USWNT and Portland Thorns' Sam Coffey has navigated major roster changes, leading with devotion

New York Times

3 days ago

U.S. women's national team and Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey's affinity for Squishmallows, a plush, pillow-like stuffed toy, has reached international status.
The 26-year-old Thorns captain had just finished a press conference in Monterrey, Mexico, during the Concacaf W Champions League (in which the Thorns placed third) when a local reporter approached her on her way out, Coffey tells The Athletic. And she came bearing gifts.
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'A really kind young woman came over and gave me two small, almost Mexican-themed Squishmallows. One was, like, a guacamole with a little chip.' The other, Coffey added, had a 'chicken al pastor vibe.'
Coffey is aware of how niche and 'maybe childish' Squishmallows are, but her devotion to them never required an audience. Perhaps that's why the reporter's gift nearly moved her to tears, as have those of the supporters who shimmy down stadium steps after her games, offering the stuffed toys in exchange for an autograph.
That seems to be part of Coffey's approach to this phase of her career, one in which she must lead for club and, increasingly, for country, as USWNT head coach Emma Hayes chips away at the national team pool looking for her core group. The team's next two fixtures against China on May 31 and Jamaica on June 3 are among the last matches before Hayes plans to define that core, and Coffey has consistently been a part of that.
It helps that she's stepped into a leadership role with her club.
At first glance, the Thorns roster this season could be described just as accurately by who's not on it: Christine Sinclair and Becky Sauerbrunn, who've retired; Sophia Wilson, who is on parental leave; and Meghan Klingenberg, who left the club last year. Sinclair, Sauerbrunn and Klingenberg were experienced veterans Coffey knows can't be replaced, and rather than force herself into their boots, she's polishing off her own, tucking in her shirt and getting to work as her kind of leader.
After a shaky, 1-2-2 start to the NWSL season, the Thorns turned a corner on April 22 with an emphatic 4-1 home victory over 2023 NWSL Champions Gotham FC. Each Thorns goalscorer netted their first for the club that night, and one of them, rookie Caiya Hanks, attributed the team's performance to Coffey's pregame motivational speech.
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Her transition from pseudoleader last season to captain this year has been smooth.
'It's interesting to hear that it looks seamless because it doesn't always feel that way,' she said. 'There are days I look around the locker room and I'm like, 'Wow, this is new.''
They're all learning as they go, as the newer players settle into the club and Coffey more deeply into her new role.
'I think I was coming into that position alongside Becky and Sincy, and obviously I look up to them so much and it was just such a privilege to do that alongside them,' she said. 'I took so many of the lessons that they taught me and shared with the team. I'm now trying to adapt that into my own leadership style now without them.'
For Coffey, this means two things.
'Servant leadership is something that's really important to me and that does draw back to my faith,' she said. 'I want to be a leader who puts the team and those around me before myself and pours into those around me, whether that's someone who's playing 90 minutes or someone who doesn't make a game-day roster. I think as a leader, you are in such a unique position to pour into people in a really powerful way that transcends sport.'
The other is more easily ascertained on the pitch: setting the standard and driving the team toward its highest potential. The Thorns' nouveau-veteran trio of Coffey, Olivia Moultrie, and Japan international Hina Sugita has proven a sturdy midfield option, especially with the fresher-faced attack of Hanks, Deyna Castellanos, Mimi Alidou, Payton Linnehan, Pietra Tordin and Reilyn Turner. Outside of their 2-0 loss to Tigres UANL in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal, the Thorns are unbeaten in their last five league matches and are fifth in the NWSL table.
'We always will uphold the legacy and cherish so deeply the likes of the Sincys and Klings and Beckys (who) have quite literally laid the foundation for us to be where we are. And we don't ever take that lightly,' Coffey said. 'It is really exciting to be now writing this new chapter in their honor and hopefully making them proud.'
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Meanwhile, as the U.S. prepares for the international window, Hayes continues to make Coffey a consistent factor in her midfield plans. Her 33 appearances are second-most in the midfield after Lindsey Heaps, who's made 165 appearances. After that is 17-year-old Lily Yohannes with six, 19-year-olds Moultrie and Claire Hutton with five and two, and Lo'eau LaBonta, who earned her first national camp invitation at 32.
Intergenerational as they may be, and varying widely in national team experience, Coffey is 'always passionate' about the USWNT's midfield.
'I think we have ballers in this position, and I think that's only going to continue to unfold and to be witnessed as we continue to learn about each other and grow and develop new partnerships,' she said.
With Hayes at the helm, she thinks players have a better shot at thriving than they have before.
'In the past, I think players have been put in positions maybe they weren't prepared for. Emma is one of, if not the most, methodical person I've ever met. There is a rhyme and a reason to everything. And I think she's all about preparation and putting players in the best position to succeed. And at first, that might mean putting them in a position that's uncomfortable,' she said, referring to the USWNT's 2-1 loss to Brazil in the second leg of friendlies between the two teams last month, in which Hutton, Yohannes and Korbin Albert started in midfield.
'But,' Coffey maintained, 'those are the experiences you need to have that ultimately prepare you for the likes of 2027 (World Cup) and 2028 (Olympics). We obviously never want to give up winning and that will never not be our priority. But at the same time, how do we kind of hold in tandem the necessity to develop and to kind of, like, fail upward?'
Looking ahead to China and Jamaica — who will be without the likes of star striker Bunny Shaw, midfield stalwart Drew Spence and goalkeeper Becky Spencer — the games won't likely offer the same possibilities for upward failure as Olympic silver medalists Brazil, but with just under 13 months to prepare for the World Cup, these games are also about the competition within the squad.
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Coffey is devoted to the process.
'I'm super excited about our young talent, like Lily and Claire and others,' she said. 'It's been such a joy to have them in the environment. I think they're so talented and, again, to be able to slowly but surely create those partnerships, I think by the time we get to the likes of 2027, that it's gonna be something to behold.'