Growing up in Hanson, Massachusetts, sisters Kristie and Sam Mewis spent plenty of time playing soccer on the same field. They competed together at Whitman-Hanson High School, and then as members of the same U-17 and U-20 national teams.
While both sisters’ soccer careers progressed to the professional ranks, in recent years, Kristie and Sam have rarely competed on the same field.
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Kristie - who is older by 20 months - was the first Mewis sister to be named to the U.S. women’s national team (USWNT), making her debut in 2013. But Sam wasn’t far behind, notching her first cap the following year at the 2014 Algarve Cup.
“Growing up, Kristie had a huge impact on me and my development,” Sam told reporters on Monday. “She always kind of paved the way for me and what I could see myself doing... She definitely served as representation for me.... realizing that these lofty, huge dreams we had were possible.”
While Kristie helped Sam reach the national stage, the duo didn’t remain there together. The 2014 Algarve Cup marked the first time both Mewis sisters competed together for the USWNT. And - as of today - it is also the only time that both Mewis sisters competed together for the USWNT.
Since 2014, Sam has developed into a USWNT mainstay, highlighted by her performance at the 2019 World Cup. At the same time, Kristie stopped receiving national team invitations. She played professionally in Japan and Germany, before settling in with the Houston Dash (NWSL) in 2017, only to be sidelined by an ACL tear in 2018.
Last week, however, both Mewis sisters were named to the USWNT’s 23-player training camp roster ahead of Friday’s game against the Netherlands (eighteen players will ultimately dress for the game).
“I know [Kristie] has worked so hard for this,” Sam said Monday “To see her - over the past couple of years - have her knee injury, and then come back to really great form... I’m just really excited for her.”
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Even in the years when Sam made the cut - and Kristie didn’t - Sam says there was “never any weirdness between us.”
“Kristie has always been my biggest fan. And I’ve always been hers. I think success for one of us is success for both of us... So thinking about my success on the national team, I think that it shines on her as well... I genuinely feel like she’s never been anything but happy for me and I feel the same way.”
