10 Questions with NWSL Chicago Stars Defender and IDA Athlete, Sam Angel

We’re excited to welcome Chicago Stars FC defender and Iowa women’s soccer alum, Sam [formerly Cary] Angel, to the IDA squad! We’ve been following Sam’s journey for a few years from our collaborations with the Girls Soccer Network, to getting drafted, to heading to Sweden (and back!). And what better way to welcome her back stateside than by making her an official IDA Athlete and throwing a fun Q&A her way!  

Related: Shop Sam Angel’s IDA Helia Pro

You’ve been on a journey! What was it like transitioning from Iowa, to Sweden, to Chicago?

This is insane. I could talk about this for about eight hours, but the biggest thing is that opportunities come in the soccer world when you least expect it. And there is so much opportunity and chance to learn and everything. So going from Iowa to Sweden was insane. I'm so excited. So happy I did it. I met the best people. I had the best time and getting to learn a new culture and learn a new language, move somewhere that I literally knew no one and take a huge leap was incredible.

And then coming back to the U.S. playing for a club that I always dreamed of playing at, in the Chicago Stars has been a dream come true. It's so fun to be back in the midwest, be back around my family and friends after being away for so long. And it's been a journey. I think the biggest thing is that soccer is a journey and it's different for everyone else. So embrace your own journey.

What’s your go-to pump-up song before a big match?

This one has evolved over my time. I would say my most consistent one in my life, “I Got a Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas. My mom and I have a memory of singing that in my car with her before a big game in high school and that stuck with me all through college. And then some other ones have been thrown into the mix. I'm a big country music person. I don't like to get too hype. Like I get hype enough in my body. So if my music is a little too crazy, then I kind of, you know, go a little crazy. So “I Got a Feeling” is a classic one. If not, honestly, I don't know why but, “All Too Well 10 Minute Version” by Taylor Swift. Yeah, I don't know why I like to get in my feels apparently before a game, but that one gets me in the right spot.

If you weren’t playing soccer, what sport—or totally different career—would you see yourself in?

Oh God, okay. I was a 13-year Girl Scout. So that's a weird fact about me. So I think one thing I would do if I wasn't in soccer is I could have totally seen myself embracing the advocacy role and going down like a lawyer [path] or being in like a boardroom of some sort. I see a world where Sam is the CEO in a pantsuit rocking her stilettos going to a meeting. I don't know what for, but that's the world I envision myself doing if I wasn't playing soccer. I only really ever played track and basketball, and I fouled out of basketball nearly every game and got kicked out of church league because of it. So I don't think that that was the route for me.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off the field?

For me, I need a coffee shop and I need outdoor time. So I always find a way to get a walk in. It's perfect in Chicago. Walk around Lake Michigan on Lakeshore Drive with a cup of coffee in my hand. It is a good off day or a good day away from the fields when that happens. 

You’re stranded on a desert island but get to bring three essentials—what makes the cut?

I've thought about this a lot and I'm a big fan of Survivor. So I need a flint or something to make a fire with. I need some kind of music. I know that sounds weird or like a radio only because I go insane when they're silent. I need music or a podcast or something in the background at all times. So ambience. I'd be lost in my own thoughts and that's not good. And then frankly (this is a terrible answer)... I need sunscreen. I feel like I could live and I could survive on a desert Island (once again, 13-year Girl Scout), but I would burn. And so I think sunscreen, flint, some kind of music or radio… I could figure myself out from there.

Do you have any pre-game rituals or quirky superstitions you swear by?

I think my biggest one... I gotta say it's foul... it's bad. I've worn the same shin guards since I was 12 years old. They are Velcro. They probably have some kind of bacteria on them and I wear them every single game. And those puppies... they've been with me this ride. So I can't stop now. So my shin guards aren't leaving my side.

What’s the best soccer memory you’ve had so far—on or off the field?

This is genuinely the hardest question you could have asked me. I have so many like when it comes to everything so if I'm like thinking on the field right now I'd probably say winning the Big Ten championship my fifth year just like seeing where Iowa had come from and like being an underdog team and scrapping our way through. Off the field, listen… there's so many and memories of course hit you but there’s nothing that beats the dances in the locker room or, you know, being exhausted with each other after a workout or whatever it is. So I don't even know if I could say there's just one because there's just so many people I'm so thankful for in my life.

If you could design your dream cleat colorway what would it look like?

Okay I have a thing… I don't like black cleats. I feel like black cleats make you slow. I know there's no science behind that, but in my brain it works so I like light cleats. I always like to go for like a lighter pattern like a white and right now the white IDA Helias are my favorite, but so are the IDA Helia Phoenix's with that gold-like plating. It's like a white and gold.

I think some kind of sleek, “look good, feel good, play good”, but then I want a pop of color. So white, gold, silver, but then like a hot pink lace or a hot pink element! I think that would really crisp it up and  that would be my dream one.

What’s one hidden talent or surprising hobby your teammates might not know about?

Oh God, there's a lot. I'm a weird person. I would say my biggest surprise is that I love Marvel comics. I go to every single Marvel movie on opening night. I will be at the theater on opening day premiere. I've read a ton of the Marvel comics. I listen to Marvel podcasts constantly. So yeah, I have an obsession with Marvel and if anyone wants to talk about Marvel movies or Marvel TV, I am your girl.

What’s on your soccer bucket list—something you still want to accomplish in your career?

I love that I'm back playing in the NWSL. I love that I'm back playing in the States. So I think for me, the biggest thing that I want to continue to accomplish in my career is to continue to make a name for myself in this league and hopefully, you know, make an end of year post-season team or contribute to the team as much as possible. So I think the biggest, the next bucket list thing for me is to be a contributor in the NWSL. 

Be sure to give Sam a follow on Instagram @samcaryangel and boot-spot as you watch the Chicago Stars the rest of the 2025 NWSL Season!