By Jinseong Kim
AFC Ann Arbor are pleased to announce the signing of Tiffanie Hollingsworth ahead of the inaugural USL W League season. Hollingsworth, born in South Lyon, is coming off her junior season at Eastern Michigan University.
Prior to college, Hollingsworth was highlighted as a top recruit during her time at South Lyon East High School women’s soccer. Hollingsworth was also part of the track team in high school. Competing in the 100m and 200m division, she contributed to the Cougars on winning the regional Division 2 track & field title in 2017.
Hollingsworth committed to the EMU women’s soccer program in Fall 2019. Over the course of three years, Hollingsworth saw a gradual increase in playing time and slowly became a vital defender of the team. During her freshman year, she only appeared in eight games and recorded 128 minutes on pitch throughout the season. But the total playing time has increased to 1,124 minutes in her junior season, appearing in all 18 games. Hollingsworth also notched her first goal in collegiate career against Miami University in September.
“I am very excited to play for AFCAA.” Hollingsworth said, expressing her delight over playing for AFCAA. “Pushing myself in a new environment is something I think I need as a player who still looks to develop and get better everyday.”
Ypsilanti is a community that is closely tied with AFC Ann Arbor. The club has been working hand-in-hand with public figures from Ypsi. Hollingsworth pointed out the importance of the close bond between The Mighty Oak and Ypsi. “Playing for a local team means a lot to me, especially being from EMU. This is because it gives me a chance to show young local players in the community that they can achieve things in their sport no matter where they come from. It just takes work.”
She would continue, “It's even more amazing that the local team is AFCAA because they are so dedicated to being great people on the field and even better people for the community and giving back. Being an athlete at EMU, we also take pride in student athletes giving back to the community and I can continue to do that through AFCAA.”
As mentioned, Hollingsworth was a track athlete back in high school, and the experience she had running track has benefitted her to be a competitive fullback. She would elaborate, “I would describe myself as a hardworking, speedy player. As a fullback on the field it allows me to see everything and take people down the line setting up other teammates or going to goal myself. I am dedicated to giving my all when playing soccer because it's something I love to do.”
On discussing her personality, Holingsworth would state, “I think I am a pretty well rounded person. I have seen success through my club and college career but I have also had struggles and with those struggles it makes me a better and stronger person and player.”
Women’s Head Coach Boyzzz Khumalo has noted that he has been keeping an eye on Hollingsworth over the months. “Hollingsworth is a player that is recommended to us by the head coach of EMU [Scott Hall], but even before that, I used to go watch a few games at EMU and I’ve seen her play before. Bilal and I connected with the coach a couple of months ago. We went to watch the training session and she did well during the session we went to. We wanted to add her to our squad, and she also wanted to play for AFCAA.”
Hollingsworth is prepared to develop herself to become a better player over the summer, and dedicate herself to the team’s efforts. She also showed her eagerness to learn from passionate coaches at AFCAA.
“My goal for the season is to become a better player. I believe that you have to be comfortable with the ball at your feet in order to make the right decisions and the only way to do this is putting in my time with the ball and practicing. I want to make the most of this opportunity to see the game from a new perspective from awesome coaches and amazing players from all over.“
We, again, would like to give a warm welcome to Tiffanie to the AFCAA Family and we look forward to an excellent summer campaign.
About AFC Ann Arbor
Association Football Club Ann Arbor (AFC Ann Arbor) was founded in 2014 and competes in USL2 (men’s) and USLW (women’s) national amateur leagues. We are a community-based club, focused on equity, justice, and anti-racism. We consider all of our stakeholders, including supporters, players, staff, and ownership to be part of the #AFCAAFamily. Come On You Mighty Oak!