The Greenville Triumph announced Jan. 13 it signed Caroline Conti of Greenville and Carly Thatcher of Greer, pending league and federation approval, to its USL W League inaugural roster.
Both athletes played club and high school soccer in the Upstate.
Caroline Conti, photo providedConti began her soccer career at CESA. While competing in club soccer, she participated in ID2 Olympic Development and ECNL Player Development Programs for the academy.
She served as team captain while playing for JL Mann High School and led her team to back-to-back State Championships in 2017 and 2018.
In addition to joining the Triumph’s women’s team, Conti is a forward at Clemson University. Now in her junior year, Conti has made 66 starts and appeared in 69 matches, totaling 4,472 minutes of action. She has also tallied six goals and six assists this past season, with a shot on goal percentage of .500.
“The addition of Caroline has such a positive impact on the start of our team,” said head coach Julie Carlson. “She brings many characteristics with her. Not only is she a talented player both in skill level and field dynamics, but she’s also very hard working, has great leadership presence and a huge passion for the game.”
Joining Conti on the team is Thatcher, a midfielder with local playing experience from CESA and Riverside High School.
Carly Thatcher. Photo providedThatcher is finishing her freshman year playing for Auburn University, where she has logged 446 minutes this past season with 20 appearances and 17 starts. She was also named SEC Freshman of the Week in September.
“Carly is a crafty, off-the-dribble threat,” said Carlson. “She is also a very hardworking player with lots of energy. She has great tenacity to connect with players around her. She will be another huge asset to the inaugural teams’ success this summer.”
With Conti and Thatcher on the USL W League team, the Triumph anticipates filling more roster slots in the coming weeks.
Drumroll please 🥁…🥁…🥁…🥁
We would like to introduce our first two players of the Greenville Triumph inaugural @USLWLeague team: @carolineconti23 & @thatcher_carly!
Read more: https://t.co/PrBp6Pd3bH pic.twitter.com/K0ig8is1B8
— Greenville Triumph SC (@GVLTriumph) January 13, 2022
