American goalscorer Madison Haley is making her way at Brighton with eyes on the FA Cup

“I’m actually a really analytical person.”

Madison Haley is speaking about decision-making, and the Brighton & Hove Albion and American striker’s tone suggests she’s had to mount this defence before.

From where The Athletic sits — across a Zoom camera six days after Haley helped Brighton to a first-ever major final in the club’s history — Haley’s analysis skills seem perfectly sufficient.

She’s a graduate of Stanford University with a master’s degree in Sustainability Science and Practice. She’s a two-time NCAA National Championship winner with Stanford, a three-time PAC Conference title winner, a CoSIDA Academic All-America first-teamer, a three-time Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Rollee, the current top-ranking striker in Australia’s A-League for goals per minute thanks to the 11 goals in 15 matches for Sydney FC she scored between October 2022 and June 2023 to clinch the A-League title.

A few weeks ago, Haley managed to score against Arsenal, Manchester City (twice) and Liverpool in the space of five weeks, sending the Women’s Super League (WSL) title race into momentary paroxysms and Brighton into the history books.

But Haley knows better than anyone that people have opinions on her career, specifically her decision to forgo the NWSL College Draft in 2021, despite being selected seventh overall by Chicago Red Stars, to pursue her master’s, before following up that decision a year later with a move halfway across the globe to Australia.

It’s generally at this stage when the unsolicited opinions arrive, the belated personal advice of others imagining the fit of her shoes. Had Haley accepted her seventh draft pick in 2021 — alongside Emily Fox (drafted No 1 overall), Trinity Rodman (No 2), Yazmeen Ryan (No 6), Tara McKeown (No 8) and Sam Coffey (12) — perhaps she might’ve forced herself more bullishly into the USWNT first-team bubble ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Perhaps the move to Australia — to a league ranked No 1 in Asia but 16th globally and operating 14 to 19 hours ahead of the States — pushed her even further into the periphery.

And while her dream had always been to one day play in the WSL, maybe joining Brighton — a team that had just finished second from bottom with its fourth manager of the season upon her arrival in 2023 — was still a little too plucky for an aspiring USWNT international.

“You can look and everything is better in hindsight,” Haley says. “Obviously, I’ve seen a lot of my teammates and their careers take off in different ways. But I’ve been happy I’ve done something different. I’ve done it my own way. I’m really enjoying this journey over here in the WSL, which I think is one of the best leagues in the world. So I’m very, very happy with my decisions.”

If there is a thread that runs through Haley’s trophied but unconventional career path, it is a fast faith in her decision-making.

That infectious conviction has been nurtured from the start. Despite being the youngest of four siblings growing up in Dallas, Texas, with five-time Super Bowl winner Charles Haley as a father, Haley relished the freedom to pave her own path.

“I remember getting asked that question all the time, particularly when I was growing up: ‘How involved is your dad? Does he coach you and all of that?’” Haley says with audible weariness.

“I’m always like, ‘He’s not really involved.’ And that’s always surprising to people. But, for one, it’s a different sport. Soccer isn’t American football. So my dad didn’t know it even in general terms. He still asks me questions.

“But growing up, he was always adamant about me owning my journey and having the accountability to push myself. He’d say, ‘I’ll do anything to help you. I’ll get you with the right people, but it’s not going to be me that is telling you what to do because it’s not my expertise.’

“So I feel like everything happened really organically. This definitely wasn’t like a Project Haaland or Project Mbappe that you see parents doing now.”

The methodology proved more than fruitful. Haley passion for football blossomed, leading her to Ursuline High School in Dallas, a soccer powerhouse with whom she claimed a 24th state title, before being recruited by Stanford in 2017.

While Haley was attracted initially by Stanford’s education standards, she quickly learned the sporting pressure cooker to which she was committing.

“Andi Sullivan was our captain, who’s been on the national team,” Haley recalls. “She was also my freshman-year roommate in pre-season, so I learned very quickly. But there was also Alana Cook, Tierna Davidson.

“Immediately the sense was get in there, work hard, get your head down and get down to business.”

Triumph in the 2017 NCAA title further impressed upon her the weight of the program, as did defeat to Florida State University in the 2018 final. But it was the 2019 Stanford class, armed with Haley and future USWNT stars Naomi Girma, Sophia Wilson and Catarina Macario, that announced themselves to the wider American soccer scene with Stanford reclaiming the NCAA title in a penalty shootout against the University of North Carolina in a season that saw them go undefeated.

Haley was instrumental that season, scoring 11 goals and providing 14 assists to finish as the second-highest goal scorer that season alongside Wilson (Macario led the team with 32 goals).

“I just think it was Stanford,” Haley says when asked about what clicked that season. “From the first minute that you’re there, you buy in. It’s clear what the expectations are. There’s no other option but to win.”

The nature of that season is perhaps why some found it so surprising when Haley deferred the NWSL draft in 2021, instead opting to pursue a fifth year at Stanford to complete her master’s degree after the Covid-19 pandemic curtailed her final year of playing eligibility.

“For me, it was never really a question,” Haley says. What became a question was what she would do after her fifth year. The NWSL beckoned and many assumed she would re-enter the draft. But playing in Europe had long been a dream and Haley again chose to pursue the unexpected path, joining Sydney FC before moving to the WSL the following season.

It is at Brighton that Haley has arguably grown the most. Injury in her first season made gathering any momentum a struggle, as did Brighton’s rotating carousel of managers, seeing Haley finished the season with just one goal and one assist from 13 WSL appearances.

The arrival of Dario Vidosic, whom Haley played against while Sydney FC, signalled a moment of change for both player and club. The Australian coach brought stability and clarity to a programme in lurch but also a sense of purpose and intensity to those involved as Brighton finished the season with their record points total in the top flight (28) while finishing fifth overall.

For Haley, the season still brought challenges. Despite finding more opportunities in starting roles midway through the season, the opportunities arrived out wide rather than her preference of through the middle. Injury at the end of the season again stymied her momentum, limiting her to just one goal and two assists in 20 appearances.

“There was obviously a lot of learning,” Haley says. “But I knew deep down that if I could string together that consistency on the pitch, on the training pitch and in games, that there’s a certain level I could reach.

“I think I’m seeing that now. I wish I would have seen it earlier.”

Indeed, this season has returned Haley to a more familiar momentum, scoring seven goals and providing three assists in a season that has seen Brighton go from strength to strength, searing past Arsenal and then Liverpool to reach the FA Cup final, while claiming a scalp against WSL title winners Manchester City and points against Manchester United and Arsenal.

“This season, particularly this run that we’ve had the last couple of months, people are turning their heads,” Haley says.

“We were disappointed early in the season not to get some of the results when the performances were there.

“We knew we could tidy up in key moments and string together some consistency to compete against anyone. And we’ve been showing that.”

In many ways, Haley’s own trajectory this season mirrors that of Brighton, both finding consistency and, in many ways, vindication in the decisions made to reach this point.

Neither will rest contently. “Even now I’m not happy,” Haley. “I always want more. I know I can do more. I expect that for myself. I want to be smashing in the goals left and right, left and right every week.”

The prospect of doing so naturally inspires questions of representing the USWNT. Called up to a training camp following her electric 2019 campaign, Haley hasn’t been called up since nor made a senior appearance.

“It’s not even something I can really be disappointed because I knew I need to perform for my club before I can even think about that,” Haley says. “It’s always been full focus on performing for Brighton. And if I can do that and I can do that across a period of time and at a high level, then that opportunity will come.

“It would mean everything for me and for my family to have that opportunity, but ultimately at the end of the day, all I can do is keep doing what I’m doing and try to finish the season as strong as I can with Brighton, just keep giving everything and hopefully I’ll get an opportunity.”

For now, Haley’s focus rests on the FA Cup final, a trip to Wembley, the arrival of her family to Brighton. But Haley is far from satisfied. “I’m already ready for next season.”