Samantha Victoria Estrada (born July 7, 2000) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

USL Super League The USL Super League (USLS), officially known as the Gainbridge Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional women's soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system, alongside the National Women's Socce ...

club

Dallas Trinity Dallas Trinity FC is an American professional women's soccer club based in Dallas, Texas, that competes in the USL Super League (USLS). History Establishment A team representing the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex was announced in May 2023, ...

. She played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

Early life

At twelve, Estrada began playing soccer with the New Mexico Rush. She later joined the Texas Rush, a ten-hour drive from her home in El Paso, and lived with a host family during three-week stays. Estrada later join the

Houston Dash The Houston Dash are an American professional soccer team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Dash began play in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium. His ...

's Development Academy and was invited to a U18 USWNT camp in October 2017.

College career

Estrada received a full scholarship to

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

(SMU) in 2018, where she played for six years in the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(AAC). She experienced three ACL tears—first in her freshman year in 2018, then again in 2019, and for a third time in 2022 before her final season. Despite these injuries and three subsequent surgeries, Estrada recorded 175 career saves with the Mustangs, ranking 10th in program history. She also ranks 6th in save percentage and 7th in goals against average. During the 2021 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament, Estrada achieved a shutout against Texas, helping SMU advance to the second round for the first time since 2006. In 2021, Estrada signed a Name, Image, and Likeness ( NIL) deal with Sam's Club, reportedly valued at $10,000.

Club career

AHFC Royals

After college, Estrada entered the

2024 NWSL Draft The 2024 NWSL Draft presented by Ally was the twelfth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select from a list of amateur players above the age of 18 playing in the United States who exhausted, lost, or renounced ...

but was not selected. Afterwards, she joined

AHFC Royals The AHFC Royals are an American soccer club competing in the USL League Two which is based in Houston, Texas. The Royals also field a team in the USL W League. Year-by-year Men Women Honors Division Championships *Men`s **USL League Two (1 ...

, a Houston-based team in the

USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a Women's association football, women's soccer league in the United States. It began play in May 2022 and follows the USL W-League (1995–2015), USL W-League, a similar league that existed from 1995 to 2015. It is c ...

. The Royals completed the 2024 season undefeated, conceding only four goals across ten games. Estrada played her final match with the team on June 21, 2024.

Dallas Trinity

Estrada signed her first professional contract with Dallas Trinity FC on June 11, 2024, joining her former SMU teammate,

Allie Thornton Alexis Taylor Thornton (born December 2, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for USL Super League club Dallas Trinity. Thornton played college soccer for the SMU Mustangs, earning first-team All-AAC honors fo ...

. Estrada was the club's fifth overall signing and made her professional debut in Dallas Trinity's inaugural match against Tampa Bay Sun FC on August 18, 2024.

Personal life

Estrada was born in El Paso, Texas, and later completed high school in The Woodlands, near Houston. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Methodist University in 2021, followed by two Master's degrees, one in Sports Management and the other in Business Administration. Estrada's father was also a goalkeeper who played with the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Career statistics

College

Club

References

External links

Samantha Estrada's profile
at

Samantha Estrada #0
at

Dallas Trinity FC Dallas Trinity FC is an American professional Women's association football, women's soccer club based in Dallas, Texas, that competes in the USL Super League (USLS). History Establishment A team representing the Dallas–Fort Worth metropl ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Estrada, Samantha 2000 births Living people American women's soccer players 21st-century American sportswomen Soccer players from Texas People from El Paso, Texas Women's association football goalkeepers Sportspeople from El Paso, Texas Soccer players from El Paso, Texas SMU Mustangs women's soccer players Dallas Trinity FC players USL W League players USL Super League players