Sam Coffey’s back in Portland, ready to shift into NWSL mode as preseason camps get underway across the country. While many players on NWSL teams are just now easing out of offseason mode, Coffey has just returned from New Zealand with the rest of her USWNT teammates, where they picked up two wins in two friendlies against the Ferns. In the end, Coffey had to settle for using training sessions to make her case for the World Cup roster, though the two matches provided her an opportunity to serve the team in other ways.
Coffey checked in after an afternoon of meetings, ready to discuss her New Zealand experience. The Portland contingent of the team flew through Los Angeles on the return from Auckland, a long travel process of connecting north after the long 12 hour flight.
Despite the travel and the lack of playing time, Coffey was nothing but positive about the January camp experience as a whole.
“For us as a team, it was a really successful camp and trip,” she said. “It was amazing for us to just get a taste of what New Zealand is like, what the travel is going to be like, what their culture is like. It was really laying the groundwork for what’s to come.”
This was always the primary objective for the trip — though the two decisive wins over a less than full…
