| 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) |
| 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: | 1 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| 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: | August 18, 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 verbally committed to the University of North Carolina in March 2019 after initially planning to join Virginia.[9] [10]
Meza was a starting midfielder at North Carolina from 2020 to 2023. In her first season, she was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) All-Freshman team and All-ACC third team.[11] As a sophomore, she scored an overtime golden goal to beat Arkansas in August 2021 and was named to the All-ACC second team.[12] [13] She played through minor shin splints during her junior season and was named third-team All-American and first-team All-ACC though she missed the team's run at the 2022 NCAA tournament due to injury.[14] [15] She received second-team All-ACC honors as a senior.[16] Head coach Anson Dorrance nicknamed her "Mighty Mouse" for her defensive prowess.[14] [17]
Seattle Reign FC selected Meza with the 17th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NWSL Draft.[18] She was signed to a one-year contract with the Reign with a one-year option, which was exercised.[19] 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.[20]
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.[21] She appeared in the starting lineup of Trinity's first-ever game on August 18, which they drew 1–1 to Tampa Bay Sun FC.[22]
Meza began training with the United States national under-15 team in 2015.[3] [23] In August 2016, 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 national under-17 team, including on the winning team at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship.[25] [26] She won the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship with the national under-20 team in early 2020.[27] In June 2022, she played friendlies for the national under-23 team.[28]