Sofia Huerta has made a sudden impact for the Dash after trade.
Goal in debut backs reputation as player of national caliber
Sofia Huerta received the call she knew was coming, and then it hit her. She would be leaving Chicago, the place where she began her professional soccer career, and going to Houston.
Huerta and fellow midfielder Taylor Comeau were traded from the Chicago Red Stars to the Dash on June 18 in a threeteam trade that involved the Utah Royals. Houston sent the rights to forward Christen Press — who refused to play for the team after being traded to the Dash in January — and a conditional first-round draft pick to Chicago for Huerta and Comeau.
Chicago then sent Press’ rights and defender Samantha Johnson to Utah for defender Brooke Elby and five draft picks.
“I felt emotional just because I was really, really connected to the Chicago organization,” Huerta said. “They drafted me. I had been there for four years. I lived there with my boyfriend (and) my dog. So that was a very comfortable place to be, and I enjoyed my life outside of soccer.”
Huerta requested a trade from Chicago because she wanted to play outside back, a role she transitioned to when she began playing for the U.S. national team in 2017. She was a midfielder and forward for the Red Stars.
The Santa Clara product was told Houston needed an outside back, but she found out moments before the trade was finalized that Dash coach Vera Pauw didn’t intend to play her at that position. A lack of transparency from the Red Stars and miscommunication with her agent resulted in her changing homes without her wish for a position switch being granted.
“(It was) very unfortunate,” Pauw said. “We got that sense (that there was miscommunication) as well.
“We called her agent the night before we signed. I said, ‘I’ll only sign if I can speak to the player.’ I called (Huerta), and I explained to her the situation. For me, players play where they’re best for the team.”
Huerta says she doesn’t regret her decision and is trying to make the best of it.
“You’re feeling anxious or sitting back and thinking, ‘Did I make the right decision?,’ ” Huerta said. “But once I got settled in, I realized being here is a challenge and I get to play amongst new players and be under a different coaching staff. Whenever you’re uncomfortable, whenever a change is presented, I believe that always makes you grow and makes you a better player.”
This year, Huerta has been among the National Women’s Soccer League’s top players, totaling four goals and two assists in 14 games. Pauw and Huerta’s new teammates are happy to have another player of nationalteam caliber on the roster.
“I think everyone in the league is aware of Sofia’s ability,” said Dash defender Rachel Daly, a member of England’s national team. “She’s a great player. She’s a versatile player. I think (Sofia) was somebody that was always on Vera’s radar as well. It was great news for us when we found out she was coming.”
Dash goalie Bianca Henninger played at Santa Clara for one year with Huerta. Henninger was a senior, Huerta a freshman.
“Because (she’s) been in the soccer world so long, (she) knows everyone, basically, by this point,” Henninger said. “It’s a small world. It wasn’t really that hard to integrate her into the group.”
Huerta made her Houston debut last Friday in a 3-1 home loss to Portland Thorns FC. She scored her first goal for the Dash in the 12th minute of the match.
“I ran straight up to her (after the goal),” Daly said. “You get your first goal in your first game for the club you’ve been traded to, I think it’s a big deal. It makes you fit in and kind of just settles you a little bit earlier than you would have prepared for.”
The Dash currently sit at seventh place in the nine-team NWSL. Pauw hopes the new additions to the team, especially Huerta, will help the group make the first playoff appearance in the franchise’s five-season existence.
“With Sofia and Taylor, we really made our team stronger,” Pauw said. “We have a team now ready for the future.”