World champion team member. National youth championships player of the year. Leader of the No. 1 high school girls soccer team in the nation. Three tiers of success at the highest levels. Indeed, 2007 was a one-of-a-kind year for Emily Cressy.
And as she was to prove over-and-over, Emily Cressy was a one-of-a-kind athlete. Called up to the U.S. National Deaflympic team at the age of 15, Cressy started every match for the program’s gold-medal run at the 2005 Summer Deaflympics in Australia.
More world championships would follow in 2016, 2021 and 2023. At the 2023 World Deaf Football Championships in Malaysia, Cressy had 13 goals in six games. She was awarded the Golden Boot and Golden Ball and named as the first recipient of Female Deaf Player of the Year by U.S. Soccer. Cressy owns team records for most goals in a game (six) and career goals (44).
For the Eagles club team based in Camarillo, Cressy helped her teams win two national age group titles. She was awarded the Golden Boot as the most outstanding player at the 2007 U.S. Youth Soccer national championships.
Back-to-back titles at the U.S. Adult Soccer national tournaments would come in 2010 and 2011.
Cressy was the Ventura County Star’s Player of the Year for the 2007 Buena High team that would be recognized as the No. 1 team in the country by Student Sports Soccer.
She was one of the top freshman collegiate players in the nation in 2008, scoring in her first three games and finishing with 19 points (eight goals and three assists). Cressy was named to the 2008 Freshman All-America team by Soccer America. Cressy was the 2008 Deaf Sports Federation Sportswoman of the Year.
She was even better in her sophomore season. Cressy scored 27 points, fifth highest in program history, including five game-winning shots. In her final game for Kansas, Cressy scored in the Jayhawks loss to Missouri in the Big 12 championship game.