game, in which the Seminoles lost to Santa Clara in a penalty shoot-out.[1][5] She recorded two goals and two assists as a sophomore in 2021. She made her second start that year in the NCAA tournament semifinals against Rutgers, helping Florida State advance 1–0, before her team won the national title over BYU on penalties.[1][6][7] Iwai started every game as a junior in 2022, forming part of a solid defense that kept 11 clean sheets in 23 games. She scored her only goal of the season to take the lead on LSU in the second round of the NCAA tournament, where Florida State's season ended against North Carolina in the semifinals.[1][8]
Iwai started every game of Florida State's undefeated national championship season as a senior in 2023.[1] In October, she was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Defensive Player of the Week when she contributed three assists in two shutout wins over Louisville and Boston College.[9] She won the ACC tournament for her fourth year in a row that season.[10] She recorded a career-high eight assists and was part of 14 clean sheets in 23 games, including every round but the final of the NCAA tournament, which they won 5–1 over Stanford.[1][11]
International career
editIwai was selected to the Japan youth national team for the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship, where they came in third place.[1] She was designated as captain of the national under-17 team for an international friendly against France, in which she scored the only goal in a 1–0 win.[1] She made the roster for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and appeared as a substitute in a 6–0 victory over South Africa in the group stage.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Ran Iwai". Florida State Seminoles. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ a b "「日本人選手は上位20校を目指すべき」女子サッカー大学王者が語る"プライベートジェットで移動"するアメリカNCAAの魅力" ['Japanese players should aim for the top 20 schools' – Women's college soccer champion talks about the appeal of "traveling by private jet" in the American NCAA]. Real Sports (in Japanese). 20 April 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Williams, Jack (17 November 2023). "Florida State's soccer Ran Iwai's journey from Japan to 'new home' in Tallahassee". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ "生徒／スタッフ紹介" [Student/Staff Introduction] (in Japanese). Japan Football Association. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ "練習にドローン！米国大学女子サッカーと日本の違い 史上初の快挙！ＮＣＡＡ決勝戦で実現した日本人対決を両選手が振り返る" [Drones in practice! The difference between American women's college soccer and Japan. A historic first! Both players look back on the Japanese showdown that took place in the NCAA finals]. targma.jp (in Japanese). 16 June 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ Tisnes, Gabe (5 December 2021). "FSU soccer advances to College Cup final". FSUNews.com. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ Joffer, Prince Akeem (7 December 2021). "Champs! FSU soccer wins 3rd title". Tomahawk Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ Kassim, Ehsan (18 November 2022). "Florida State women's soccer: Seminoles dominate second half to defeat LSU in NCAA second round". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ "Iwai Wins Her First ACC Defensive Player of the Week Award". Florida State Seminoles. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ "Florida State Wins Fourth Consecutive ACC Women's Soccer Title". Atlantic Coast Conference. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ Kassim, Ehsan (4 December 2023). "Game recap: FSU soccer dominates Stanford 5-1 to claim NCAA Women's Soccer Championship". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ "FIFA U-17女子ワールドカップ ウルグアイ 2018". Japan Football Association. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
External links
edit- Ran Iwai at Soccerway.com
