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Biography
Samantha June Mewis (born October 9, 1992) is an American soccer player for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the United States women's national soccer team.She played college soccer for the UCLA Bruins. Her club career started in 2013 when she signed with Pali Blues in the W-League and continues with her playing for the North Carolina Courage in the National Women's Soccer League with three NWSL wins under her belt.
Early life
Born in Weymouth, Massachusetts to Robert and Melissa Mewis, Samantha grew up in Hanson, Massachusetts where she attended Whitman-Hanson Regional High School and played on the soccer team, tallying 77 goals and 34 assists during her time there. She grew up with her older sister Kristie, playing soccer for numerous youth teams, including club team, Scorpions SC, as well as the under-17 and under-20 United States national teams. Mewis earned Parade All-American honors twice during her high school years and was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America national player of the year in 2010. In 2011, she was named Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Soccer Player of the Year for the second time after receiving the accolade previously for 2009–10. The same year, she was named ESPN RISE All-American after scoring 30 goals and serving 8 assists during her senior year.
UCLA Bruins
In her first year, Mewis was second on the team in scoring with six goals and seven assists, only bested by current United States women's national soccer team member Sydney Leroux and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Due to national team commitments, Sam missed the first six games of her second season, but finished the year with three goals and three assists in 16 games. In her junior year, Mewis helped UCLA win the Pac-12 championship on the way to its first NCAA Championship. In December 2014, she was named the winner of the 2015 Honda Award for soccer by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA).
Club career
Pali Blues
In 2013, Mewis signed with the Pali Blues in the W-League. The team won the western conference titleas well as the national championship in July 2013.
Western New York Flash, 2015–2016
Mewis was selected fourth overall by the Western New York Flash in the 2015 National Women's Soccer League entry draft. She started all 20 regular-season games for the Flash, scoring 4 goals and providing 4 assists to share the top of the team scoring leaderboard with Lynn Williams. On September 9, 2015, the NWSL announced that Mewis was selected as a finalist for the NWSL Rookie of the Year Award for the 2015 season, along with Sofia Huerta and the eventual winner, Danielle Colaprico.
In the 2016 season, Mewis missed several games as she was away training with the U.S. WNT in preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The Western New York Flash finished fourth in the standings and qualified for the play-offs. In the semi-final, Mewis scored a goal in the 16th minute helping the Western New York Flash to upset the Shield winning Portland Thorns. In the NWSL Championship game Mewis once again scored a goal. The Championship game went to penalties, Mewis missed her penalty but the flash went on to win the Championship, winning the penalty shootout 3–2.
North Carolina Courage, 2017–present
It was announced on January 9, 2017, that the Western New York Flash was officially sold to new ownership, moved to North Carolina, and rebranded as the North Carolina Courage. Mewis had a very successful 2017 season, as she appeared in every game for the Courage, tallying 6 goals and 3 assists. She was named to the NWSL Best XI and was a finalist for the NWSL Most Valuable Player Award.
Mewis missed the beginning of the 2018 season as she was recovering from a knee injury. She appeared in 17 regular season games, as the Courage won their second consecutive NWSL Shield. In the play-offs, Mewis was in the starting line-up for the semi-final match against the Chicago Red Stars and scored a goal in the 86th minute. North Carolina won 2–0 and advanced to their second straight championship game. She played all 90 minutes in the NWSL Championship game as the Courage defeated the Portland Thorns 3–0. Mewis has now won two NWSL Championships.
Due to her participation in the 2019 World Cup, Mewis only appeared in 12 regular season games for the Courage in 2019. North Carolina won the NWSL Shield for the third consecutive season. They advanced to the final after defeating Reign FC in the semi-final. Mewis scored a goal in the championship game as North Carolina defeated the Chicago Red Stars 4–0 to win their second consecutive NWSL Championship.
Club summary
- As of October 31, 2019
| Club | Season | League | Play-offs | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | – | |||
| Western New York Flash | 2015 | National Women's Soccer League | 20 | 4 | – | |||
| 2016 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| North Carolina Courage | 2017 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2019 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 87 | 20 | 8 | 4 | – | |||
International career
Mewis was a member of the United States under-17 team that was runner-up at the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand. As her sister Kristie was also a member of the team, they were the first sisters to represent the United States at a Women's World Cup. They also played together at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.At the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Mewis helped the team win the championship after defeating Germany 1–0 in the final.
On January 24, 2014, Mewis was named for the first time to the senior national team roster for friendlies against Canada and Russia. She made her debut for the team at the 2014 Algarve Cup during the team's second match of the tournament, a 1–0 loss to Sweden.
After a spell out of the team, Mewis was invited back to the senior team following their success at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She continued to get regular playing time, scoring four goals in 2016 including the winning goal against Germany in the 2016 She Believes Cup that won the United States the trophy. Mewis was named as an alternate for the U.S. WNT for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In 2017 Mewis was one of three players to appear in every game for the U.S. WNT., she played 1,242 minutes which was second highest on the team. She scored three goals and was a finalist for 2017 U.S Female Player of the Year.
Mewis suffered a knee injury in a November 2017 game against Canada, which would sideline her for the beginning of 2018, forcing her to miss the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. Mewis returned to the field for the U.S. in June 2018 in a friendly against China. In September 2018 she was named to the final 20 player roster of the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship.
In May 2019, Mewis was named to the final 23-player roster for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. She ended up playing in 6 out of 7 matches, including the final. The United States won the 2019 World Cup after defeating the Netherlands 2–0.
Player statistics
World Cup appearances
| Match | Date | Location | Opponent | Lineup | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup | ||||||
1 | 2019-06-11 | Reims, France |  Thailand | Start | 13–0 W | Group stage |
2 | 2019-06-20 | Le Havre, France |  Sweden | Start | 2–0 W | Group stage |
3 | 2019-06-24 | Reims, France |  Spain | Start | 2–1 W | Round of 16 |
4 | 2019-06-28 | Paris, France |  France | {{{4}}}. off 82' (on Lloyd) | 2–1 W | Quarter-final |
5 | 2019-07-02 | Lyon, France |  England | {{{4}}}. on 67' (off Lavelle) | 2–1 W | Semi-final |
6 | 2019-07-07 |  Netherlands | Start | 2–0 W | Final | |
International goals
| Key (expand for notes on“international goals” and sorting) | |
|---|---|
| Location | Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred Sorted by country name first, then by city name |
| Lineup | Start – played entire match on minute (off player) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time off minute (on player) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time |
| Goal in match | Goal of total goals by the player in the match Sorted by total goals followed by goal number |
| # | NumberOfGoals.goalNumber scored by the player in the match (alternate notation to Goal in match) |
| Min | The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal. |
| Assist/pass | The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information. |
| penalty or pk | Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.) |
| Score | The match score after the goal was scored. Sorted by goal difference, then by goal scored by the player's team |
| Result | The final score. Sorted by goal difference in the match, then by goal difference in penalty-shoot-out if it is taken, followed by goal scored by the player's team in the match, then by goal scored in the penalty-shoot-out. For matches with identical final scores, match ending in extra-time without penalty-shoot-out is a tougher match, therefore precede matches that ended in regulation |
| aet | The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation |
| pso | Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parenthesis; the match was tied at the end of extra-time |
| Light-purple background color – exhibition or closed door international friendly match | |
| Light-yellow background color – match at an invitational tournament | |
| Light-orange background color – Olympic women's football qualification match | |
| Light-blue background color – FIFA women's world cup qualification match | |
| Pink background color – Continental Games or regional tournament | |
| Orange background color – Olympic women's football tournament | |
| Blue background color – FIFA women's world cup final tournament | |
| Goal | Date | Location | Opponent | Cap | Lineup | Min | Assist/pass | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-02-15 | Frisco |  Puerto Rico | 6 | Start | 90+1' | Crystal Dunn | 6050.10005 10–0 | 6050.10005 10–0 | Olympic qualifier: Group A | |
| 2016-03-09 | Boca Raton |  Germany | 8 | 61. off 61' (on Horan) | 41' | unassisted | 5150.02005 2–1 | 5150.02005 2–1 | SheBelieves Cup | |
| 3 | 2016-10-19 | Sandy |  Switzerland | 15 | 75. on 76' (off Sullivan) | 76' | Christen Press | 5250.02005 4–0 | 5950.09005 4–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 2016-11-13 | Carson |  Romania | 18 | 70. on 71' (off Long) | 90+1' | Kelley O'Hara | 5350.03005 5–0 | 5650.06005 5–0 | |
| 5 | 2017-07-31 | San Diego |  Brazil | 27 | 86. off 86' (on Long) | 18' | Megan Rapinoe | 5250.02005 1–1 | 5950.09005 4–3 | 2017 Tournament of Nations |
| 6 | 2017-10-22 | Cary |  South Korea | 32 | 46. off 46' (on Long) | 3' | Abby Dahlkemper | 5350.03005 1–0 | 5650.06005 6–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 20' | unassisted | 5350.03005 2–0 | |||||||
| 8 | 2018-10-07 | Cary |  Panama | 39 | Start | 5' | Christen Press | 5350.03005 1–0 | 5650.06005 5–0 | 2018 CONCACAF Championship |
| 9 | 2019-04-07 | Los Angeles |  Belgium | 47 | 73. off 73' (on Zerboni) | 33' | 5350.03005 4–0 | 5650.06005 6–0 | Friendly | |
| 10 | 2019-05-12 | Santa Clara |  South Africa | 48 | Start | 37' | Rose Lavelle | 5350.03005 1–0 | 5650.06005 3–0 | |
| 11 | 78' | Megan Rapinoe | 5350.03005 2–0 | |||||||
| 12 | 2019-05-16 | St. Louis |  New Zealand | 49 | 46. on 46' (off Horan) | 84' | Christen Press | 5350.03005 5–0 | 5650.06005 5–0 | |
| 13 | 2019-06-11 | Reims | Thailand | 51 | Start | 50' | Megan Rapinoe | 5350.03005 4–0 | 5650.06005 13–0 | FIFA Women's World Cup: Group Stage |
| 14 | 54' | Rose Lavelle | 5350.03005 6–0 | |||||||
| 15 | 2020-02-04 | Houston |  Costa Rica | 62 | Start | 63' | Christen Press | 4–0 | 6–0 | Olympic qualifier: Group A |
| 16 | 82' | Kelley O'Hara | 6–0 | |||||||
| 17 | 2020-02-07 | Carson |  Mexico | 63 | Start | 14' | Megan Rapinoe | 2–0 | 4–0 | Olympic qualifier: Semi-final |
| 18 | 67' | unassisted | 3–0 |
Personal life
Mewis' sister, Kristie, played for the United States women's national soccer team and plays professionally for the Houston Dash. In late December 2018, Mewis married longtime boyfriend Pat Johnson in Boston, Massachusetts.
After winning the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, Mewis revealed that while she was young, her father, Bob Mewis, would pick up side jobs to be able to afford her and her sister's soccer expenses.
Honors
College
UCLA
- NCAA Women's Soccer Championship: 2013
- Honda Sports Award 2015
International
- CONCACAF U20 Women's Championship: 2012
- FIFA U20 Women's World Cup: 2012
- CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament: 2016; 2020
- SheBelieves Cup: 2016; 2020
- Tournament of Nations: 2018
- CONCACAF Women's Championship: 2018
- FIFA Women's World Cup: 2019
Club
Western New York Flash
- NWSL Champions: 2016
North Carolina Courage
- NWSL Champions: 2018, 2019
- NWSL Shield: 2017, 2018, 2019
Personal
- NWSL Best XI: 2017
In popular culture
Ticker Tape Parade
Following the United States' win at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, Mewis and her teammates were honored with a Ticker tape parade in New York City. Each player received a key to the city from Mayor Bill de Blasio.