In 2023, Pitt women’s soccer advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. Among their superstar roster was then-freshman Deborah Abiodun, who scored the second of three goals and helped Pitt triumph over Memphis.
Abiodun, an Olympian, Nigerian World Cup veteran and now professional player, left a lasting impact on Pitt women’s soccer. But her soccer career didn’t start off so seamlessly.
Growing up in Abuja, Nigeria, in an environment that pressured women away from soccer, Abiodun fought hard for the opportunity to play the sport. The eldest of her three brothers, Olamileken Abiodun, became her gateway to soccer as her first supporter.
“He was my first coach. He was my first teammate. I picked up my love for soccer because it’s the only thing I knew growing up, the only thing I did, the only thing that gives me so much joy,” Abiodun said. “It was fun, but it was a lot of struggle trying to fit in, especially in a society where female soccer players are not really respected and valued.”
Her perseverance served her well. Abiodun started on the Nigerian women’s national team in 2022, where she first met the current Pitt women’s soccer head coach, Randy Waldrum. Waldrum recalled first seeing Abiodun when she was playing a friendly against the Nigerian women’s national team, where he previously served as head coach.
He invited her to training camps with the Nigerian team, where she expressed interest in pursuing an education at Pitt. By the time Abiodun joined Pitt’s women’s soccer team in 2023, she had already represented Nigeria in the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and was slated to play in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Deborah realized that this was bigger than just playing for us on a soccer field. She was smart enough to recognize getting a degree at a university and coming to the U.S. to do that would forever change her life,” Waldrum said.
Waldrum soon welcomed Abiodun onto the Nigerian senior women’s team, with whom she played her first World Cup.
“I think she had just turned 19 at the time of the World Cup and kind of burst onto the scene, nobody really knew who she was, and she raised a lot of eyebrows there. So she was playing at a really high level when we got her here to Pitt,” Waldrum said.
Waldrum said Abiodun’s background in Nigeria is what sets her apart from many other collegiate players.
“We were very talented before she came [to Pitt], but people that know soccer understand that African players tend to bring a better physicality and athleticism to the game,” Waldrum said. “She brought more physicality and a little more bite to our team and a little bit more heart, and then it just kind of transformed into the team.”
Waldrum said that Aiodun brought a competitive intensity to every practice, drill and activity that raised the bar for the entire team. Abiodun attributes this intensity to her upbringing in Nigeria, where every situation was a challenge to prove herself.
“You have to be better than most of [the boys] to get a spot on the team. So the scrimmage, the practice, it’s always competition. I am a very different person on the pitch because of my upbringing, because of the foundation I had, because of how I always had to prove that yes, I can do it,” Abiodun said.
In the 2023 World Cup, Abiodun had to prove herself once again — this time, on a national level. When Waldrum picked the Nigerian team’s roster, he left off a veteran player and replaced her with Abiodun, prompting backlash from Nigerian fans and media. When Abiodun played in their first game against Canada, the defending gold medalist, Waldrum said the narrative changed.
“Those 90 minutes — I’ve never seen anything like it. It completely transformed the narrative, in the media and in Nigeria. Just hours before, people were not expecting us to get a result against Canada, and now all of sudden we end up tying that game,” Waldrum said.
The Nigerian media affectionately dubbed Abiodun the “Nigerian Kanté” for her stellar performance after N’Golo Kanté, a successful French male player of the same position. Abiodun’s skill remained clear to competitors once she came to Pitt.
“From day one, I think the first ACC game she played in was against NC State in her freshman year, and I can remember after the game the coach coming up to me and just going, ‘She’s so damn good,’” Waldrum said. “It didn’t take long for everybody to recognize her talent level and her ability.”
Abiodun started in 19 of her 22 appearances during her first-year season and scored six goals with three assists, earning ACC All-Freshman and Third-Team All-ACC honors. That same year was the first time Pitt women’s soccer appeared in the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament, one of Abiodun’s favorite moments from her time at Pitt. In her sophomore season, she started in nine of 12 games, scoring four goals and earning second-team All-ACC honors.
Abiodun said another favorite moment happened when her mom saw her play for the first time, especially because of her mother’s initial resistance to girls in soccer.
“Seeing her watch me play, she was so happy. All the accolades she saw people give me made her proud, and at that moment I felt so satisfied, I felt so accomplished,” Abiodun said.
Abiodun is remarkable off the field, too, according to Mandy Matson, assistant director of Academic Support Services and Director of Writing Services for gymnastics and women’s soccer at Pitt.
“I think that everyone feels the way I do. As soon as you say her name, you’re like, ‘Oh, she’s amazing.’ If you go to talk to her, she has a good word for you, and she means it.” Matson said. “I think the impact she had on [the team] was that — being the person they knew was always going to be positive. To know that there’s someone who, when you leave, is saying good things about you, that goes a really long way. As a person, and on the field, she is kind of irreplaceable. She was so good.”
Abiodun left Pitt after her second season to begin her professional career with the Washington Spirits. As of February, she’s on loan to Dallas Trinity. Though her path has been somewhat unusual, Abiodun said she’s grateful for any opportunity to play soccer.
“The transition has just been really like, down up, down up because I was playing for the national team, came to college, went back to the national team, signed to Washington and then to Dallas,” Abiodun said. “For me, every opportunity you get to wear a jersey and play on the field is the most special, and it doesn’t matter where you are, it doesn’t matter who you are playing with. What matters the most is you are on the field doing what you love to do.”
Abiodun said she hopes her journey inspires other Nigerian girls to pursue soccer and an education. Already, her Pitt career serves as a possible path for other Nigerian girls — next season, Waldrum is bringing on three Nigerian players. Abiodun is also a Nigerian celebrity of sorts — her TikTok has amassed over 200,000 followers.
Abiodun offered a message of resilience to aspiring Nigerian girls with a passion for soccer — stay strong and keep going.
“It’s tough, it’s hard, it’s difficult,” Abiodun said. “Let passion keep the fire burning. You don’t have to stop regardless of the society and norms, regardless of what anyone thinks. You just have to do what you love doing. Keep working hard, being patient, and everything is going to fall into place.”
Abiodun is not letting anything slow her down — not even her own expectations.
“You may want something, and you can even achieve more than that — you may limit yourself,” Abiodun said. “For me, growth doesn’t stop, success doesn’t stop. I never saw myself coming to Pitt, going to the World Cup. I believe that hard work pays, and being a human person, being humble, goes a long way. I’m just so grateful for everything.”