ALL-STAR SOCCER

Born and raised in Upland, California, Kylie Bivens found her love for soccer at a young age. As a star high school player, she was listed among the top 25 recruits in the nation by USA Today and among the Super 11 recruits in the West by Soccer America. She played for the Santa Clara University Broncos, where she led her team to four straight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Final Four appearances. Throughout her college career, Bivens was a key part of the Broncos’ dominant defense, earning All-West Coast Conference and All-West Region player honors, and the team’s Defensive MVP.

During her time on the U.S. Women’s National Team, Bivens recorded seven caps and represented the United States at the 2003 FIFA Club World Cup. In her first season as an Atlanta Beat of the World United Soccer Association (WUSA), she notched five assists in seven games and became a dominant midfield force. She was named to the inaugural WUSA  All-Star South squad and held the longest streak for consecutive minutes played until a back injury forced her to sit out.

Edgar Castillo joined the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer in 2018, starting in all 28 matches and logging 2,439 minutes while contributing three goals and five assists, including his first Major League Soccer goal on June 1 in a 2–1 loss against Sporting Kansas City. He was later traded to the New England Revolution (2019), Atlanta United (2020), and Football Club (FC) Cincinnati (2021).

Internationally, despite early eligibility for Mexico’s youth squads, Castillo committed to the U.S. Men’s National Team, earning 18 caps between 2007 and 2013, including appearances in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Gold Cup tournaments. Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Mexican parents, he holds dual citizenship and began his professional career at age 19 with Santos Laguna in Mexico’s professional football league, Liga MX. Over the next decade, he competed for prominent Liga MX clubs including Club América, Club Tijuana (winning the 2010 Clausura Championship), Atlas, and Monterrey, accumulating experience in high-stakes matches at venues such as Estadio Azteca.

Castillo is just one of only two players to earn a cap for both the United States and Mexico. He debuted for Mexico on August 22, 2007, and would go on to earn his first cap for the United States in 2009. He has made 18 appearances (10 starts) for the United States, including six FIFA World Cup qualifiers, as well as the USA’s 1–0 win over Mexico at Estadio Azteca in August 2012.

Castillo was a member of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup Championship Team and the 2016 Copa América Centenario roster, where the U.S. Men’s National Team finished fourth.

Cali Farquharson was drafted 12th overall by the Washington Spirit in the 2016 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Draft. She played for the Spirit from 2016 to 2019, making 44 appearances with the club. Her rookie season with the Spirit was their most successful at the time, with the team leading the league standings for most of the season before finishing as runners-up.

Following her final season with the Spirit in 2019, Farquharson was selected by the Utah Royals in the End of Season Re-Entry Wire. She played the 2020 season with KIF Örebro DFF, a Swedish women’s football club. Farquharson returned to the NWSL in 2022, joining the Houston Dash, who were defeated in the first round of the playoffs.

Farquharson played college soccer at Arizona State University (ASU), where she left an indelible mark on its program between 2012–15. She’s the only ASU Sun Devil to record double-digit goals in four straight seasons, finishing her career second all-time in goals (44) and points (102). Farquharson was a clutch performer, one of four players at ASU during that period with more than 10 game-winning goals. She holds the program record for the longest streak of consecutive games with a goal—eight matches. She earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Region honors, received All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference (All-Pac)-12 recognition multiple times, was a finalist for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, and was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week on several occasions. Her collegiate career featured standout moments, including an eight-point performance against the University of Southern California (three goals, two assists)—a Pac-12 benchmark—and a hat trick in her final collegiate game against rival, the University of Arizona.

Chestley Strother began her professional career with the Houston Dash of the NWSL in 2016 and played for FC Dallas in the Women’s Premier Soccer League. She spent several seasons overseas in Iceland and Sweden.

In Iceland, Strother played for UMF Sindri in 2017, scoring 13 goals in 20 matches. In 2018, Strother joined Kvarnsveden IK in Sweden’s top professional football club. Strother appeared in 10 matches and handed out seven assists. In 2019, the midfielder played with Sundsvall DFF in Sweden’s Division 1. She returned to the United States in 2020 and joined the Utah Royals FC of the NWSL.

Strother also played at the collegiate level for the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler). She led the UT Tyler Patriots to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2014 and 2015.  As a senior, she was named an All-American, helped the team to program records for wins in a season and highest win percentage, and led the team with 17 assists and eight goals. Strother finished her four-year career with 32 assists, 27 goals, 276 shots, and 86 points in 74 games.