The Incredible Career of Sam Mewis, USWNT Star and World Cup Champion

Sam Mewis, one of the breakout stars of the 2019 World Cup, announced her retirement at age 31. While this is sad news for the USWNT program and her former NWSL club team, Kansas City Current, Mewis says she is grateful to have been able to play through injury for as long as she did. So now, while Mewis prioritizes her health, we will celebrate the career of this amazing player and person.

Youth and High School Career

Growing up in Massachusetts, soccer was a part of life in the Mewis household. Between her and her older sister, USWNT, and now West Ham United player Kristie Mewis, there was always a soccer game or practice to get to.

From early in her soccer career, Mewis received recognition for her outstanding gameplay and leadership. In high school alone, she was named a Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Soccer Player of the Year twice and an ESPN RISE All-American, all while earning caps for the USWNT U-17, -20, and -23 teams.

College Soccer 

When colleges came knocking, Mewis chose UCLA, where she would be the top-scoring midfielder in her freshman year and named to the PAC-12 All-Freshman Team. In her junior year, she helped the Bruins win the PAC-12 championship and net the program’s first NCAA Championship. 

Playing in the W-League and NWSL

After college, Sam Mewis was drafted to Pali Blues of the W-League. In her first year with the team, Pali Blues won both the Western Conference and National Championship. Even though the W-League folded after Mewis’s first year of play, she was quickly brought to the NWSL and was picked up by the Western New York Flash. She started in all 20 regular season games and was a close finalist for Rookie of the Year.

Though she missed a good portion of her second season with the Flash due to USWNT commitments, she was vital in the team‘s road to the 2016 NWSL Championship, which they won. Mewis stuck with the Flash when they were sold and rebranded to the North Carolina Courage. She played there for three more seasons.

During those years, Mewis helped NC Courage win two consecutive Championships. She also took home the gold in her first World Cup on the senior USWNT. 

Injury, Retirement, and the Road Ahead

While she was setting the world on fire, she was also sustaining the injury that would eventually lead to her retirement: a cartilage injury to the knee from a match against Canada in November of 2017. This was the same year she appeared in every game for the USWNT. But even with a nagging injury, Mewis helped win a bronze medal at the Olympics, received the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year award, and played internationally with Manchester City, where she was named to the PFA Team of the Year. 

Even though her professional career wasn’t nearly as long as any of us had hoped, Sam Mewis was an incredible player from the get-go. Though she won’t be on the field, she’ll stay active in the soccer world. She has a new gig as the Editor-in-Chief of “The Women’s Game,” affiliated with Men in Blazers Media Network. We wish her a happy and healthy retirement.

Featured image via Getty Images

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