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Bella Sember

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Bella Sember
Sember with North Carolina Courage U23 in 2024
Personal information
Full name Bella Victoria Sember[1]
Date of birth (2003-09-10) September 10, 2003 (age 22)
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
KIF Örebro
Number 18
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2024 North Carolina Tar Heels 82 (13)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Downtown United Soccer Club (11)
2023 Long Island Rough Riders 6 (7)
2024 North Carolina Courage U23 5 (3)
2025– KIF Örebro 25 (13)
International career
2019 United States U-17
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of November 8, 2025

Bella Victoria Sember (born September 10, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Elitettan club KIF Örebro. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels, winning the 2024 national championship.

Early life

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Sember grew up in Centerport, New York, the oldest of four children born to Dana Porciello and Paul Sember. She attended Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York. She played club soccer for New York City FC's academy.[1] She also played futsal and was called into the futsal youth national team in 2015, 2023 and 2024.[2] She committed to the University of North Carolina as a freshman.[3]

College career

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Sember scored 2 goals in 32 appearances off the bench during her first two seasons with the North Carolina Tar Heels. She was an unused substitute as a sophomore in the 2022 national title game, where North Carolina lost to UCLA. In her junior season in 2023, she appeared in all 23 games (1 start) and scored 3 goals with 1 assist. She scored two goals during the NCAA tournament, including the lone goal against Texas Tech in the third round, as North Carolina reached the quarterfinals.[1]

Sember played a bigger role in her senior season in 2024, becoming one of the team's captains after only 12 players returned to the team.[4][5] She appeared in all 27 games (23 starts) and scored a team-third-high 8 goals (half of them penalties) with 4 assists. In the NCAA tournament, she opened scoring with a penalty against USC Upstate in the first round. She started the first four games of the tournament, before seeing limited minutes in the semifinal and final, as North Carolina won their 23rd national title and first since 2012.[1][6]

While in college, Sember played during the summer with the WPSL's Downtown United Soccer Club in 2021 and 2022, the USL W League's Long Island Rough Riders in 2023, and the USL W League champion North Carolina Courage U23 in 2024.[7] She also helped the US Women–sponsored team win the Soccer Tournament 2024, scoring in the final and several games leading up to the final.[8]

Club career

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On January 4, 2025, newly relegated Elitettan club KIF Örebro announced that they had signed Sember to her first professional contract on a one-year deal.[9] KIF Örebro's sporting director said she possessed Damallsvenskan quality and could have signed in the top flight.[10] She made her professional debut on March 1, starting and playing the entire match in a 1–1 draw with Norrköping in the Swedish Cup group stage.[11] On April 19, she scored her first professional goal in a 2–1 loss to Trelleborg in her home league debut.[11] On October 11, she netted her tenth goal of the season in a 3–2 win over city rivals Örebro SK.[11] Before the game, she said she was "a little surprised" to have scored so many good goals.[12] She scored again in the following game against Mallbacken as KIF Örebro extended their league unbeaten run to 17 games.[13]

International career

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Sember trained with the United States youth national team at the under-14, under-15, and under-17 levels from 2016 to 2020, scoring for the under-17 team against the Republic of Ireland at the UEFA Development Tournament in 2019.[14][15]

Honors and awards

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North Carolina Tar Heels

North Carolina Courage U23

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Bella Sember". North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  2. ^ Garcia, Andrea (July 23, 2015). "U.S. Youth Futsal 2015 National Teams Announced". Archived from the original on September 20, 2015.
  3. ^ Shealer, Sheldon (February 5, 2018). "Recruiting Roundup: Feb. 5–11". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  4. ^ Moon, Emma (September 2, 2024). "'Phenomenal': Bella Sember and Tessa Dellarose set tone for UNC women's soccer". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  5. ^ Anzidei, Melanie (December 9, 2024). "UNC women's soccer wins 23rd national title, tops Wake Forest to reclaim crown". The Athletic. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  6. ^ Koh, Michael (December 9, 2024). "UNC Women's Soccer Beats Wake Forest to Win 23rd National Championship". Chapelboro.com. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  7. ^ "Bella Sember". Women's Premier Soccer League. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
    "Long Island Rough Riders". USL W League. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
    "NC Courage U23". USL W League. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  8. ^ Strand, Oliver (June 10, 2024). "$1 million goal: US Women win first Women's TST". Hudson River Blue. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  9. ^ "Amerikanska talangen Bella Sember klar för KIF Örebro" (in Swedish). KIF Örebro DFF. January 4, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  10. ^ Brännmyr, Jonas (January 4, 2025). "Kif stänger truppen – med amerikansk mästare". Nerikes Allehanda (in Swedish). Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c "Bella Sember". flashscore.com. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  12. ^ Levinsson, Hugo (October 10, 2025). "Drömmål efter drömmål: 'Lite förvånad'". Nerikes Allehanda (in Swedish). Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  13. ^ "Kif Örebro rivstartade – och vann mot Mallbacken". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). October 19, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  14. ^ "Bella Sember". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  15. ^ "U.S. U-17 WNT Dominates Ireland 4–0 To Win Second Game At UEFA Development Tournament In Czech Republic". United States Soccer Federation. May 23, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
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