| Sam Meza | |
| Full Name: | Samantha Meza[1] |
| Birth Date: | 7 November 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Height: | 5 ft 4 in |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Dallas Trinity (on loan from the Seattle Reign) |
| Clubnumber: | 15 |
| Collegeyears1: | 2020–2023 |
| College1: | North Carolina |
| Collegecaps1: | 72 |
| Collegegoals1: | 7 |
| Years1: | 2024– |
| Clubs1: | Seattle Reign |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2024– |
| Clubs2: | → Dallas Trinity (loan) |
| Caps2: | 8 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2017–2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | United States U-17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 12 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2019–2020 |
| Nationalteam2: | United States U-20 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 11 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 2 |
| Club-Update: | November 9, 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | March 8, 2024 |
Samantha Meza (born November 7, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Dallas Trinity FC of the USL Super League, on loan from Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being 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.
Meza was born in Dallas, Texas, to Alma and Luis Santos, and has a younger brother.[2] She is of Mexican descent.[3] She grew up in Balch Springs and began playing soccer at age three.[4] 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.[4] She committed to the University of North Carolina as a junior after initially planning to join Virginia.[9] [10]
Meza was a four-year starting midfielder for the North Carolina Tar Heels. In her abbreviated 2020 freshman season, she provided 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 but lost to Santa Clara.[2] [11] She scored one of her two sophomore goals in overtime to beat Arkansas and was named to the All-ACC second team for the 2021 season.[2] [12] She played through minor shin splints during her junior season in 2022, in which she was named third-team All-American and first-team All-ACC, but was forced to miss her team's run to final of the NCAA tournament due to injury.[13] [14] She received second-team All-ACC honors as a senior in 2023, in which she helped North Carolina reach the NCAA quarterfinals.[15] Head coach Anson Dorrance nicknamed her "Mighty Mouse" for her defensive prowess.[13] [16]
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 the Reign with a one-year option, which was exercised.[18] Meza made her professional debut on July 19, 2024, in the first group stage game of the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, substituting on in the 57th minute of a 2–1 win over the Utah Royals.[19]
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 inaugural 2024–25 season.[20] She appeared in the starting lineup of Trinity's inaugural game on August 18, a 1–1 draw against Tampa Bay Sun FC.[21] She scored her first professional goal and Trinity's home goal at the Cotton Bowl on September 7, drawing 1–1 against DC Power FC.[22]
Meza began training with the United States national under-15 team in 2015.[3] [23] She scored six goals as part of the under-15 team that shut out all seven of its opponents to win the 2016 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship.[6] [24] She played regularly for the under-17 team, including the winning side at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship.[25] [26] She helped the under-20 team win the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship.[27] She played friendlies for the under-23 team in 2022.[28]
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Dallas Trinity FC (loan) | 2024–25 | USL Super League | 8 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | |||