COURTESY OF OLIVIA REDDEN

Redden primarily played as a center back, but was moved into a defensive midfielder at times due to her aerial abilities.

Olivia Redden, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill (GSBRH) ’24 and captain of the Fordham women’s soccer team, has faced adversity in her 18-year soccer career. But she won’t let anything stop her from becoming the best player on the field. 

Redden began playing at just five years old, with her father as her coach. She felt an immediate connection to the sport. 

“I loved it from the start,” she said. “I made instant friends and had so much fun being out on the field.”

Community was an important part of Redden’s formative soccer years. At Kittatinny Regional High School — in her hometown of Freden, New Jersey — Redden played on the girls soccer team as a center midfielder. Her teammates in high school were the same girls she played with since the beginning, rendering the experience all the more special. 

Redden successfully balanced the rigorous schedule of a three-sport athlete, her academics and club soccer two to three times a week, an hour and a half commute from her home.

During her sophomore year, Redden pulled her groin and was sidelined for most of the season. She bounced back her junior year even better than she was before the injury. Redden’s first season back ended up being the team’s best performance out of her four years playing in high school. 

The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t affect Redden’s senior high school season, but it did cut her club soccer season short. She started playing club soccer at 12 years old and continued through high school. She saw the most development in her skill level with her club team. She played at the highest club level and against the best under-collegiate women’s soccer players in the country. During her junior year of high school, Redden and her club team accomplished a very rare feat, reaching the final four in the playoffs.

Redden put a lot of dedication toward her club soccer success while also being on the basketball team and track team. Redden successfully balanced the rigorous schedule of a three-sport athlete, her academics and club soccer two to three times a week, an hour and a half commute from her home.

Redden’s consistency throughout her formative years helped shape her into the strong team leader she is today. 

“She was a fantastic captain,” Magnus Nilerud, Fordham women’s soccer head coach, said. “She always spoke on behalf of the team, put the team first ahead of herself, committed to Fordham women’s soccer and set an example each day.”

Redden attributes her collegiate success to her time spent playing club soccer. 

“Playing on my club team made me a standout player on my high school team. When you play club it is a completely different level than high school soccer,” she said. 

In fact, Redden played a different position on the field in club soccer than she did in high school. She was a center-back, also the position she went on to play in college. Without club soccer, Redden said that she would not have gotten the attention she did from Fordham. 

“Club soccer is a whole different world with recruiting trips and recruiting in general,” she said. “It is so important to play club soccer to go to the top schools.”

Eventually, it was clear she needed surgery, but for Redden, that wasn’t an option. She had no intention of missing out on a year of playing, and that is what surgery would have meant.

Fordham began recruiting Redden during her first year of high school. She visited the school as a sophomore and shortly thereafter committed with a scholarship that year. At just 16 years old, Fordham became home for Redden. 

The transition from high school to college was difficult for Redden. An injury she suffered at the beginning of the pandemic certainly did not help. She sprained her ankle and it took her away from the game on and off through her junior year. The injury was very tough for Redden considering her extreme drive for the sport. At the same time, Redden was facing the novelties of being a college first year and struggled to balance all of her new responsibilities. 

Redden continued to struggle with her ankle throughout her early collegiate athletic career. She went on to seriously sprain it, affecting her ability to perform on the field. Eventually, it was clear she needed surgery, but for Redden, that wasn’t an option. She had no intention of missing out on a year of playing, and that is what surgery would have meant. Instead, she went to rehab and worked tirelessly to get it back to where it needed to be. 

“It ended up being one of my biggest blessings,” Redden said about her injury. 

“I am honestly very thankful for everything that happened because I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.” Olivia Redden, GSBRH ’24

In a twist of fate, she secured a name, image and likeness deal, a deal between an athlete and a brand with the possibility of compensation, with Ultra Ankle to endorse their ankle braces. Ultra Ankle is an ankle brace company that provides “protection without limiting your performance,” according to their website. Luckily for Redden, the company’s claim rang true. 

She wears the ankle brace every time she steps on the field whether it be for a game or practice. Since Redden started to wear the brace, she has not suffered another ankle injury. 

Redden’s deal with Ultra Ankle means that she makes money by posting on social media about the braces. Additionally, she receives free ankle braces whenever she needs a new one. 

“I am honestly very thankful for everything that happened because I wouldn’t be where I am today without it,” Redden said.

The 2023 soccer season was Redden’s last with Fordham. However, she is not saying goodbye to the sport just yet. Redden will exercise her fifth and final year of eligibility at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, Maryland, while getting her master of science in marketing. 

After her time at JHU, Redden is considering playing soccer overseas, maybe somewhere in Europe, although she has not thought that far ahead just yet. 

“It is definitely something I have dreamed about and if I feel like it’s something that suits me at the time, I am definitely going to go through with it,” Redden said. “After all these years of hard work, I truly realized that this is something I can consider now that I am where I am.”