Pietra Tordin: The Ivy League Striker
Princeton's best. Portland's future. Two-time Rookie of the Month.
Pietra Adao Tordin went to Princeton and scored 30 goals. The Ivy League doesn't produce many NWSL starters. Tordin doesn't care about your pipeline expectations. She signed her first professional contract in January 2025, won Rookie of the Month twice by August, assisted Olivia Moultrie's match-winner in the 2026 opener, and at 22 she's already one of the most technically precise forwards on Portland's roster. She reads the game like someone who went to Princeton. She finishes like someone who doesn't overthink it.
The Princeton Years
Thirty goals and 11 assists in 45 matches. Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year. Third-team All-American. The Ivy League is not the ACC or the Pac-12. The talent level is different, and everyone knew it. What Tordin proved is that technique and intelligence translate regardless of conference. She was the best player on the field in almost every match she played in college. The question was whether that would hold up against professionals. It did.
Rookie of the Month. Twice.
Tordin signed her first professional contract on January 8, 2025, a two-year deal with a player option. She scored her first pro goal on May 16 in a 4-1 win at Houston. Then she won Rookie of the Month in June. And again in August. By the end of her rookie season, the narrative had shifted from "can the Ivy League kid hang?" to "how high is her ceiling?" She's a US U-20 Youth National Team player. The senior call-up feels like a matter of time.
The 2026 Opener
March 13. Washington Spirit vs Portland Thorns. Tordin started. She assisted Moultrie's match-winner. It was the kind of play that doesn't show up in highlight reels but tells you everything: the positioning, the weight of the pass, the timing. The Thorns won 1-0. Vilahamn's system runs through players like Tordin who make the right decision fast. She'll make a lot of them this season.
Dark Mode Night
A week later, against Seattle on Dark Mode Night, Tordin scored and assisted in front of 22,102 people. Her goal (a header off a Moultrie corner kick in the 28th minute) opened the scoring while Portland was already down to ten players. Then she set up Reilyn Turner's fast-break goal in the 37th minute. A goal and an assist while shorthanded, in her second NWSL match ever. The Princeton kid is two games into her career and plays like she's been here for years.
Top of the Charts
Through seven matches, Tordin sits joint-top of the Thorns' scoring chart with three goals and two assists, level with Moultrie and Turner on goals. Her third was the deadlock-breaking 76th-minute header off a Carolyn Calzada cross in the 2-1 win at Angel City on April 26. She was subbed off three minutes after scoring, having played 79 minutes on tired legs four days after international duty. The partnership with Moultrie and Wilson is the engine of Portland's attack, and after the 2-0 home win over San Diego Wave on April 29 the Thorns sit 5-1-1, 16 points, first in the NWSL.
Career Highlights
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did Pietra Tordin play in college?
Princeton. She scored 30 goals and added 11 assists in 45 matches. She was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and a third-team All-American.
When did Pietra Tordin score her first professional goal?
May 16, 2025, in a 4-1 Portland Thorns victory at the Houston Dash.
Has Pietra Tordin won any NWSL awards?
Yes. She was named NWSL Rookie of the Month twice in 2025, in June and August. She also earned Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and third-team All-American honors at Princeton.
Does Pietra Tordin play for the USWNT?
Tordin has represented the US at the U-20 Youth National Team level. She has not yet received a senior USWNT call-up as of March 2026.