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Samantha Meza
American soccer player (born 2001) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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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 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]
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Club career
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Seattle Reign
2024: Loan to Dallas Trinity
Seattle Reign FC selected Meza with the 17th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NWSL Draft; Seattle received the pick in a trade with the Chicago Red Stars for US$125,000 in allocation funds.[17] She was signed to a one-year contract with an option to extend for an additional year, which Seattle picked up.[18][19] She made her professional debut on July 19, 2024, as a second half-substitute in a 2–1 win against the Utah Royals in NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup group stage.[20]
On August 1, 2024, the Reign loaned Meza to Dallas Trinity FC for the rest of the year for an undisclosed fee ahead of the USL Super League's inaugural season.[19] She appeared in the starting lineup of Trinity's inaugural game on August 18, a 1–1 draw against the Tampa Bay Sun.[21] On September 7, she scored her first professional goal and Trinity's first home goal at the Cotton Bowl, leveling in a 1–1 draw against DC Power FC.[22] On November 24, she scored three minutes into a 1–0 win against the Carolina Ascent. She was named the USL Super League Player of the Month for November.[23] She recorded 2 goals and 1 assist in 13 appearances, helping Dallas to second place in the standings at the winter break.[24]
2025
Seattle head coach Laura Harvey said the loan spell in Dallas contributed to Meza's maturation as a professional athlete.[25] Meza made her NWSL regular-season debut on March 15, 2025, coming on as a 90th-minute substitute for Ji So-yun in the season opener, a 1–1 draw against NJ/NY Gotham FC.[24]
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International career
Meza began training with the United States national under-15 team in 2015.[4][26] 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][27] She played regularly for the under-17 team, including on the winning side at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship.[28][29] She helped the under-20 team win the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship.[30] She played friendlies for the under-23 team in 2022.[31]
Career statistics
Club summary
- As of December 14, 2024
Notes
- Includes NWSL Playoffs
- Appearances in NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup
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Honors
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
External links
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