Beata Karin Eleonora Olsson (born 31 January 2001) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Damallsvenskan club AIK. She spent most of her college career with the Florida State Seminoles in the United States, which she helped lead to national championships in 2021 and 2023. She represented Sweden at the youth international level.
.jpg) Olsson with Uppsala in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Beata Karin Eleonora Olsson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 31 January 2001[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Stockholm, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AIK | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021 | Florida Gators | 7 | (8) |
| 2021–2023 | Florida State Seminoles | 66 | (27) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Enköping | 35 | (43) |
| 2018–2021 | Uppsala | 72 | (23) |
| 2024– | AIK | 19 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016–2018 | Sweden U-17 | (10) | |
| 2018 | Sweden U-18 | ||
| 2019–2020 | Sweden U-19 | 15 | (13) |
| Sweden U-23 | |||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 March 2020 | |||
Early career
editEnköping, 2015–2017
editOlsson was born in Stockholm and raised in Enköping.[2][3] She started out with FC Djursholm before joining local Division 2 club Enköping [men]. She made the first team at the age of 14 and scored 43 goals in 35 games between 2015 and 2017, with the last season at Division 1 level.[2]
Uppsala, 2018–2021
editOlsson was signed by IK Uppsala Fotboll ahead of the 2018 Elitettan season. She made her club debut on 10 February 2018 in the first round of the Swedish Cup and scored in the second minute of the match, though Eskilstuna came back to win 2–1. She made her Elitettan (second-division) debut on 15 April as a 71st-minute substitute in a 5–0 win against Böljan. She scored her first Elitettan goal on 24 May to extend the lead in the 15th minute of a 2–0 win against Västerås BK30. She ended her rookie season with two goals in 18 appearances.[2]
Olsson made an impact at Uppsala in the 2019 season, scoring 12 goals in 24 games.[2] In the pivotal last game of the season on 27 October, she scored the last goal in a 3–1 comeback win against Hammarby which secured Uppsala's narrow promotion to the top-division Damallsvenskan for the first time.[4] On 27 June 2020, she scored her first Damallsvenskan goal in the 91st minute of the first game of the 2020 season to defeat Djurgården 3–2.[2][5] She tallied five goals in 21 matches in her first top-division season.[2] After the season, Uppsala was relegated back to the Elitettan.[6] Following her first college season at Florida, Olsson spent the summer with Uppsala and scored four goals in nine games during part of the 2021 season.[2]
College career
editFlorida Gators, 2021
editOlsson spent her first college season with the Florida Gators in spring 2021. She said she chose Florida because it had warmer weather than Sweden.[7] She played well despite the Gators coming second last in the Southeastern Conference, leading her team with seven goals and adding five assists in eight games.[8][9] When head coach Becky Burleigh retired, she transferred to the national powerhouse and rival Florida State Seminoles. She has said she was not fully aware of the rivalry between the schools.[7]
Florida State Seminoles, 2021–2023
editOlsson slotted well into Florida State's free-flowing offensive and was the team's top scorer with 14 goals in 20 games in fall 2021.[8][3] She scored two times in a rout of former team Florida, including one off a bicycle kick that made SportsCenter's top plays.[8][10] She scored her third brace of the season in a 2–2 draw to North Carolina, which helped Florida State place second in the conference before winning the ACC tournament.[11] She scored three goals during the NCAA tournament, including a golden goal to defeat Michigan in the quarterfinals, as the Seminoles won the national championship.[3]
Despite her head coach changing again, with Mark Krikorian replaced by Brian Pensky in 2022, Olsson stayed at Florida State along with most of her teammates, many of whom had like her considered transferring.[7] She started every game and contributed six goals and three assists in her junior year, helping get to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to North Carolina.[3]
After helping Florida State go undefeated to win the ACC regular-season title, Olsson played especially well as a senior in the 2023 postseason.[3][12] She scored the second goal against Pittsburgh in the ACC tournament semifinals and assisted Onyi Echegini for the winning goal against Clemson in the conference final.[3][13] She then recorded a goal or assist in each of the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament. She added one goal and two assists in Florida State's dominant 5–1 performance against Stanford in the championship game, capping an undefeated season with her second national title.[3][14]
Professional career
editAIK, 2024–
editAfter graduating from college, Olsson signed with Damallsvenskan club AIK Fotboll on 6 January 2024 on a one-year contract with an option for an additional year.[2] On 9 March, she scored on her club debut in the first round of the Swedish Cup, equalizing in an eventual 2–1 win over KIF Örebro.[15] AIK struggled during the season before closing the year with seven games unbeaten. Olsson helped steer AIK out of the relegation zone with five league goals in that span and was named Damallsvenskan Player of the Month for October.[16][17] She scored her first top-flight brace in the first half of a 4–0 win over Trelleborg on 2 November.[17][18]
International career
editOlsson played for the Sweden youth national team from the under-17 to under-23 level, scoring 19 goals in 44 appearances.[2] She scored six goals during the 2018 UEFA Under-17 Championship qualification stage and eight goals across the 2019 and 2020 UEFA Under-19 Championship qualification events.[3]
Style of play
editOlsson plays as a striker. She is quick, creative in the box, and a good finisher.[2][10]
Honors
editFlorida State Seminoles
- NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament: 2021, 2023
- ACC women's soccer tournament: 2021, 2022, 2023
Individual
Sources:[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Beata Olsson at FBref.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Beata Olsson klar för AIK Fotboll" [Beata Olsson ready for AIK Football] (in Swedish). AIK Fotboll. 6 January 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Beata Olsson – 2023–24 – Women's Soccer". Florida State. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Grefve, Daniel (27 October 2019). "Uppsala chockade Hammarby – klart för damallsvenskan" [Uppsala shocked Hammarby – through to the top women's league] (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Ahmadu, Samuel (27 June 2020). "Boakye scores, Molthalo sent off as Djurgarden bow to Uppsala". Goal. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "2020 IK Uppsala Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Kassim, Ehsan (2 September 2022). "Florida State soccer: Beata Olsson decided to return after peppering Brian Pensky with questions". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Tisnes, Gabe (10 October 2021). "Sophomore sharpshooter elevates undefeated 'Noles". Florida State University News. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Festo, Alan (18 August 2021). "Tony Amato leads new era for Florida Gators soccer". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b Fernandez, Andre C. (2 September 2021). "Beata Olsson's skill on display in Florida State soccer's win vs. Florida, her former team". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Fernandez, Andre C. (11 November 2021). "Beata Olsson has elevated Florida State's attack during another prolific soccer season". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Joffer, Prince Akeem (31 October 2023). "Florida State Sports Notebook: End of Regular Season Edition". Tomahawk Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Joffer, Prince Akeem (5 November 2023). "No. 1 FSU soccer wins the ACC Championship over No. 7 Clemson". Tomahawk Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Kassim, Ehsan (5 December 2023). "Historically great FSU soccer team dominates great Stanford team in championship". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Beata Olsson at Soccerway
- ^ "Beata Olsson är Månadens Spelare" (in Swedish). Damallsvenskan. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ a b Beata Olsson at FBref.com
- ^ "Important AIK points – and BP secured the contract". Sweden Herald. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
External links
edit- Beata Olsson at FBref.com
- Beata Olsson at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)