Of the emerging young players in the National Women's Soccer League this season, Sam Meza has had one of the more unusual journeys to start her professional career.
Meza was drafted by the Seattle Regin in 2024 out of North Carolina. She made one appearance with the team before she was loaned to the Dallas Trinity for the first season of the women's pro USL Super League.
Meza, who earned Super League player of the month honors for November, was brought back to Seattle this season.
She's one of several young NWSL players who have launched their careers in an ever-growing women's soccer ecosystem that offers a variety of professional pathways. Other players have skipped college soccer, or have navigated the job hunt without the benefit of a college draft.
While Meza considered the loan a blow at the time, now she sees the value in it.
“Ultimately, it was an opportunity for me to learn prove to myself, which is the most important, and to prove to everybody else that I was a player that I’ve always been. It just took me a little bit more time to get to where I wanted to be,” Meza said.
As veteran midfielder Jess Fishlock nurses a knee injury, Meza has started six games for the Reign. She assisted on Jordyn Huitema's game-tying goal in a 1-1 draw with Bay FC last month, and she is tied for second in the league for tackles with 32.
“She's a great example of how loans can be really good, and sticking with it, sticking to the journey, because last year was really challenging for her going on loan,” Reign coach Laura Harvey said. “She wanted to do it in the end, but I'm sure she would have preferred to be with us the whole time.”
Meza, a Dallas native, is a member of the final draft class in the NWSL. The league eliminated the college draft in the latest collective bargaining agreement and 2025 was the first year without a draft.
She's also one of a handful of players who have been loaned to the Super League, which is on the top tier of women's soccer in the United States alongside the NWSL but is only in its first season. Those deals are expected to grow.
North Carolina Courage defender Natalia Staude followed a similar path. She started her pro career on loan to the Super League’s Tampa Bay Sun before joining the Courage this season.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman has said one of the strengths of the league on the international stage is its depth — and part of that is due to its emerging young stars. The loan process helps develop young players who in the past may have left soccer altogether.
"There have been examples where our teams have loaned players to those other leagues when they anticipate that a particular player isn’t going to get playing minutes, or that it’s not the right fit from a technical environment perspective, but they want to give the player an opportunity to continue to develop and play," Berman said. “So I think optionality for players is good, and I think a robust ecosystem that allows for players at all levels to be able to continue to play is a good thing for the sport.”
Some of the other emerging young players who haven't taken traditional paths to launch their pro careers:
Riley Tiernan, Angel City
In the absence of a draft, Tiernan was a non-roster invitee to Angel City's preseason training camp this year. She did so well she earned herself a spot on the team and signed a two-year contract. She's scored five goals, tied for second in the league.
Claire Hutton, Kansas City Current
Hutton initially committed to North Carolina but then decided to go pro instead. She was signed by the Current ahead of the 2024 season via the NWSL’s Under-18 Entry Mechanism and was a finalist for NWSL Rookie of the Year. Hutton followed in the footsteps of other talented NWSL players who skipped college, including Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman.
Olivia Moultrie, Portland Thorns
Although Moultrie made her professional debut in 2021, she's still just 19 years old. She turned pro at just 13 when she hired an agent and signed a deal with Nike. But she wasn't allowed to play professionally because of an NWSL rule that required players to be 18. In 2021, she sued for the right to play and won. Moultrie's legal fight created the pathway for the rule that Hutton and many others have used to turn pro.
The Thompson Sisters, Angel City
Alyssa was the first high school player drafted into the NWSL when she was the No. 1 pick in 2023. Gisele Thompson was just 17 when she joined Angel City ahead of the 2024 season through the under-18 rule. She scored this month against Bay FC with an assist from Alyssa for the league's first sister-to-sister goal.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press
