Portland Thorns' Sam Hiatt Shares Her Journey with Eastside FC Players

Sometimes impactful moments of a season happen away from the field.

During a recent ECNL conference weekend in Portland, the ECNL girls teams made the trip down from Preston for a pair of matches against Oregon Surf and Portland Thorns. In between games, three of those teams had a unique opportunity, one that had nothing to do with tactics or results, and everything to do with perspective.

At the invitation of ECNL Girls Director Tim Reynolds, the group met with current Portland Thorns professional defender, Sam Hiatt, in a hotel conference room for an informal talk.

Tim, who has coached in the Seattle area for years before joining Eastside FC, had previously worked with Sam during her younger playing days. That connection helped create a moment that felt personal, authentic, and highly relevant for the players in the room.

Sam shared her journey through the game, from her early college experience at Boston College to her transfer to Stanford University. At Stanford, she became one of the top players in the country, earning three All-Pac-12 selections and two All-American honors, while helping lead the program to NCAA Division I National Championships in 2017 and 2019. She also captained the team during her senior year, a reflection of both her ability and leadership.

From there, she made the jump to the professional game, being selected in the NWSL Draft by OL Reign. Now competing with the Portland Thorns FC, her story resonated in a real way, especially given the setting.

More than anything, she offered an honest look at the path: the challenges, the transitions, and the mindset required to keep progressing. It wasn’t polished or scripted—it was real.

For the players in attendance, it was a reminder that the pathway they’re on is not just theoretical. It’s been walked before—sometimes by players who once trained on the same fields, played in the same league, and sat in similar rooms asking the same questions.

A weekend of competition became something more: a moment of connection, and a glimpse of what’s possible.