Mallory Pugh punctuated her promising debut for the U.S. women’s national team with one precise flick of her head.
Pugh assessed the situation as Christen Press drifted toward the endline and made her move into the area. Press clipped the right ball back into the goal area. Pugh timed her run perfectly and snapped her header down for the first goal of her senior national team career.
It was the ideal way for the 17-year-old to mark her first cap. The Highlands Ranch, Colo. native praised her teammates for facilitating her transition to the full national team and underscored the importance of the moment for her.
“I know that it’s just a huge honor to be here right now having all of this happen to me,” Pugh told FOX Soccer’s Lindsay Claiborn after the 5-0 victory over Rep. of Ireland on Saturday. “And without the support and the help from the veterans and even the young ‘uns [as] we call them, I don’t think that I could be here.”
The college path: Go to UCLA, enjoy the experience and try to stay in the national team picture
What a moment. Seventeen-year-old Mallory Pugh nods home at the near post for her first international goal. WATCH: https://t.co/XiV9D3BUeh
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 24, 2016
The safest, most traditional path runs through Westwood. Pugh has a scholarship waiting for her at UCLA. UCLA is one of the top programs in the country with a respected coach (Amanda Cromwell), a raft of current U.S. youth national team players already in the squad and a tradition of producing good players (including current U.S. midfielder Samantha Mewis).
With one prominent exception (Lindsey Horan signed with Paris Saint-Germain out of high school), prospective U.S. national team players hone their craft in college. There are sacrifices from a development perspective (the college season is short, the training time is limited and the competition is uneven), but there are also off-the-field benefits to weigh (the continued education, the college experience and the personal development associated with those formative years) in the calculus.
As an added bonus, there is the possibility of staying in the national team pool as the college experience unfolds. It is not easy to compete with professionals for a place in the squad, but there are examples on the men’s (Jordan Morris) and the women’s (Rose Lavelle and recent NWSL top pick Emily Sonnett) sides to offer encouragement. U.S. coach Jill Ellis -- a former college coach at Illinois and UCLA -- is willing to fast track promising players into the squad and keep them there if circumstances warrant.
The pro path: Sign a contract with U.S. Soccer, play with Portland Thorns and sidestep college entirely
Top national team players sign a central contract with the federation (the terms are considerably more lucrative than the typical NWSL wage). NWSL subsequently allocates players to clubs. The league recently introduced a new system to distribute newly allocated players (or, in NWSL terms, Unattached Subsidized Individuals). Portland Thorns subsequently acquired the number one pick in that order in a trade with Boston Breakers.
If Pugh opted to sign a contract with U.S. Soccer, then she would play for the Thorns, according to the distribution mechanism. Portland is widely regarded as the top club in NWSL based on its attendance, its infrastructure and the support of Timbers investor/operator Merritt Paulson. The recent arrival of former Washington Spirit coach Mark Parsons -- one of the top coaches in NWSL -- reinforces a technical side teeming with international players. It is a competitive and enticing place to start a professional career.
17-year-old Mallory Pugh, ladies and gentlemen: the 6th youngest goal scorer in @ussoccer_wnt history. #USWNT pic.twitter.com/jMzpFTGGr6
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 24, 2016
NWSL continues to improve as it heads into its fourth year. There are some structural issues (the season only runs from April to October, while some teams struggle to muster the desired playing surfaces and the necessary off-the-field resources for their players) to navigate, but it is likely the top women’s professional league in the world from top to bottom. The week-to-week demands are certainly more arduous than the college game, while the competition for places is more strenuous.
The decision: College over the pros
Pugh stood to benefit either way. Both options are enticing for their own reasons. It is an intensely personal choice for a 17-year-old far, far ahead of the usual curve.
In the end, the lure of college proved too strong to ignore. Her father, Horace, told the Denver Post last week that Pugh plans to fulfill her commitment to the Bruins.
“We did look at her possibly going pro,” Horace Pugh told the Post. “It's all over the Internet she's going to play professionally. It was very close to happening, but her gut feeling was that she wanted to go to college.”
It is a perfectly justifiable choice that shifts some of the burden for her development to U.S. Soccer. Pugh is perhaps the most promising player at Ellis’ disposal given her age and her natural ability.
The onus now falls on the federation to nurture those qualities as Pugh starts her college career and states her case for a larger role within the national team setup. And it is a responsibility her new teammates grasp as they eye the Olympics later this year and plan for the future.
"I'm trying to help out Mal as much as I can,” Alex Morgan told FOX Soccer’s Lindsay Claiborn on Saturday. “I think she looked pretty good today. Obviously she got a goal on her first cap which is something not a lot of people are able to do. I wasn't able to do it. So that's pretty impressive, but she just wants to learn a lot and I'm here to help her as much as I can. But she's done really well so far this camp."
