Beata Olsson Explained

Beata Olsson
Full Name:Beata Karin Eleonora Olsson
Birth Date:31 January 2001
Birth Place:Stockholm, Sweden
Height:165 cm
Position:Striker
Currentclub:AIK
Clubnumber:11
Collegeyears1:2021
College1:Florida Gators
Collegecaps1:7
Collegegoals1:8
Collegeyears2:2021–2023
College2:Florida State Seminoles
Collegecaps2:66
Collegegoals2:27
Years1:2015–2017
Clubs1:Enköping
Caps1:35
Goals1:43
Years2:2018–2021
Clubs2:Uppsala
Caps2:72
Goals2:23
Years3:2024–
Clubs3:AIK
Caps3:19
Goals3:6
Nationalyears1:2016–2018
Nationalteam1:Sweden U-17
Nationalgoals1:10
Nationalyears2:2018
Nationalteam2:Sweden U-18
Nationalyears3:2019–2020
Nationalteam3:Sweden U-19
Nationalcaps3:15
Nationalgoals3:13
Nationalteam4:Sweden U-23
Club-Update:9 November 2024
Nationalteam-Update:8 March 2020

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.

Early career

Enköping, 2015–2017

Olsson was born in Stockholm and raised in Enköping.[1] 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.[1]

Uppsala, 2018–2021

Olsson was signed by IK Uppsala Fotboll ahead of the . She made her club debut on 10 February 2018 in the first round of the 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 . 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.[1]

Olsson made an impact at Uppsala in the, scoring 12 goals in 24 games.[1] 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.[2] 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.[1] [3] She tallied five goals in 21 matches in her first top-division season.[1] After the season, Uppsala was relegated back to the Elitettan.[4] Following her first college season at Florida, Olsson spent the summer with Uppsala and scored four goals in nine games during part of the .

College career

Florida Gators, 2021

Olsson spent her first college season with the Florida Gators in spring 2021. She said she chose Florida because it had warmer weather than Sweden. 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.[5] [6] 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.

Florida State Seminoles, 2021–2023

Olsson 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.[5] She scored two times in a rout of former team Florida, including one off a bicycle kick that made SportsCenter top plays.[5] [7] 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.[8] 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.

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.[9] 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.

After helping Florida State go undefeated to win the ACC regular-season title, Olsson played especially well as a senior in the 2023 postseason.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

Professional career

AIK, 2024–

After 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.[1] She scored on her club debut on 9 March, a 2–1 win against KIF Örebro in the first round of the Swedish Cup. AIK struggled at the start of the year but finished the season with seven games unbeaten. Olsson scored five league goals during that span and was named Damallsvenskan Player of the Month for October.[13] She scored her first top-flight brace in the first half of a 4–0 win over Trelleborg on 2 November.[14] On 23 November, she scored in a 2–0 win against Umeå in the second leg of the relegation playoffs, which allowed AIK to remain in the top league 2–1 on aggregate.[15]

International career

Olsson played for the Sweden youth national team from the under-17 to under-23 level, scoring 19 goals in 44 appearances.[1] 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.

Style of play

Olsson plays as a striker. She is quick, creative in the box, and a good finisher.[1] [7]

Honors

Florida State Seminoles

2021, 2023

2021, 2022, 2023

Individual

Sources:[16]

Notes and References

  1. News: Beata Olsson klar för AIK Fotboll. 6 January 2024. AIK Fotboll. sv. Beata Olsson ready for AIK Football. 18 August 2024.
  2. News: Uppsala chockade Hammarby – klart för damallsvenskan. 27 October 2019. Grefve. Daniel. Sveriges Television. sv. Uppsala shocked Hammarby – through to the top women's league. 18 August 2024.
  3. News: Boakye scores, Molthalo sent off as Djurgarden bow to Uppsala. Ahmadu. Samuel. 27 June 2020. Goal. 18 August 2024.
  4. Web site: 2020 IK Uppsala Stats. FBref.com. 11 October 2024.
  5. News: Sophomore sharpshooter elevates undefeated 'Noles. Tisnes. Gabe. 10 October 2021. Florida State University News. 18 August 2024.
  6. News: Tony Amato leads new era for Florida Gators soccer. Festo. Alan. 18 August 2021. Tallahassee Democrat. 18 August 2024.
  7. News: Beata Olsson's skill on display in Florida State soccer's win vs. Florida, her former team. Fernandez. Andre C.. 2 September 2021. Tallahassee Democrat. 18 August 2024.
  8. News: Beata Olsson has elevated Florida State's attack during another prolific soccer season. Fernandez. Andre C.. 11 November 2021. Tallahassee Democrat. 18 August 2024.
  9. News: Florida State soccer: Beata Olsson decided to return after peppering Brian Pensky with questions. Kassim. Ehsan. 2 September 2022. Tallahassee Democrat. 18 August 2024.
  10. News: Florida State Sports Notebook: End of Regular Season Edition. Joffer. Prince Akeem. 31 October 2023. Tomahawk Nation. SB Nation. 18 August 2024.
  11. News: No. 1 FSU soccer wins the ACC Championship over No. 7 Clemson. Joffer. Prince Akeem. 5 November 2023. Tomahawk Nation. SB Nation. 18 August 2024.
  12. News: Historically great FSU soccer team dominates great Stanford team in championship. Kassim. Ehsan. 5 December 2023. Tallahassee Democrat. 18 August 2024.
  13. News: Beata Olsson är Månadens Spelare. 2024-11-07. Damallsvenskan. 2024-11-09. sv.
  14. News: Important AIK points – and BP secured the contract. 2024-11-02. Sweden Herald. 2024-11-09.
  15. News: AIK vann kvalrysaren mot Umeå IK. 2024-11-23. Sveriges Television. 2024-11-24.
  16. Web site: Beata Olsson – 2023–24 – Women's Soccer. Florida State. 18 August 2024.