Pietra Tordin ’26 Shines After Leaving Early for Pros

In May, two months into her first season as a pro soccer player, Pietra Tordin ’26 reached a milestone when she was selected to play forward in Portland Thorns FC’s starting lineup for an away game against the Houston Dash.

“The night before the game, I called my parents and I was like, ‘Guys, I’m starting — I’m so nervous, I don’t know what to do,’” Tordin said.

Her mom and dad, Maria Cristina and Fabio Tordin, did what parents do, reassuring their daughter that she was ready for the challenge, and when Tordin made an offhand remark about not having them there with her, they made a snap decision to book a flight from Miami to Houston the next morning.

Tordin made sure their trip was memorable: Midway through the game’s first half, she settled a pass just inside the 18-yard box, deftly turned to her right, and fired a left-footed shot past the keeper and into the corner of the net for her first professional goal.

“When I scored, the only thing I could think about was them,” said Tordin, who spotted her parents in the stands and curled her hands into the shape of a heart. “That was just such a special game for me.

A year ago, Tordin was just beginning to build a reputation in international soccer. She’d trained with Brazil’s youth national team (both of her parents are Brazilian) but ultimately chose to compete for the United States — a move that paid off in late August and early September when she represented the U.S. in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup and scored a team-high four goals.

The scoring was a familiar sight for Princeton head coach Sean Driscoll, who recruited Tordin during the COVID pandemic and marveled at her club team highlights — “goal upon goal, each one a little bit more spectacular than the last.” Her technical skills and ability to spot open space quickly translated to the college level, where she was named Ivy Rookie of the Year. When Tordin returned from the U.S. team, she scored 10 goals in the last 10 games of her junior season, helping the Tigers reach the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. She also began hearing about opportunities to play in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

Princeton has sent several to players to the NWSL, including veteran Tyler Lussi ’17 (now in her ninth season) and recent grads Madison Curry ’24, Aria Nagai ’24, Heather MacNab ’25, and Tyler McCamey ’25. But Tordin was the first Tiger to leave for the pros as a junior.

Pietra Tordin ’26, center, and her teammates celebrate her goal in a 1-0 win over the Chicago Stars June 21.

Fletcher Wold / Portland Thorns

While Driscoll said he had high hopes for Tordin’s senior season, he also respected her drive and ambition. She signed with the Thorns in January and appeared in her first league game in mid-March, two weeks shy of her 21st birthday.

Adjusting to the speed of play and physicality of professional soccer has taken time, and Tordin played limited minutes as a substitute striker during the first two months of the season. But after earning that first start in May, she hit her stride, scoring three goals in four matches. She was named NWSL Rookie of the Month for June before the league took a five-week break for international play. The Thorns are fifth in the standings — on track for a playoff berth — and return to action Aug. 3.

“You’re going to see a progression of even more confidence and self-belief,” Driscoll said. “The more opportunities she gets, the more she flourishes.”

After three years of juggling soccer and classes at Princeton, Tordin joked that she sometimes doesn’t know what to do with her free time (recent hobbies include origami and assembling Lego sets). She aims to finish her bachelor’s degree eventually, but with a season that spans nearly 11 months, she doesn’t know when that will be. For now, her focus is on improving as a pro player.

“It’s something I love doing,” she said. “I never have … gone to training and been like, ‘I don’t want to be here.’ I’ve never felt that once. And that’s just such a reassuring feeling for me, that I have made the right choice.”