When she last spoke with The Daily Princetonian, Pietra Tordin, junior forward for the Princeton women’s soccer team, said that she was not sure what her future with the U.S. Junior National Team would hold, but that she hoped to be on their roster for the World Cup in August.
Six months later, coming out of the U20 World Cup, Tordin led the United States in scoring and earned a bronze medal along the way.
“When she was chosen, it was amazing,” Princeton women’s soccer head coach Sean Driscoll told the ‘Prince.’ “I’m always happy for anyone that has a dream of representing the country and having that come to fruition,” he continued.
For Driscoll, however, this meant losing Tordin for the first few weeks of Princeton’s season.
“I came to preseason for a week, but then I had to leave,” Tordin told the ‘Prince.’ For Tordin, training for the World Cup in Colombia began in July, with competition set to begin in early September.
After narrowly losing their premiere match of the tournament to Spain, Tordin secured a starting spot for the team’s second game against Morocco, contributing to the team’s 2–0 win.
Despite not playing with the American team for very long, Tordin says that connecting with the girls both on and off the field was easy.
“We haven’t been giving as much time to develop our chemistry, it’s all kind of condensed into a month,” Tordin explained, “but we ended up being super cohesive and it showed on the field.”
She was right. In the team’s next group stage game against Paraguay, the United States dominated with a thrashing 7–0 win. In this match, not only did Tordin retain her starting position — she netted three of the team’s goals. After narrowly hitting the post in the fifth minute of the game, Tordin was determined to put points on the board. Her first two goals came early, arriving both in the 10th and 12th minutes.
“It feels awesome, it feels great,” Tordin said about what it’s like to score on the international stage. “It’s something I didn’t expect [to happen] going in … I just know that if the opportunity comes that I’ll try my best, and that’s all I need.”
The opportunities continued. After advancing from the group stage of the tournament, the United States entered the round of 16 with a match day against Mexico. In the 10th minute of the game, Tordin broke the ice with her fourth goal of the tournament, a sliding touch off of a long ball played from outside the box. Minutes later, she assisted teammate Ally Sentnor, a member of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Utah Royals, to regain the lead after an equalizer from Mexico in the 22nd minute.
The match ended in a 3–2 United States win, sending them through to the next round against Germany, which would be their most difficult game of the tournament yet — but Tordin was prepared with the high level of competition on the international stage.
“Everything’s a lot more intense and mistakes are put on display,” Tordin explained. “It’s also very physical, and the mental game is different.”
Their game against the Germans ended in a tie, leading to a scoreless extra-time that progressed to penalty kicks.
“I think it was my favorite part,” Tordin said, “It was such a rollercoaster after having scored two goals in a minute and a half, it was just crazy.”
The United States would not let their comeback be fruitless. Upon entering the final stage of the game, the team netted all three of their penalty kicks, with goalkeeper Teagan Wy making several saves to defeat Germany.
“I was really happy that that’s what came out of the game,” Tordin said, “It was so awesome.”
Just three days later, the United States were set to face North Korea in the semi-final game of the tournament.
Although possession was nearly equal among the two teams throughout the match, North Korea heavily outnumbered the United States in the number of shots taken. North Korea’s 22nd minute goal proved to be the deciding factor of the game, securing their 1–0 win.
All was not lost for the United States though, as they still had one more chance to make a statement — the bronze medal match against the Netherlands.
“The mindset was that there was no other outcome than us winning,” Tordin explained. “We all went in there knowing that we would win, it was the only option.”
Tordin and the team’s determination would prove to be effective. In the highly physical matchup against the Netherlands, the United States outshot their opponent and dominated possession throughout the game. The team went on to win the game 2–1, securing their bronze medal.
“It was so intense, but we were locked in,” Tordin told the ‘Prince.’
BRONZE MEDAL BABY!!!!! 🥉#U20WYNT pic.twitter.com/4nPxLUEje9
— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) September 21, 2024
While Tordin’s personal game on the field was relatively unchanged, she spoke to the challenges of being away from home.
“I never expected it to be so mentally tough,” she said. “It’s a whole month of the same schedule, the same room, the same hotel, so it gets tough. But again, having people who are doing it with you keeps you going, we were all building toward the same goal.”
Luckily for Tordin, she had a big support system following her abroad.
“My family flew out to come see me and it was, like, the best thing ever,” Tordin said. “It was honestly amazing, my cousins and uncles also came from Brazil. They had a huge banner and like, a cut-out of my face, and they were all cheering so loud,” she continued.
Fans of Tordin were cheering her on from inside the Orange Bubble as well.
“She’s really interesting and just a fascinating player to watch,” Coach Driscoll told the ‘Prince.’ “The most important thing to do is to provide her with whatever she needs in terms of support, I just really want her to enjoy playing, because that’s how it should be.”
Since being back, Tordin says that she’s been excited to return to collegiate play, though her experience at the international level is not expected to change her role on the Tiger squad.
“My mentality from international play doesn’t really change,” Tordin explained, “Just being relentless, being ruthless, getting in front of the goal and doing your part.”
But, since she had been away, Tordin was not worried about the success of the Tigers.
“I know this team has an identity without me, I knew they’d be completely, perfectly, fine, and they’ve been doing super well.”
Tordin made her season debut for the Tigers in the match against Brown on October 5th. The team secured a dominant 8–0 win, with Tordin scoring a hat trick. Her performance also earned her the honor of Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week.
“Most people have to think about what they’re going to do before they do it, but for [Tordin] it just comes so naturally and effortlessly,” Driscoll noted. “I also love that her IQ continues to improve, and she’s clearly learned a lot with the U.S. and her experience at that level, so bringing that back to the team in terms of movement and awareness is something I love.”
Though Tordin is unsure of what her future with the United States team will be, she aspires to one day be a part of the senior national team. For now, she is focused on her season here at Princeton.
“I think all the girls have bought in and it shows on the field,” Tordin said. “I hope that I can just add to that and build with them.”
When asked if she has any advice for players looking to find the same success that she has, Tordin kept it simple.
“Always hunt for the next opportunity, if you believe it’s coming, it will come. And when it comes, take your chance.”
Lily Pampolina is a staff Sports writer and staff Audience Creator at the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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