Orlando Pride’s Emily Sams is getting ready to star for the USWNT

There’s an Olympic gold medalist from the U.S. women’s national team you may not have heard of.

In fact, she has never appeared for the team. This young defender just helped the Orlando Pride win their first National Women’s Soccer League Shield. Coaches, teammates and analysts agree: the future of American soccer is Emily Sams.

“It was incredible,” Sams says of the USWNTs won a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games. “Participating in the national team has been my goal from the start, and although I didn’t get a cap, I did get a medal. If you had asked me earlier this year if I thought I would go to the Olympics and medal, I would have said: probably not!

What struck Sams most was the energy surrounding the USWNT this summer. Under new head coach Emma Hayes, Sams got the experience of a lifetime, establishing himself in the area and picking up a gold medal along the way.

“I obviously don’t have the experience from previous camps, but I heard from the girls and understood that the team chemistry and mutual bond were a lot better than they had been in a while,” says Sams. ‘I think this is a great honor for Emma. She came in and wanted this to be the focus from the start so that the team would come together.”

Although Sams didn’t see any field time in the Olympics, it’s clear the 25-year-old defenseman is just getting started, and while she may be the future, she’s also not afraid to be the first.

Sams became the first player to sign with the NWSL before even entering the draft, and once he was picked up by the Pride via the 2023 NWSL college draft, the Idaho native broke records and played the most minutes of any rookies in the NWSL (1,977). and all rookies lead in total blocks (18) and total clearances (73). Now she has helped lead the league’s stingiest defense to the first Shield win in club history.

“I definitely think (Sams) is the future of this Pride backline and I think she will work her way into this national team backline,” said Darian Jenkins, NWSL football analyst and former Orlando Pride forward. “She has so much quality on the ball, is a brilliant one-on-one defender, and then you see her go on the attack and score some bangers. We haven’t seen the full potential of this player yet.”

Proud of herself, proud of her team

When Sams was picked up by Orlando, the team was still in a time of transition. Haley Carter had recently visited appointed as general manager of the team and just a few months earlier, Seb Hines signed as the club’s head coach, removing an interim tag he held afterwards. taking over coaching duties in 2022. In ’23, Orlando would just miss out on a play-off spot due to goal difference, but the fall short sparked a fire within the club to make a statement in ’24, leaving no one to keep them out of the conversation.

“Huge credit to Seb, who had a vision for the team from day one, and also huge support for Haley,” said Sams of the team’s Shield-clinching season. “To be part of this team now and have this incredible season, one thing I’m so grateful for is how well we all get along. I don’t take that for granted.”

Hines and Carter’s leadership has allowed Sams to commit to her individual play and work all day every day for her teammates – a group of dedicated individuals who want to play for each other and play for each other. win.

While Orlando has dazzled the league with the goal-scoring prowess of Marta and Barbara Banda, it is the club’s backline that has ensured the opposition doesn’t even have a chance. The Pride lead the league in shutouts with twelve clean sheets, which Sams credits to goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse’s exemplary season, along with a host of defenders ready to step up when needed.

Sams has spent most of her time on the backline in a center back position with Kylie Strom. The two have built a great relationship, play a similar style and have been a big part of Orlando’s defensive success, according to Sams.

“If you watch the film, you see people jumping back to stop counterattacks, putting their bodies on the line,” says Sams. “There have been a lot of changes (in the back four) throughout the season, but I think we all have the same goal: to keep the balls out of the net. I think we have succeeded extremely well with that.”

Sams may have a team-first mentality, but the stats show how crucial she has been this season and how much she has grown since her rookie year. In addition to the league-leading shutouts, Sams has scored a goal and provided an assist, and boasts 151 wins on the penultimate matchday of the season, fourth most among all defenders.

“Emily has been monumental for us in the black line this year, along with all our (defenders), including (Moorhouse),” said Morgan Gautrat, two-time World Cup winner and Sams’ Pride teammate. “It was one of the best defensive performances by a team, a record. It’s been amazing to watch and I’m really impressed with her and how much she’s grown, and if she’s grown that much in such a short time, the sky’s the limit for her.”

Through consistent playing time and quality coaching, Sams has seen herself grow from one season to the next and even become more comfortable stepping into a leadership role on the field.

“The beginning of my rookie year was a little rough, we lost the first game 4-0 and I made some mistakes in that game that led to some of their goals,” Sames recalled. “I think we lost the first three games. Seb believed in me from the start and the entire coaching staff wanted me to come to Orlando, which gave me the confidence that they would invest in me.

The next era of Orlando

The Pride, a 2016 expansion team, have seen their fair share of ups and downs. The Florida squad has consistently found itself at or near the bottom of the rankings, even with stars like Alex Morgan, Ali Kriege and Sydney Leroux on previous rosters. In its short history, the team has seen a change in head coaching positions, including three in the last four seasons. Hines has brought stability to the role, allowing the players, and Sams, to thrive.

“(Sams) has played a huge role, and I think everyone can see how far she has come from the day we signed her last year to where she is today,” Hines said. “She has to have a lot of confidence in her performance, but also getting her first call-up and going away with the U.S. national team and being in that environment goes a long way. Credit to her because she has put a lot of work into her craft and we are so happy to have her here.”

For Sams, Hines’ previous playing experience as a defender has been essential to her rapid and consistent growth in the league. His extensive playing and coaching resume, combined with his passion for the game, has given his players a steady hand and a vision for what the Pride wants to be.

“From the beginning, Hines recognized the narrative that everyone wants to play Orlando because it’s an easy three points,” Sams said. “We have that chip on our shoulders in part because he led us in that way to make us the place that teams hate. He instilled that mentality in us from the beginning and now it’s becoming a reality.”

With consistent winning came something else the Pride lacked: presence. In recent years, the players have mainly entered the field in an almost empty stadium. Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium seats approximately 25,500 people, but in 2022 Orlando ranked last in attendance in the league, only improving slightly in ’23but still holds less than 25% of the seats. On September 28, the club struck a attendance record with an audience of 17,087forcing the Pride to open the top level of the stadium.

“It helps a lot to see people there,” says Sams. “When we had a rain break a few weeks ago, people arrived earlier than the game started, but as we go out to warm up, the stadium is almost full! The energy of the crowd, even from the start of the warm-up, was incredible.”

With the Shield secured, the team sets its sights on a coveted NWSL championship, but Sams has one more stop before she gets there. The defender recently received a call-up from the USWNT for a series of friendlies against Iceland and Argentina later this month. While it isn’t her first call-up, she will be looking to make her first gaming appearance.

“There is such a great history behind the team,” says Sams. “I just want to be a part of that and help in any way I can.”