Sam Coffey

Penn State Nittany Lions

In December 2018, it was announced that Coffey would transfer to Pennsylvania State University to play for the Nittany Lions starting in the 2019 season. She enrolled in classes at the school in January 2019. In her junior season in 2019, she scored 11 goals and recorded 10 assists, ranking second in the Big Ten Conference with her 32 points. She helped the team to win the 2019 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament, in which she scored an equalizing penalty goal in the final against Michigan to send the game to extra time. The team advanced to the round of 16 of the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament before losing 2–0 to eventual champions Stanford. During her senior 2020–21 season, which was postponed to spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Coffey scored 6 goals and recorded 12 assists in 16 matches for the team as a captain. Penn State were eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2020 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, losing to eventual runner-up Florida State. As the NCAA granted all student-athletes another year of eligibility due to the pandemic, Coffey played her fifth college season in 2021 as a graduate student. She recorded 8 goals and 8 assists in 21 games, with the team losing in the round of 16 of the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament to South Carolina.

In all three seasons, Coffey was included in the All-Big Ten and All-North Region first teams. She was included in the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team in 2019, and the CoSIDA Academic All-America First-Team in 2020–21. She was selected as the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year in 2020–21, and in the same season was included in the Senior CLASS Award First Team All-America. In 2019 and 2020, she was also included in the CoSIDA Academic All-District first team. Coffey made 62 appearances during her three seasons at Penn State, scoring 25 goals and recording 30 assists. She finished her collegiate career with 42 goals and 54 assists in 102 appearances, becoming the 50th player in NCAA Division I to tally 40 goals and 40 assists.

Club career Portland Thorns FC

After the NCAA granted all student-athletes another year of eligibility due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coffey decided not to enter herself into the 2021 NWSL Draft as she was uncertain about her future. Nevertheless, she was still entered into the draft, and was selected by Portland Thorns FC with the 12th overall pick in the second round. However, she ultimately decided to play an additional year of college soccer with Penn State.

On January 7, 2022, the Portland Thorns signed Coffey to a two-year contract. She made her debut for the team in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup on March 18, 2022, playing the full match in a 1–1 away draw against OL Reign. She made her NWSL regular season debut on April 30, 2022, playing the full match in a 3–0 home win over the Kansas City Current. She quickly became a regular starter, starting in 26 games in 2022 (20 regular season, 4 Challenge Cup, and 2 playoff). She helped the Thorns win the NWSL Championship that year, was nominated for NWSL Rookie of the Year, and was on the 2022 NWSL Best XI First Team.

Coffey was named Portland's captain in the 2025 season. In June 2025, it was revealed that in March 2024, Coffey had signed a contract extension through the 2027 season.

Manchester City In January 2026, Coffey entered into talks with English club Manchester City regarding a transfer. On January 14, it was officially announced that Manchester City had signed Coffey to a three-and-a-half-year deal, through summer 2029, with the BBC reporting a £600,000 fee spent by City, a club record.

International career

Youth Coffey was a member of the United States youth squads on the under-18, under-19, and under-20 levels. With the under-18 team, she attended six training camps and played in two international tournaments. The team finished as runners-up after losing the final on penalties to Mexico. However, the team still qualified for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in France, though Coffey was not selected as a squad member.

Senior

In June 2022, Coffey earned her first call-up to the United States women's national team for two friendlies against Colombia. She earned her first cap, and first start, in a friendly against Nigeria on Sept. 6, 2022, and played three further matches that year. She was called up again for friendly matches in September 2023 but did not play. She scored her first international goal in a friendly against China PR on December 5, 2023. She scored a second international goal, again against China, on May 31, 2025.

Coffey was selected to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. She started and played the full game in five of the six games the US played in, missing one because of yellow card accumulation.

Personal life Coffey was born in New York City to Wayne Coffey, a sportswriter who previously worked for the New York Daily News, and Denise Willi. She grew up in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and attended the Masters School. Her sister Alex is a sportswriter who previously wrote for The Athletic and currently covers the Philadelphia Phillies as beat reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Career statistics Club

International

National teamYearAppsGoals United States202240 202331 20242102025 14 42026 4 0 Total 46 5

Scores and results list United States's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Coffey goal.

Honors Penn State Nittany Lions Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament: 2019 Manchester City

Women's Super League: 2025–26 United States U20 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship runner-up: 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship: 2022 CONCACAF W Gold Cup: 2024 SheBelieves Cup: 2024, 2026

Individual NWSL Best XI First Team: 2022, 2023 2025 NWSL Best XI of the Month: June 2022, Sept./Oct. 2022, June 2023, August 2023, Sept./Oct. 2023, May 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Month: June 2022 First-team All-American: 2018 Second-team All-American: 2019, 2021 First-team All-Big Ten: 2019, 2020, 2021 First-team All-ACC: 2018 Third-team All-ACC: 2017 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year: 2020 ACC Midfielder of the Year: 2018