No matter where soccer takes Brianna Pinto, her world-class game keeps roots in the Triangle.
BY KURT DUSTERBERG
Brianna Pinto is relaxing on a patio that overlooks Cary’s WakeMed Soccer Park. The view is expansive enough to take in most of the fields at the park, allowing her to chronicle her career with a sweep of her arm.
“I used to play youth games on Field 8, and I played boys soccer on Fields 6 and 7,” she says. “And on Field 2, that’s where I played my freshman home games for Carolina. We played a national championship game here. My first professional goal was here, too.”
Pinto is a midfielder with the North Carolina Courage in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the top level of professional soccer in the United States. It is the crowning achievement of a soccer career that has taken Pinto all over the world, and yet kept her anchored in the Triangle. She grew up in Durham and attended Jordan High School before playing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her pro career began in the NWSL with the New Jersey/New York franchise in 2021, but she was traded to NC Courage at the end of that season.
“It feels like the last 10 years of my life have flown by,” she says, “but I’ve created so many memories along the way.”
For Pinto, soccer has been a way of life for most of her 25 years. As the competition increases, so do the performance expectations and the demands on her time. On this day, she has completed a midday practice with NC Courage, but team meetings await. Later, she is making chicken Parmesan—her go-to meal—for friends at her place.
“When soccer becomes your job, you have to make meaning of all the other hours in the day,” she says. “It’s up to us to maximize our opportunities to recover and take care of our bodies, and do all the preparation necessary to set ourselves apart. We have a finite amount of time to be an elite athlete.”
Pinto’s soccer career has been marked by extraordinary achievements, but also by important lessons. She is acutely aware of what she has learned at each step in her journey, even before her teen years. She began fine-tuning her skills with the United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) program as a 12-year-old. Eventually, she played World Cup matches for the United States U-17 and U-20 teams at the international level.
“That national team environment taught you to never be complacent, because there’s always somebody who’s kicking at your heels ready to take your spot,” she says. “That’s kind of what it’s like in the NWSL. Yo’’ve got to prove it every day in training. That’s how you get to your best level.”
Pinto grew up watching the UNC women’s team practice during the preseason, dreaming of joining the storied program. Despite playing on nationally ranked teams, it was at Chapel Hill that she learned something about disappointment. She scored 31 goals in her three seasons, but her teams weren’t able to deliver a 23rd national championship. She came agonizingly close in 2022, when the Tar Heels lost to UCLA 3-2 in the national title game.
“I’ve gotten over it now, but it took me a while,” she says. “My lifelong dream was to go to Carolina and win national championships. What I learned from that is not everything in life is going to go your way. But it’s ultimately about the process and the journey, and those are some of the best teams I’ve been on in my life. We had such a rich culture because everybody bought into becoming better every day.” Even the pro game has delivered some difficult moments. Last year, Pinto missed three months with a torn MCL. “Injuries teach you a lot about how much you love the game and how much you’re willing to do to get back to the level you’re at. I would argue that I’m playing better now because I was so hungry to get back to the field, and I was missing being part of the team environment.”
As an athlete, Pinto had a running start. Her father, Hassan, played soccer at UNC, while her mother, Maleata, played softball at the school. They encouraged Brianna and her brothers, Hassan Jr. and Malik, to find a sport they loved. At the age of two, Brianna was inspired by Hassan Jr. and his team of five-year-olds and asked her dad to play soccer. When she turned four, her father enrolled her on a co-ed team with Rainbow Soccer in Chapel Hill. In her first game, a boy dribbled past her and scored. Twice. What happened next is part of the Pinto family lore.
“The third time the boy came down, Brianna stuck her leg out, took it, dribbled through everybody and scored a goal,” her father says. “The game ended 5–3 because Brianna scored all five goals. At the end of the game, I asked her, ‘Who taught you that?’ She said, ‘I’ve been watching you guys. I told you I wanted to play.’”
As the years passed, Brianna frequently watched her father participate in a UNC soccer tradition called “noon ball,” a pickup game with UNC coaches and former players. “I watched how he went about attacking and dribbling, and how he would shoot the ball,” she says. By the time she reached middle school, she was good enough to participate.
The joyful memories kept coming. When any of the Pinto kids scored a goal, the whole family went out for ice cream. Sometimes there were bigger incentives, like the time her parents offered Brianna an iPod Nano if she could score eight goals for her U10 team during a four-game tournament in Charlotte. “Of course, I was motivated,” she says with a smile. “I scored eight goals, we won the championship. To this day, I still have the iPod Nano. It’s a reminder that if you set your mind to something, you can achieve it.”
Now in her fifth pro season, Pinto hopes she is in the prime of her career. “You want to elongate your time as a professional athlete,” she says. “It’s what you’ve been dreaming of your entire life.” At the same time, she already sees a path for life after her playing days. At age 17, she spoke before the sport’s governing body at the 68th International Association Football Federation (FIFA) Congress, helping present North America’s successful bid to host the 2026 World Cup. She also holds a seat on the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Athletes’ Council.
In the meantime, she has begun growing the game on her home turf. The Pinto Futbol Foundation works to make the game affordable for kids in Durham and Chapel Hill. Not surprisingly, it is a family affair. Hassan Jr. played professionally for the Richmond Kickers, and younger brother Malik currently plays professionally in Colorado.
“I was very fortunate that I had family members that could help me get to training every day and buy my uniforms,” Pinto says. “That’s not feasible for a lot of families. We’re just trying to plant a seed and introduce kids from underserved communities to the sport. Hopefully they will fall in love with it, and then we will push them toward regular programming.”
At the camps, kids get plenty of soccer instruction, but they also learn about the importance of education. All five members of the Pinto family were student-athletes at the Division I level. “You can use sports as a vehicle to open educational opportunities,” she says. “That sets you up for a lifetime of success well after your playing days are over.”
