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Sam Meza
Meza with North Carolina in 2023
Personal information
Full name Samantha Meza[1]
Date of birth (2001-11-07) November 7, 2001 (age 23)[2]
Place of birth Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Seattle Reign
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2023 North Carolina 72 (7)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024– Seattle Reign 0 (0)
2024 → Dallas Trinity (loan) 13 (2)
International career‡
United States U-15
2017–2018 United States U-17 12 (0)
2019–2020 United States U-20 11 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of December 12, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 8, 2020

Samantha Meza (born November 7, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was drafted by the Reign in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She represented the United States at the under-15, under-17, and under-20 level, winning CONCACAF tournaments at each level.

Early life and college career

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Meza was born in Dallas, Texas, to Alma and Luis Santos, and has a younger brother.[2][3] She is of Mexican descent.[4] She grew up in Balch Springs and began playing soccer at age three.[3][5] She played club soccer for Dallas Kicks, which reached the final of the US Youth Soccer National Championships one year, then moved to Solar Soccer Club of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy in 2017–18.[5][6] She was twice named to the Best XI of her Academy conference.[7][8] She attended TTU K–12 for her last two years of high school.[3] She committed to the University of North Carolina as a junior after initially planning to join Virginia.[9][10]

North Carolina Tar Heels

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Meza playing for North Carolina in 2023

Meza was a four-year starter for the North Carolina Tar Heels. In her freshman season, which was abbreviated due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she scored 2 goals with 5 assists in 19 games, being named to the All-ACC third team and ACC all-freshman team. North Carolina reached a career-high five assists and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) all-freshman team and All-ACC third team. North Carolina reached the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, where she assisted Brianna Pinto in a 3–1 loss to Santa Clara.[2][11] In her sophomore season in 2021, she had 2 goals and 1 assist in 16 games, including a golden goal against Arkansas, and was named to the All-ACC second team.[2][12]

Meza played through minor shin splints during her junior season in 2022, recording 2 goals and 4 assists in 16 games, and was named first-team All-ACC and third-team All-American. She was forced to miss the NCAA tournament due to injury as North Carolina reached the championship game, losing to UCLA.[13][14] She had 1 goal in 21 games and earned second-team All-ACC honors in her senior season in 2023, helping North Carolina reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.[15] Head coach Anson Dorrance nicknamed her "Mighty Mouse" for her defensive prowess.[13][16]

Club career

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Seattle Reign

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Seattle Reign FC selected Meza with the 17th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NWSL Draft.[17] She was signed to a one-year contract with an option to extend for an additional year, which was exercised.[18][19] Meza made her professional debut on July 19, 2024, substituting in the second half of a 2–1 win against the Utah Royals in the group stage of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup.[20]

Dallas Trinity (loan)

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On August 1, 2024, the Reign loaned Meza to USL Super League club Dallas Trinity FC for the rest of the year for an undisclosed fee ahead of the league's inaugural 2024–25 season.[19] She appeared in the starting lineup of Trinity's inaugural game on August 18, which they drew 1–1 against Tampa Bay Sun FC.[21] She scored her first professional goal and Trinity's first home goal at the Cotton Bowl on September 7, leveling in a 1–1 draw against DC Power FC.[22] On November 24, she scored three minutes into a 1–0 win against Carolina Ascent FC. She was named the USL Super League Player of the Month for November.[23] She finished her loan with 2 goals in 13 games as Trinity sat second in the standings.[24]

International career

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Meza began training with the United States national under-15 team in 2015.[4][25] She scored six goals as part of the team that shut out all seven of its opponents to win the 2016 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship.[6][26] She played regularly for the under-17 team, including on the winning side at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship.[27][28] She helped the under-20 team win the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship.[29] She played friendlies for the under-23 team in 2022.[30]

Career statistics

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Club summary

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As of December 14, 2024
Club Season League League Cup Continental Playoffs Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Seattle Reign 2024 NWSL 0 0 — 2[a] 0 0 0 2 0
Dallas Trinity FC (loan) 2024–25 USL Super League 13 2 — — 0 0 13 2
Career total 13 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 15 2

Notes

  1. ^ Appearances in NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

Honors

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Individual

  • USL Super League Player of the Month, November 2024[23]
  • USL Super League Team of the Month, November 2024[23]
  • Third-team United Soccer Coaches All-American: 2022
  • All-ACC: 2022 (first team), 2021 and 2023 (second team), 2020 (third team)
  • ACC all-freshman team: 2020

References

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  1. ^ "December Commencement Two Thousand Twenty Three" (PDF). December 17, 2023. p. 24. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sam Meza – Women's Soccer". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Cranford, Leslie (January 2020). "D1 University Scholarship Kicks in for TTU K‑12 Soccer Player". TTU K–12. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Jones, Jody (October 8, 2022). "Sam Meza hopes to leave inspiring legacy for young Latinas". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Crooke, Dan (March 28, 2018). "Ordonez and Meza called up to the US U17 WNT for CONCACAF Championship". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "North Texas Players Meza, Ordonez Called Up to U-17 USWNT Camp". Arkansas Soccer Association. October 24, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  7. ^ "USSF announces Girls DA 2017-18 awards". United States Soccer Federation. June 10, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.com.
  8. ^ Crooke, Dan (July 22, 2019). "Solar SC and FC Dallas bring home USSDA awards". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  9. ^ Shealer, Sheldon (April 1, 2019). "Recruiting Roundup: April 1–7". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  10. ^ Musarurwa, Kudzi (April 19, 2024). "Sam Meza has bought into the process at Seattle Reign FC". All for XI. SB Nation. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  11. ^ Brown, C.L. (May 14, 2021). "UNC falls to Santa Clara in women's soccer College Cup semifinals". The News & Observer. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  12. ^ Koh, Michael (August 23, 2021). "No. 3 UNC Women's Soccer Tops No. 13 Arkansas on Meza's Golden Goal". Chapelboro.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Bynum, R.L. (September 11, 2022). "After Meza steadies UNC in win, Dorrance calls her greatest defensive midfielder he's coached". Tar Heel Tribune. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  14. ^ Koh, Michael (August 11, 2023). "UNC Women's Soccer Picked 1st in ACC Coaches Poll; 3 Tar Heels Named All-ACC". Chapelboro.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Koh, Michael (November 2, 2023). "6 Tar Heels Earn All-ACC Women's Soccer Honors; Sentnor Named Midfielder of the Year". Chapelboro.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  16. ^ Rogers, Evan (September 11, 2022). "'Mighty Mouse' Meza lifts UNC women's soccer above UCF with second half magic". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  17. ^ Evans, Jayda (January 12, 2024). "NWSL draft: Reign trade up to take UNC's Sam Meza, select former UW player". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  18. ^ "Seattle Reign FC Signs 2024 NWSL Draft Pick Sam Meza". Seattle Reign FC. March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Seattle Reign FC Exercises Option for Midfielder Sam Meza, Loans Meza to USL Super League's Dallas Trinity FC". Seattle Reign FC. August 1, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  20. ^ "Match Recap: Seattle Reign FC Open Summer Cup with 2–1 Win Over Utah". Seattle Reign FC. July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  21. ^ "Tampa Bay Sun FC 1–1 Dallas Trinity FC". USL Super League. August 18, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  22. ^ Dallas Trinity FC [@dallastrinityfc] (September 7, 2024). "Moments Worth Celebrating! 👏" (Tweet). Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ a b c "USL Super League Team of the Month – November". USL Super League. December 5, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  24. ^ Samantha Meza at Soccerway Edit this at Wikidata
  25. ^ "U15, U16 GNTs head to Portland for camp". United States Soccer Federation. June 1, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.com.
  26. ^ "Champions: U.S. U-15 girls perfect in Orlando; U-18 boys lift Czech crown". Soccer America. August 22, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  27. ^ Eskilson, J.R. (June 10, 2018). "USA qualifies for the U17 Women's World Cup". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  28. ^ "Four North Texas Players to Compete in U-17 Women's World Cup". Arkansas Soccer Association. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022.
  29. ^ "USA Rolls Past Mexico 4–1 to Win 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship". United States Soccer Federation. March 8, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  30. ^ "U.S. Under-23 Women's Youth National Team Defeats Sweden 3–0 on Goals from Alyssa Thompson, Ava Cook and Kerry Abello". United States Soccer Federation. June 28, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
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