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Something about Sam Coffey just feels stable.
Maybe it has something to do with the way she carries herself: self-assured, intentional. She’s a ride-or-die Squishmallow fan who refuses to be distracted by the newest plush-toy craze, Labubu. She wears a piece of white tape around her left wrist during games on which she writes little notes to herself—words and quotes and doodles, a physical reminder of her faith and why she plays that she can look to throughout a match.
Maybe it’s the tucked-in shirt and ponytail Coffey sports on the pitch—a look that feels reminiscent of the 1999 World Cup-winning U.S. women’s national team (though her role in the Thorns’ 2022 NWSL Championship season and the U.S. women’s 2024 Olympic gold medal prove her style of play is clearly well matched with the modern game).
Or maybe it’s just her reliability on a Portland Thorns squad that’s been in flux in recent years. Coffey, at an elderly 26 years old, has featured in more regular-season matches than anyone else on the Thorns in the time frame she’s been with the club. That statistic is definitely the result of the turnover we’ve seen since Coffey reported to the Thorns in 2022, but it also speaks to something she’s been able to provide throughout her time in Portland: stability.
Stability is something Coffey is focusing on this season, especially as co-captain of a very young squad that’s working on finding exactly that.
“There are constantly things that are changing around us all the time, no matter where you are,” she says. “I always want to show up consistently. And that’s in the way I play, but also my attitude: how I treat the people around me, how I’m able to be someone that players can come to and confide in.”
That steadiness will be especially crucial as the Thorns return from a monthlong break and enter a difficult stretch of a transitional season. So far, the squad has outperformed expectations. They’re currently fifth in the league and are undefeated at home this year.
Captaining such a team, Coffey says, means connecting with the players around her and learning how best to support them as individuals. “I am the best version of myself as a leader when I’m able to pour into the people around me,” she says, “and help serve them in whatever way I possibly can and be the best teammate I can be.”
We saw that even early in the season, when rookie Caiya Hanks (pre-ACL tear) pointed to Coffey as an encouraging figure as Hanks adjusted to the demands of professional soccer. “She’s been really supportive of me, for me to break out and be myself,” Hanks said in a postgame presser in April.
Coffey says she encourages the younger players on Portland’s squad to pour into each other and bring out the best in each other, too. “I ultimately think we are all leaders in that,” she says. “That’s a responsibility and a role that our younger players are learning about as well—and attacking head-on.”
Building each other up will be especially important to the Thorns developing consistency in this second half of the season; this squad has shown they can put together results against top-tier opponents (see: victories over the second-place Washington Spirit and last year’s NWSL champions Orlando Pride), but their two matches heading into the break were their first back-to-back wins of the season.
Coffey also points to Portland’s record on the road—at home, they’ve earned four wins and three draws but are 2–3–1 away—as an area for growth.
As Portland’s co-captain (alongside goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold) and as an irreplaceable staple in the Thorns’ midfield, Coffey seems to be one of the players Portland will look to for help finding that stability. And head coach Rob Gale certainly believes she’s up to the task.
“Name a footballer in the middle of the park in world football that’s in better form than Sam Coffey,” Gale told the media ahead of the Thorns’ friendly match against the Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds. “She’s growing. We’re challenging her. She’s in an environment [where] she can thrive.”
Gale said the club has especially pushed Coffey to step up in the leadership side of her game—and to step into roles higher up the midfield, as she did in Portland’s last league game against the Chicago Stars. It’s not a role Coffey is unfamiliar with—she played primarily as an attacking midfielder at Penn State—but the Thorns have mostly utilized her as a defensive midfielder over the years.
“I was able to get high because I knew someone was covering for me,” Coffey says of her more advanced role against Chicago. “I think so much of it comes down to an understanding of one another and also trust that if you go somewhere, someone will cover for you.”
Coffey thinks the Thorns will keep surprising people. Those on the outside didn’t expect the team to be a serious player in the league this season. (Coffey’s very clear that, internally, this Thorns squad believes in themselves and holds lofty ambitions for 2025.) And despite the hiccups along the way, Coffey believes they’ve built the foundation to challenge for a championship sooner than the pundits think.
“I just feel so proud of the way that we’ve overcome all of these odds set against us and have proven people wrong when they thought we weren’t going to be or do anything,” she says. “Look what we’ve put together, and look what we’re figuring out as we go along.”
NEXT MATCH:
vs. Washington Spirit
9:30 am Sunday, Aug. 3
Streams on ESPN+
