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Emily Sams

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Emily Sams
Sams warming up with the Orlando Pride in 2024
Personal information
Full name Emily May Sams[1]
Birth name Emily May Madril[2]
Date of birth (1999-07-01) July 1, 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Boise, Idaho, United States
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Center back, fullback
Team information
Current team
 Orlando Pride
Number 6
Youth career
Gulf Coast Texans
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Florida State Seminoles 62 (6)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 Racing Louisville (W League) 9 (4)
2022 NWSL pool 0 (0)
2022 → BK Häcken (loan) 4 (1)
2023– Orlando Pride 47 (1)
International career‡
2017–2018 United States U19
2018 United States U20
2022 United States U23
2024– United States 2 (0)
Medal record
Women's soccer
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 4, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of October 30, 2024

Emily May Sams (née Madril; born July 1, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She plays primarily as a center back but has also been deployed at right back.

She played college soccer for the Florida State Seminoles, where she won the 2021 national championship. She played half a season in Sweden before being selected third overall by the Pride in the 2023 NWSL Draft. In 2024, she helped lead the Pride to the NWSL Shield and was named NWSL Defender of the Year.

Sams trained with the youth national team from the under-19 to under-23 levels. She was included in the squad that won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics before making her senior debut later that year.

Early life

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Sams was born in Boise, Idaho in 1999. Her family moved to Navarre, Florida in the summer of 2014.[3] She attended Navarre High School where she tallied 107 goals and 70 assists for the soccer team and was honored with several individual awards including 2016 Florida Miss Soccer and twice Player of the Year by the Pensacola News Journal.[4] She also played youth club soccer for Gulf Coast Texans.[5]

Florida State Seminoles

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Sams played three seasons of college soccer for the Seminoles at Florida State University between 2017 and 2021; she made a total of 62 appearances, starting 61, scoring six goals and registering seven assists.[6] As a freshman she played in all 21 FSU games on the season, including 20 starts. On her collegiate debut she made two assists for Deyna Castellanos in a 3–0 win over the UNC Greensboro Spartans.[7] She scored her first collegiate goal on October 5 in a 3–0 win over the Boston College Eagles.[8] She redshirted for the 2018 season due to an ACL injury before being forced to sit out in 2019 with a second ACL tear.[9] She returned in 2020 to start in all 16 games during the COVID-19 pandemic shortened season as FSU claimed both the ACC regular season and tournament titles.[10] Individually she was named College Cup All-Tournament Team, All-ACC Second Team, United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American.[6]

In 2021, she started all 25 games and played a team-high 2,306 minutes in her redshirt senior year, anchoring a back line that allowed 13 goals and kept 14 shutouts.[11] The team finished second in the regular season standings behind the Virginia Cavaliers but defended their 2021 ACC women's soccer tournament title with a 1–0 victory over the Cavaliers before going on to win the 2021 National Championship title, beating the BYU Cougars on penalty kicks in the final.[12] She earned College Cup All-Tournament Team, All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Tournament Team and United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American honors as well being named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.[6] Having redshirted in 2018 and accrued an additional year of eligibility following the COVID-19 impacted season, she was permitted to play one more season of college soccer but announced she would forgo it and turn professional in August 2022 after feeling disrespected by the FSU administration following the head coach search.[13]

Club career

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Racing Louisville (W League)

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Sams signed for the semi-professional USL W League affiliate of Racing Louisville FC in May 2022.[14] She made nine appearances and scored four goals during the 2022 season and was named to the Best XI second team.[15]

BK Häcken

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After electing to forgo her final season at Florida State in early August 2022, partway through the 2022 NWSL season, Sams signed a professional contract directly with the NWSL on August 31, 2022. The move allowed her to retain her eligibility to have her playing rights distributed in the 2023 NWSL Draft and play in the 2023 NWSL season. In a statement, the league's Chief Legal Officer stated: "We are constantly evaluating our policies and procedures to ensure the NWSL is attracting and retaining the best players in the world."[16] Having signed through 2025, she was loaned out to Swedish Damallsvenskan side BK Häcken FF for the remainder of the 2022 season.[17] She made her senior club debut on September 14, 2022, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–0 Svenska Cupen third round victory over second division Jitex BK.[18] She made a further four appearances, all in the league, scoring one goal in a 7–1 win over AIK.[19] Despite being named as a substitute for both second qualifying round legs against Paris Saint-Germain, she did not appear in the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Orlando Pride

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On January 12, 2023, Sams was selected in the first round (third overall) of the 2023 NWSL Draft by Orlando Pride.[20]

Sams recorded her first NWSL assist, to Barbra Banda, in a 1–0 win over Racing Louisville on May 5, 2024.[21] She scored her first NWSL goal on May 19, opening a 3–2 win against the Seattle Reign.[22] Her performance alongside center back partner Kylie Strom helped Orlando set the NWSL's record for consecutive games unbeaten and secure the NWSL Shield, the first trophy in Pride history.[23] Sams was named to the NWSL Team of the Month three times, selected to the NWSL Best XI, and voted the NWSL Defender of the Year.[24]

International career

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In March 2017, Sams was called into training camp with the United States under-19 team for the first time, one of only two college players on the roster.[25] In January 2018, she was called up to an under-20 training camp ahead of the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship but did not make the final roster.[26] In February 2022, she was named to the under-23 squad for the 2022 Thorns Invitational.[27] She returned to the under-23s to play in the Three-Nations Tournament hosted in Sweden in June 2022.[28]

In June 2024, Sams received her first senior national team call-up as a training player ahead of the send-off match for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[29] The next month she was named as an alternate to the Olympic team after Lynn Williams came off the alternate list to replace Catarina Macario.[30] She was named to the matchday squad for the final group stage game against Australia in place of the injured Tierna Davidson, and was again named in the 18 for the quarter-final against Japan, but was an unused substitute for both.[31] Davidson returned for the semi-final. The United States won gold by defeating Brazil 1–0 in the final.[32] Despite not playing in the Olympics, Sams met the eligibility criteria for a medal by being named to a matchday squad.[33]

She made her international debut on October 27, 2024, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–1 friendly victory over Iceland in Nashville.[34]

Personal life

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Sams has a twin sister, Lizzy, who was a high school teammate with her at Navarre before playing college soccer at Daytona State College.[35]

She married Dakota Sams on February 19, 2024.[36]

Career statistics

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College summary

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School Season Division Apps Goals
Florida State Seminoles 2017 Div. I 21 1
2018 0 0
2019 0 0
2020–21 16 2
2021 25 3
Career total 62 6

Club summary

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As of November 4, 2024[37]
Club Season League Cup[a] Playoffs[b] Continental[c] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Racing Louisville FC 2022[38] USL W League 9 4 — — — 9 4
BK Häcken (loan) 2022 Damallsvenskan 4 1 1 0 — 0 0 5 1
Orlando Pride 2023 NWSL 22 0 5 0 — — 27 0
2024 25 1 — — — 25 1
Career total 60 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 66 6
  1. ^ Includes Svenska cupen (women) and NWSL Challenge Cup
  2. ^ Includes NWSL Playoffs
  3. ^ Includes UEFA Women's Champions League

International

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As of match played October 30, 2024
National Team Year Apps Goals
United States 2024 2 0
Total 2 0

Honors

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Florida State Seminoles

Orlando Pride

United States

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 – Squad List: USA" (PDF). FIFA. July 12, 2024. p. 11. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  2. ^ "College of Arts and Sciences: Bachelor of Arts With Major In" (PDF). Spring Commencement 2021. Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University. April 2021. p. 44. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "Player of the Year Emily Madril helped Navarre girls reach new heights". The Northwest Florida Daily News.
  4. ^ "After winning Florida's Miss Soccer, Madril takes PNJ POY". USA TODAY High School Sports. March 27, 2016.
  5. ^ WALLACE, ERIC J. "Local travel soccer team heads to Florida final four". Pensacola News Journal.
  6. ^ a b c "Emily Madril". Florida State Seminoles. August 3, 2017.
  7. ^ "Deyna Castellanos' Hat Trick Carries Noles Over UNCG". Florida State Seminoles. August 18, 2017.
  8. ^ "Cassie Miller Ties FSU Shutout Record Versus BC". Florida State Seminoles. October 5, 2017.
  9. ^ "Tallahassee Democrat". www.tallahassee.com.
  10. ^ Yarmus, Gannon. "Madril shines in final season of FSU career". FSView.
  11. ^ Bernadeau, Patrick. "Women's Soccer: Navarre grad Emily Madril explains elation of winning national title with FSU". Pensacola News Journal.
  12. ^ "FSU tops BYU in PKs to win another national title". ESPN.com. December 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Brennan, Clare (August 7, 2022). "Emily Madril: FSU soccer players 'not respected' during coach search". Just Women's Sports.
  14. ^ "Racing sets inaugural USL W League roster with season nearing". Racing Louisville FC.
  15. ^ "USL W League announces 2022 Team of the Year". www.uslwleague.com.
  16. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site". www.nwslsoccer.com. August 30, 2022.
  17. ^ Brennan, Clare (August 31, 2022). "NWSL signs Emily Madril to ensure eligibility for 2023 season". Just Women's Sports.
  18. ^ "Jitex Mölndal BK - BK Häcken FF - Matchfakta - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). September 14, 2022.
  19. ^ "Emily Madril - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). 2022.
  20. ^ Rollins, Sean (January 12, 2023). "Pride Select Florida State Defender Emily Madril at No. 3". The Mane Land.
  21. ^ "Match Report: Orlando Pride takes down Racing Louisville FC 1-0 with fifth consecutive win". Orlando Pride. May 5, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  22. ^ Rollins, Sean (November 21, 2024). "Orlando Pride vs. Seattle Reign FC: Final Score 3-2 as Pride Rebound in Second Half for Seventh Straight Win". The Mane Land. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  23. ^ "With an Olympic Gold and an NWSL Shield, Emily Sams Is the Future of U.S. Soccer". Sports Illustrated. October 26, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  24. ^ a b "Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams named 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year". Orlando Pride. November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  25. ^ "U19 WNT heads to Florida for training camp". TopDrawerSoccer.com.
  26. ^ "U.S. U20 WNT in Florida for training camp". TopDrawerSoccer.com.
  27. ^ "U.S. U-23 Women's Youth National Team Will Face Three NWSL Teams In The 2022 Thorns Preseason Tournament". United States Soccer Federation.
  28. ^ "U.S. Under-23 Women's Youth National Team Defeats Sweden 3-0 On Goals From Alyssa Thompson, Ava Cook And Kerry Abello". United States Soccer Federation.
  29. ^ "Emma Hayes Names 2024 U.S. Olympic Women's Soccer Team". United States Soccer Federation. June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  30. ^ "USWNT Takes On Mexico in Impact 99 Legacy Match Presented by New York Life". United States Soccer Federation. June 12, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  31. ^ Linehan, Meg (August 1, 2024). "Emily Sams takes Davidson's place in the game-day 18". The Athletic.
  32. ^ Mathews, Max (August 10, 2024). "USWNT vs Brazil live updates: Mallory Swanson breaks deadlock in Paris Olympics 2024 women's soccer final". The Athletic. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  33. ^ "Emma Hayes Names U.S. Women's National Team Training Camp Roster, Presented by Jim Beam, for October Friendlies against Iceland and Argentina". www.ussoccer.com.
  34. ^ Kriger, Rachael (October 28, 2024). "Sears scores in debut, Sams earns first cap in USWNT 3-1 victory over Iceland". equalizersoccer.com.
  35. ^ "Lizzy Madril". Daytona State College.
  36. ^ Madril, Emily [@emilymadril10] (February 22, 2024). "2.19.24 🤍 Dakota and I got married!!". Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via Instagram.
  37. ^ "Emily Madril - Soccerway". Soccerway.
  38. ^ "Racing Louisville FC - 2022 Regular Season - Emily Madril". www.uslwleague.com.
  39. ^ NWSL (October 7, 2024). "Orlando Pride Claims 2024 NWSL Shield". NWSL. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  40. ^ "Orlando Pride win 2024 NWSL Championship, bringing first professional, major league trophy to the City of Orlando". NWSL. November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  41. ^ Jurejko, Jonathan (August 10, 2024). "Brazil 0-1 United States: Emma Hayes leads USA to Olympic gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  42. ^ "2021 NCAA Division I Women's All-Americans Announced". United Soccer Coaches.
  43. ^ "2021 All-ACC Women's Soccer Awards Announced". theacc.com. November 4, 2021.
  44. ^ NWSL (November 18, 2024). "NWSL Announces Winners of 2024 NWSL Best XI Awards, presented by Amazon Prime | NWSL Announces Winners of 2024 NWSL Best XI Awards, presented by Amazon Prime | National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
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