Most high school soccer players settle for winning a state championship. Samantha Hiatt, however, is going after an international trophy.
The Seattle Prep midfielder/defender was invited to a U-18 Women's National Team camp in Carson, Calif. in September. At the end of October, Hiatt will hear if she is invited to the next camp.
"It's always been the goal I've been working towards," Hiatt said.
If players become regulars at the domestic camps, they could be selected to attend an international camp and play against teams like Mexico, Sweden, or Shanghai. An invitation to a U-18 camp is the first step to competing in the 2018 U-20 FIFA World Cup with the national team.
Seattle Prep (10-0-0) is leading the Metro Sound division, outscoring their opponents 31-7. Hiatt, a junior, made the All-Metro first team as a freshman and a sophomore.
On the field, Hiatt's ability to see the game and play out scenarios in her mind before they even happen helps her lead the team.
"She sees things that can develop for us so she can initiate an attack from the back," Seattle Prep coach Andy Hendricks said.
Hiatt may not be in a glory position that scores a ton of goals, but Hendricks said she can cut off the other team's offense before it becomes an issue.
"She destroyed everything that the other team was trying to do," Hendricks said of Hiatt in a previous game.
We caught up with Hiatt on her prospects for the national team and her commitment to Boston College.
How did you get involved with the U-18 Women's National Team?
Every girl's dream is to play on the national team when you're older. In order to do that you have to start out by getting into the camps or into the pool when you're younger. I've known the camps have been around since the U-14 age group, but I just got called in last month for the U-18 age group. It's taken me a couple years to get there, but I've been working towards it.
You've traveled with your club team, Crossfire. What's that opportunity like to play internationally?
It's great traveling around with my club team, but in the back of my mind you always want to try and go further. For me that would go from traveling in the U.S. to international travel. It also would be really cool to represent the US. We have such an amazing reputation around the world, and it would be cool to be the next generation to keep it going.
When you go to these camps, is there a sense of team comradery, or does it feel more competitive?
April Heinrichs is the coach, and it was her first camp with us, and she made sure we knew that everything was a competition. It's kind of that idea throughout camp that you want to be the best. I'm a center defender, so I was competing against the other center defenders for a spot. It was great to make new friends off the field, but on the field it was definitely about competition.
On your club and high school teams, you're practicing a lot together, so team chemistry really comes into play. How do you build that team chemistry on a national team?
We play teams from all over the country anyway, so I had known a lot of those girls before. It helps in jumpstarting that. We did pretty well in the two games we played down there for just having met each other on the field, but that chemistry that makes teams great comes from playing together for a while. Thankfully there is an event coming up soon, because more camps is the best way to start building those relationships.
You're committed to Boston College. What made you choose that school?
I was looking for the right mix. Academics are really important to me as well as the soccer side of things. I was looking a couple other schools, but Boston College stood out to me as the one that would give me the best opportunities in academics, and education for what I want to be later on. Also, the coach seemed like a great fit for me. The soccer program is very strong.
You've played defender, and you're also a midfielder. Which of those positions do you feel you're the strongest at?
It depends, because in high school I'm better at midfield, and in general I'm better at defender. I think that plays to my strengths the best. Every time I come to high school I have to adjust a little bit to playing in the midfield. I do fine, but center defender is my best position.
