Janine Elizabeth Sonis (; born 20 August 1994) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward or full-back for Denver Summit FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in the United States to Canadian parents, she represents the Canada national team, for whom she has made more than 130 appearances.
Sonis played college soccer for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, finishing as the program's all-time leader in goals, points and game-winning goals and earning first-team All-American honours in 2014. She was drafted eighth overall by the Houston Dash in the 2016 NWSL College Draft. Two years later she was traded to Sky Blue FC before joining English club Manchester City, where she won two Women's FA Cups and two Women's League Cups across four seasons and was converted from a winger into a full-back. In 2022 she returned to the NWSL with the Portland Thorns and won the 2022 NWSL Championship; a torn anterior cruciate ligament then cost her the whole of 2023. After two seasons with Racing Louisville she joined the expansion side Denver Summit in 2026, returning to the state where she grew up.
Twenty seconds into Canada's opening match of the 2016 Olympic tournament, Sonis scored what remains the fastest goal in the history of Olympic football. She finished as Canada's leading scorer at those Games as the team took bronze, and was a member of the squad that won gold at Tokyo 2020. She also represented Canada at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2024 Olympics. Away from the field she has served as executive director of the Canadian Soccer Players Association and was among the players who testified before a Canadian parliamentary committee during the national team's 2023 labour dispute with Canada Soccer.
Early life Sonis was born on 20 August 1994 in Colorado to Canadian parents. Her mother and father were born in Saskatchewan and moved to Colorado for her father's work shortly before she was born; her three older siblings were born in Canada, and she holds dual Canadian and American citizenship. Her father, Gary, died of melanoma in 2001 at the age of 41; she has said that wearing his surname on a Canada jersey was a way of honouring him.
Sonis has described her family as an athletic one—"athletics was in our blood"—and competed in snowboarding, track, basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse and gymnastics, continuing to play basketball into her college years. She began playing soccer at the age of four and has recalled an early instinct for finishing: "I was the kid that waited outside of the group, went and got the ball and scored ... which is funny because all three of my siblings were defenders." Her brother Drew, who went on to a decade-long professional career, was an early influence; the two spent childhood days playing in the backyard, and in adulthood their relationship became a collaborative exchange of analysis about each other's matches. Soccer became her focus only once she judged it the clearest route to a professional career: "It was like, what sport do I think that I could really make a living in?"
She played youth soccer for Real Colorado, based in Centennial, and attended Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. She was a varsity starter for four years at Valor Christian and was named Gatorade's Colorado girls' soccer player of the year in 2012.
College career Sonis attended Texas Tech University and played for the Red Raiders from 2012 to 2015, appearing in 88 matches and scoring 57 goals with 16 assists for 130 points. She scored in double figures in each of her four seasons—14 as a freshman, 12 as a sophomore, 17 as a junior and 14 as a senior—and left as the program's all-time leader in goals, points and game-winning goals, with 22.
She was named Big 12 Conference rookie of the year in 2012 and twice took the conference's offensive player of the year award. She remains the only Texas Tech player named to the All-Big 12 first team in all four of her seasons, and was an All-American in 2012 and 2014. Texas Tech reached the NCAA tournament in each of her four years, advancing to the second round every season and to the round of 16 in 2014. As a senior she was a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, was named the most outstanding offensive player of the 2015 Big 12 tournament, which Texas Tech won, and was named player of the year by Dallas Soccer News. She was inducted into the Texas Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in November 2025. She enrolled as a journalism major before broadening her studies, graduating with a degree in media strategies.
Club career Early career In 2013, Sonis signed with the Seattle Sounders Women in the USL W-League.
Houston Dash Sonis was selected eighth overall in the 2016 NWSL College Draft by the Houston Dash. On 8 February 2016 it was announced that she would be allocated to the team as part of the NWSL Player Allocation. She scored on her professional debut against the Chicago Red Stars on 16 April 2016, and finished a rookie season interrupted by the Olympics with three goals and two assists from 14 appearances, 11 of them starts. She played a fuller part in 2017, making 24 league appearances and scoring twice.
Sky Blue FC On 18 January 2018 Sonis was moved to Sky Blue FC alongside Carli Lloyd in a three-club deal involving the Dash, the Chicago Red Stars and Sky Blue, which also sent Sam Kerr to Chicago and Christen Press to Houston. She made 15 appearances without scoring for a Sky Blue side that did not win a match all season, and announced her departure on 9 August 2018.
Manchester City Sonis's transfer to Manchester City was confirmed on 9 August 2018, manager Nick Cushing calling her "an excellent addition to our squad." She concluded her first season with eight goals and two trophies, the League Cup and the FA Cup. In the 2019–20 season she made her first start in the UEFA Women's Champions League and scored a hat-trick in the competition. She shared the lead in assists in the 2019–20 Women's Super League season, and signed a contract extension on 14 April 2020 running to 2022.
Having arrived as a winger, Sonis was gradually asked to play at full-back, an adjustment she described as demanding: "It's asked a lot of me from a technical perspective ... I really had to go into the position with an open mind." She has said the hardest part of the move to England was the relocation rather than the football: "My biggest challenge was just moving to another country and to another league ... having to acclimatize to a new environment, a new culture. And then on top of that, being expected to perform there."
Sonis was an unused member of the squad for the 2019 FA Cup final, but came on in the 119th minute of the 2020 final against Everton at Wembley Stadium on 1 November 2020 and scored in a 3–1 extra-time win. She left City in April 2022 having made 90 appearances in all competitions, scoring 23 goals and winning four trophies. She later described the four years as a highlight of her career, citing "being really engulfed in the footballing culture and being a champion many times over there."
Portland Thorns
On 1 April 2022 Sonis returned to the NWSL on a three-year contract with Portland Thorns FC, who sent $75,000 in allocation money to Racing Louisville FC, the club holding her league rights. She had intended to remain in Europe longer, but said the move offered a combination she could not refuse: proximity to home, a long-held ambition to return to the NWSL, and the presence of general manager Karina LeBlanc and club captain Christine Sinclair, both former Canada internationals. "It's been great to be underneath people that I have such good relationships with," she said, "and it's been great to be on the field with Sinc at a club level." She made 19 league appearances in her first season as Portland won the 2022 NWSL Championship.
In March 2023 she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in a pre-season match against the United States under-23 team, ruling her out of the entire 2023 season and the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Writing on social media at the time, she said "heartbroken is an understatement." Reflecting on the lay-off later that year, she called it "a massive blessing in disguise ... it's shown me so many parts of me that need to get stronger, you know, mentally, physically, emotionally." She returned for the Thorns' 2024 season opener, scoring twice in a 5–4 away defeat to the Kansas City Current.
Racing Louisville
On 21 August 2024 Portland traded Sonis to Racing Louisville FC in exchange for Reilyn Turner, and she signed a two-year contract extension with Racing. Coming three weeks after the Olympics, the move was, she said, "obviously a shock," though she gave the clubs "the green light to get this over the line" and left Portland without animosity. Her first goal for Louisville, on 14 September 2024, won a 2–1 match against Angel City FC.
As the club's vice-captain in 2025 she featured in all 26 of Racing's league matches, starting 23, scoring three goals and leading the team with five assists. She was named to the NWSL Best XI for October and November, and reached 100 NWSL appearances during the season.
Denver Summit On 9 January 2026 Sonis was traded to the NWSL expansion team Denver Summit FC for up to US$160,000 in intraleague transfer funds, signing a contract through the 2028 season and returning to her home state. The move reunited her with Cushing, who had become Denver's head coach; he cited her ties to the city, saying "she is from Denver, so there is a huge emotional connection." Sonis called the trade "the best Christmas present I could ask for" and said she was eager to join Denver because "I knew I could help build the club's culture."
She captained Denver in the club's inaugural league match on 14 March 2026, a 2–1 defeat to Bay FC in which she assisted the franchise's first NWSL goal, scored by Melissa Kössler, before being sent off in the 25th minute. She held the captaincy until the arrival of Lindsey Heaps in June, when she reverted to vice-captain.
Deployed primarily as a defender, Sonis nonetheless became Denver's leading scorer. After eight matches without a goal she scored braces in consecutive games in May, the second in a 3–1 win over the Orlando Pride that gave the club its first home victory and earned her NWSL player of the week. She was subsequently named to the NWSL Best XI for May, the second such honour of her career. As of 22 September 2026 she had scored 11 goals with five assists in 24 appearances.
International career
Sonis represented the United States at under-18 and under-20 level before accepting an invitation to play for Canada, the country of her parents' birth. Of a decision complicated by dual eligibility and by friendships within the American setup, she said: "My life is just a confusing life. It's a long story on where I come from and why I play for who I do."
In August 2014 she scored the winning goal against North Korea to send Canada's under-20 side into the knockout stage of the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She made her senior debut on 26 November 2014, replacing Brittany Baxter at half-time in a 1–1 draw with Sweden in Long Beach, California, days after scoring in Texas Tech's NCAA tournament campaign. She scored twice against Ecuador in Canada's opening match of the 2015 Pan American Games, where the team finished fourth.
In the final of the 2016 Algarve Cup she scored the 67th-minute winner against Brazil in a 2–1 victory, securing Canada's first title at the tournament.
2016 Summer Olympics
Twenty seconds into Canada's opening match of the 2016 Olympic tournament, against Australia at the Arena Corinthians on 3 August 2016, Sonis scored the fastest goal in the history of Olympic football, men's or women's. Canada won 2–0.