Growing up the daughter of a professional soccer player might ruin a child’s enthusiasm for the game, but not for Sam Estrada. “He was a great coach in that he let me do it if I wanted to do it. He didn't push me. He wasn’t like, “Samantha, just because I did this, I want you to do this,” you know what I mean? He let me fall in love with the game myself, which I truly appreciate. He didn't let me burn out.”

That passion allowed Sam to shine in her club days at Rush in El Paso. She excelled to the point that her local coaches felt she needed a change of scenery to get noticed for college, because El Paso is pretty isolated out on the tip of the state of Texas. “I think there are so many talented soccer athletes in El Paso, even in other sports, there's so many talented athletes out here. It's unfortunate that we live so far. And it costs a lot of money to be able to go to big showcases out here. The closest thing we have to an ECNL team is New Mexico, it's four hours away in Albuquerque.”

Her coaches at Rush got her team into some of the major tournaments, but also helped Sam relocate to The Woodlands, a community just north of Houston. The move was a big one for a 16-year old and Sam struggled at times being away from her family. “I had some breakdowns where I missed my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister, I missed everybody. It was really hard, but I think what made it so memorable and worth it was the soccer piece and the people.” Her host family worked to help her get through the homesickness and focus on her soccer and two years later she was off to SMU.

The challenges for Sam didn’t end in college. While she blossomed into a talented goalkeeper for the team, her body was having trouble keeping up with the pace. In her time at SMU, she suffered three serious knee injuries, each time requiring committed rehab to get back to the field. But that work to return has turned into a regular regime that keeps her fit moving forward. “After my third one, I had a season where I was in a brace. Then after that season, I was training for the draft and all that stuff. I really pushed lifting, running training, all of that. I was put on a program and I felt so strong. So I continued that program after I left SMU until now, and I feel so confident with my health. I'm strong, I feel good.”

During her time at SMU, she played several years under Chris Petrucelli and no doubt that played a role in the now Dallas Trinity General Manager signing her for this season in the Super League. For Sam, that connection made her even more confident to sign with Dallas as a professional goalkeeper. “I'm so excited. I couldn't stop smiling when I signed that contract. It's been my dream since I was a little girl, and I feel really happy. I get to be back with Chris again. Just like my dad, he was a professional soccer player and I always wanted to be better than him or at least get to his level. So I feel like I'm on my way there and I'm so excited, just like to get to work and to continue to play the sport that I love…it made it so much easier and just an immediate “this is where I'm supposed to be.”

She joked that signing with Dallas Trinity was a step up from SMU, at least in mascot terms. “A Pegasus is really cool. Coming from being a Mustang to a Pegasus, that's awesome.”

But the new goalkeeper for Trinity hasn’t forgotten where her roots are, deep in the sandy homeground of El Paso. “I just kind of have that fire in me. Girls say stuff to you just because you're from the borderland and who you are. So you have a chip on your shoulder a little bit. And I think sometimes I play with that. I think Texans were aggressive and we're out there and, especially on the field, I'm not afraid to show my presence and let people know who I am.”

Her father comes up throughout the conversation and his impact on her position and profession are in all her responses. “He was a goalkeeper and…I just fell in love with it. It was a bonding experience for us and I think I fell more in love with it. I think I definitely have him in the back of my head a lot when I play. People kind of compare me to him a little bit. They call him manotas and they call me manitas just because my hands are a little smaller. But I think that having him in the back of my head is a good feeling for me because I'm able to be at his level.” Estrada’s drive to live up to her dad’s professional success has pushed her to develop her skills and now she’s a professional just like him.

That West Texas connection will be put to the test in the Cotton Bowl this fall, when Dallas Trinity will face the other teams in the Super League. The path that brought Sam Estrada from El Paso to the Metroplex has made her ready for that test. “I think it's gonna be really competitive…I think we're going to compete and we won't give up, we won't give up. We got a chip on our shoulder and I think we'll come to play. I know for sure we will.”

- Dan Vaughn