It goes without saying that there is no shortage of star power on the U.S. Women’s National Team, and Samantha Mewis, however prominent in years past, is on a new level as of late.
In the team’s 4-0 win over Colombia on Monday night, Mewis earned a hat-trick. On top of that, the goals came in three different ways. A weak-foot shot from the run of play, a header in a chaotic moment, and a cool-as-you-like penalty.
“I can’t take all the credit, at all. I think they really, truly were all such good team goals and I’m just proud that I could be a part of that, so it’s definitely cool, and I was excited that I went to take the PK,” Mewis said. “It’s fun to get situations like that,”
It is worth a mention that she is the only player in the USWNT January camp who is seeing steady minutes at the moment, but her emergence as a steady source of goals form the midfield has quietly been in the making for some time.
Perhaps being a little harsh fresh off the performance, head coach Vlatko Anonovski believes Mewis has even more to give.
“One thing about Sam is she did what she did and obviously played very good and scored goals, but I don’t think that’s her best,” Andonovski said. “I really believe that Sam has still a lot to grow, which is exciting. It’s exciting for me, exciting for Sam, exciting for everyone. For the fans, for the whole country, to have a player being so good but still with so much more to grow and get better.”
Monday’s hat-trick goes down has a memorable performance for the 28-year-old, but it’s her third multi-goal game on the international scene in the last 12 months after notching a pair of braces in Olympic Qualifiers last February.
After helping the North Carolina Courage to two-straight NWSL Championships, she departed for Manchester City after the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, and negotiated goals on the regular in Manchester, where she quickly made waves.
Not just for the fact that she has been producing, but how it’s being done. In the span of 2019-2020, she scored in the FA Cup Final, UEFA Women’s Champions League, and World Cup.
When England came calling for the new wave of American female talent, Mewis might not have been your favorite to stand out in the crowd of Lavelle, Tobin Heath, or Christen Press, but she has managed to outshine them all so far, largely thanks to the ability to hit the new gear she has found in the scoring department.
As it stands, Mewis’ star continues to rise with her ability to perform for club and country, and it may be time to start the conversation about her contending to be the best women’s soccer player in the world.
Ellis chose her over Horan, who is awesome, and that was a couple of years ago. Sam’s ability to play precision balls, on the ground or driven or sculpted, and as a two footed player who is strong on the ball and breaks lines without turning it over much, with her vision and toughness, she’s been a key player for the USWNT for some time seems to me. Over here we’ve thought she was the top midfielder in many games for a while now, which is saying something with that group special of midfielders.
USWNT back 4 with the ever more confident Najer behind them is THE poop, sets up the midfield to dominate. Sam’s doing it
We’ve definitely been spoiled by the level of play of our women’s national team over the last 30 years. Think the only other national team sports that’s close is the US mens and womens basketball teams.
I think the one BIG thing Sam has acquired over the last few years is confidence. She has always had the ability. She use to be dominant like last night when she was at UCLA. However, when you join the USWNT, you become reluctant to hang on to the ball for very long, what with the array of sharp-shooters on the front line. I think that Carly Lloyd went though that same phase before blossoming into a goal-scoring phenom. But no matter how long it takes, the Cream will ultimately rise to the top.