PLAYER PROFILE – There are many well-known midfielders that AFC Toronto has, such as CANWNT/CANXNT Emma Regan and Kaela Hansen. Another well-known midfielder is Victoria Pickett, the 5’6” Canadian, who was born in Newmarket, Ontario.
Victoria Pickett: AFC Toronto’s Important Midfielder
Childhood
Pickett was born in Newmarket to a Filipino dad and a Canadian mother. She lived in nearby Aurora until she was four years old, when she moved to Barrie.
She grew up playing soccer, basketball, volleyball and hockey, as well as getting involved in outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. From a young age, she admired players such as Christine Sinclair, Candace Chapman, Wayne Rooney, and Thierry Henry. As for teams, she supported international teams such as Chelsea FC and Real Madrid, and local teams in Canada like Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Source: Canada Soccer
Pickett talked about her inspiration, who is her mom, according to the KC Current YouTube Account:
Thankfully, Pickett’s mother was able to beat the disease. This inspired Victoria to have a tattoo on her arm saying, “Define the Situation,” which is a motto Pickett carries to this day.
Pickett played for Barrie SC at four-years-old and then played as a 13-year-old with Glen Shields FC. She was named the Barrie Sports Athlete of the Year in 2015.
She also has experience playing for the youth national teams for Canada. This included helping the Canada U-17 win a silver medal and scoring the deciding penalty goal to help the Canada U-20 team advance to the CONCACAF U-20 championship.
Wisconsin Badgers (2015-20)
Pickett played with the Wisconsin Badgers (UW, short for the University of Wisconsin) from 2015-20; however, she only played for her team in 2015 and 2017-18 seasons. She redshirted her 2016 season and did not play any games in 2019 because of an injury.
In 2015, she appeared and started in all 16 matches for the Badgers. She was awarded the 2015 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, second-team All-Big Ten, All-Big Ten Freshman team, and the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Third Team.
She also scored a game-winning goal against Nebraska on October 11 (had two goals and four assists, with one of the assists seen above) and was named to Canada’s Concacaf Championship U-20 roster in November 2015.
Then, in 2017, she played in every game for Wisconsin (22 in all) with a total of two goals and three assists scored that season, with a game-winning goal scored against Purdue on October 6.
Finally, in 2018, she started and played 19 games for Wisconsin. She scored one goal, which was against Kentucky on August 26. She also assisted in four goals, with three of them happening in consecutive games in conference play.
All of this played a big role in Pickett earning the honours of First Team All-American, MAC Hermann semifinalist and being a First Team All-Region recipient.
Source: Wisconsin Badgers
Pickett began her next phase of her life by being drafted by the Kansas City Current of the NWSL. This is what UW head coach Paula Wilkins said about this (Source: University of Wisconsin Website):
“We are very excited and proud for Victoria to be drafted by Kansas City,” Wilkins said. “She has had an incredible career at Wisconsin for our soccer program, and we know she is prepared to have a successful professional soccer career. We are thrilled to watch her successes and wish her all the luck from the Badger soccer family.”
She definitely made a name for herself in college, as she now took the biggest jump in her young soccer career at that time by becoming a professional soccer player in one of, if not the most competitive, professional women’s soccer league in the world, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
This is something that Pickett noticed when starting play in the NWSL (Source: Meaghan Johnson of TSN):
“Whoa, this is a lot faster, way more physical.”
Kansas City Current (2021-22)
Pickett, who was drafted 15th overall in the NWSL draft, played for the Kansas City Current. 2021 was the expansion year of the Current, and it was the first time in four years that Kansas City had an NWSL team. Pickett played a major role in the first two years of the NWSL franchise. She scored the club’s first-ever game-winning goal (not first-ever goal) in the NWSL in a 1-0 win over the OL Reign.
There is also an appreciation for Pickett’s game at the Current. This is what the head coach of the Current, Huw Williams, said about her (Source: Meaghen Johnson of TSN):
“Love Victoria Pickett,” Williams said after Kansas City’s game last Monday against the Houston Dash. “She’s good. She’s able to beat players with ease – kind of glides past players with first touch, sets her up for that penetrating dribble.”
She would play 35 games for the club, scoring one goal, and was nominated as one of the three nominees for the 2021 NWSL Rookie of the Year award.
Victoria would then play ten games for the NJ/NY Gotham FC before moving on to the North Carolina Courage.
North Carolina Courage (2023-Present)
Pickett has been with the Courage since 2023, with 29 games played. Then, the head coach of the Courage, Sean Nahas, said this about her:
Pickett’s goal came in her debut for the Courage, as she was in the right place at the right time. She also took advantage of her time with the Courage, as she was able to get loaned to play for her hometown club in the Northern Super League/Super Ligue Du Nord.
READ MORE: AFC Toronto’s Newest Midfielder: Sarah Stratigakis
AFC Toronto (2025-Present)
READ MORE: Montreal Roses Ended AFC Toronto’s Five-Game Winning Streak
On January 31, 2025, when the move to AFC Toronto was made official, Sporting Director Billy Wilson had high praise for Pickett when talking about what she brings to the team, including her technical abilities (Source: AFC Toronto Website):
READ MORE: AFC Toronto and CANWNT Player Profile: Emma Regan
Most notably, early on, Pickett faced her former Kansas City Current teammate, Desiree Scott, in the first-ever Battle of Ontario matchup, as they both had complimentary things to say about each other as seen above. The Rapid ended up winning that game by a scoreline of 2-1.
Pickett has played more than ten games for AFC Toronto and has scored one goal within that span, in a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Roses FC. She also assisted in four of AFC’s goals this year, and has played a critical part in Toronto’s midfield throughout the year.
For Pickett, it is more than just playing for a club, as someone who grew up in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), playing for a home club in Toronto is a dream come true for her (Source: TSN YouTube Account):
What makes Pickett playing for AFC so important is that she has valuable experience playing with the CANWNT/CANXNT, which highlights the pedigree she already has as a high-level soccer player.
Games Coming Up
Victoria Pickett will likely appear in a big matchup against the Vancouver Rise FC. The Rise are playing extraordinarily well lately, and this game could determine who finishes first in the NSL/SLN standings when the season ends in October.
The game will take place on Saturday, September 13, at York Lions Stadium. It will be shown live on CBC.
READ MORE: PWHL and NSL: A Bond Like No Other
Photo Provided By AFC Toronto on August 17, 2025.
