Mallory Pugh is already one of the greatest youth players in U.S. Soccer history. 

It’s not hyperbole at this point. It’s a statement of fact. 

The Colorado teenager added another sterling accomplishment to her resume last week when Brandi Chastain surprised her at her high school, Mountain Vista, with the 2014-2015 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award. 

The unanticipated ceremony was one of the times Pugh has been frazzled when it comes to soccer. 

“I had to process everything,” Pugh said about her initial reaction when Chastain appeared in her class. “I didn’t know what was going on at first. Then, I read the award.”

Even among a crowded class of worthy candidates, Pugh seemed like the obvious choice. The U.S. U20 Women’s National Team forward is in a world of her own. 

At the high school level, countless coaches speak about her as the greatest player they’ve ever seen. She scored 24 goals in 18 games this season as a junior and would’ve had more if not for her national team commitments. 

In 2014, Pugh was the breakout star of the U.S. U17 WNT. Her wizardry control and deft change of pace quickly earned her notoriety as a transcendent talent at the international level. However, that U17 team did not clear the hurdle of qualification. 

U.S. Soccer U20 WNT head coach Michelle French recognized what the then 16-year-old could bring to her squad and she named Pugh to the U20 team’s 2014 World Cup roster. The Real Colorado standout became the youngest U.S. player to be named to a U20 World Cup squad. 

Despite her age, she became one of the key players on that U20 World Cup squad. Pugh started all four games for the U.S., which lost in the quarterfinals to North Korea. 

Unsurprisingly, Pugh has returned as a cornerstone for the U20 group for the next go at the World Cup. 

“The current group, we have all played together,” Pugh said when asked to compare the two teams. “Some of us have played together with the 17s. The last group was different with everything. I came in later in the cycle. I think something similar between the two we all have goals. We have all helped each other.”

Pugh’s success has not been inconsequential. Every team wants her to be available, but she has to prioritize and that means missing high school games at times to compete with the youth national teams. 

“You have to have a positive attitude with everything,” Pugh said. “My family and coaches have been really understanding. Without their help, I don't know where I would be.”

Despite the boundless acclaim, it was the humility that stood out to Chastain from her interaction with Pugh last week while presenting the Gatorade honor bestowed on the best high school soccer player in the country. 

“I recognized her humility and her maturity,” Chastain told TopDrawerSoccer. “The first thing she did [when I gave her the award] was find her team and said come here.”

It’s not an ordinary reaction for a teenager, but there is hardly anything ordinary about Pugh. Her countless club, high school, and national team honors have already landed her a commitment to the school of her choice, UCLA. 

She’s already at the pinnacle of the youth soccer mountain without any more summits in the way. But she’s not even close to being satisfied. 

“I think the want and desire to always get better,” Pugh said about her motivation. “I love playing the game so it is really just the game.”

Her love for the game started early. She couldn’t recall when exactly the game took control of her, but she did have a vivid recollection of the event that allowed her to enjoy her first success. 

“I will always remember when I could never get the ball off the ground,” Pugh said about her first soccer memory. “One day at practice, I hit the crossbar. I was so excited that I did that.”

While she used to play basketball and run track, she moved away from both in the seventh grade. It was soccer that really captured her imagination and kept her engaged. 

“I think throughout my career. I don’t think there is a point in time,” Pugh said when she fell in love with the sport. “My love for the game has always kept me motivated.”

The question moves to what is next for Pugh. Her ceiling looks to be far beyond the U20 team, but there are very few accessible steps for youth prodigies in the women’s game before the full national team. Chastain’s advice was to focus on the immediate and use it as a lesson for the future. 

“It’s rare to have a player at a young age have an impact,” Chastain said. “One piece of advice is take these moments with the 20s and learn something every time. Try to recall of different scenarios in the game and learn something every time you have a chance to touch to the ball. I would like her to analyze at a deeper surface.”

Pugh’s next chance to do that and dazzle will be next week with the U20 WNT in the NTC Invitational in Carson, California where the U.S. will take on Japan, Brazil and Mexico. 

“I think my expectation is always have fun with everything you are doing and to compete,” Pugh said when asked about her goals for the upcoming tournament. 

As an unsung leader of that group, the U.S. will be counting on her to do just that.