Olivia Moultrie never turns away from a challenge – she seeks them out. She always has.

“I was the crazy kid who always wanted the next thing, always wanted the next step, always fighting for more,” Moultrie said in a press conference on Nov. 4. “What's the most challenging environment? My dad used to talk about when you put yourself in uncomfortable situations, then, they just get less uncomfortable each time. I feel like that was my journey.”

When deciding on what she wanted for the next chapter of her NWSL career, Moultrie wanted to be where she could grow and push herself. There was only one real option, and the Portland Thorns announced last week that Moultrie was there to stay, signing a contract extension through 2029.

“My growth here as a person, as a player, shaped so much about who I am… Just feeling 100 percent a commitment to not just who I am now, but who I believe I can be. I want to be the best player in the world someday, those are my goals, and this club is behind me in that.”

Moultrie is in a unique position. She’s by many standards an NWSL veteran in her fifth year with the Thorns – but she’s only 20 years old.

She committed to University of North Carolina at just 11 years old, turned pro at 13, and signed her first NWSL contract at just 15. The 2025 season saw a boon of teenagers becoming differencemakers on their teams – and Moultrie was the one who paved the way.

But age is no concern for president and general manager Jeff Agoos, who said Moultrie is a crucial part of Portland’s long-term plan.

“We started this year trying to figure out the path forward and understand what roster construction looked like,” he said. “We always knew that Liv was gonna be at the center of that.”

When she came into the league as a teenager, the Thorns roster was stacked with legends of the game – Christine Sinclair, Tobin Heath, Becky Sauerbaum, just to name a few. Not many athletes can have their first professional experience surrounded by that much greatness.

Those early years and being so young, Moultrie said she was a sponge, observing everything her idols did. As the years have gone by, these stars have retired while Moultrie is stepping into her prime – both on the field and in the locker room.

This year in particular marked a shift in Moultrie’s status – going from a regular contributor to a certified team leader. She set a new record for goals scored by a teenager, just days shy of her 20th birthday. In the span of a week, Moultrie scored two braces for both her club and country.

At the end of the regular season, her eight goals led the Thorns in scoring.

It’s the best season of Moultrie’s career so far, but unsurprisingly, she wants to keep raising the bar for herself and her team.

“When I look at longevity and who I will be in the locker room, I'm just going to be myself,” she said. “I'm always going to be that person that's fighting for the standards to be higher, that's fighting for us to be winning. I feel like this club wants to surround me with people like that, and I want to be surrounded with people like that.”

In terms of pushing herself as a player, Moultrie said that, in her mind, the NWSL was where she needed to be to hone her craft.

“I'm looking at it as the best women's league in the world – top to bottom, the most competitive – and wanting to be in a place where, yes, I'm challenged every day. Every game is hard,” Moultrie said. “There's no gimmies, there's no freebies.”

“The city and the culture here, it revolves around soccer. That's one of the coolest things to me, especially just as the U.S. and women's soccer grows in general, this city just lives and breathes that all the time,” Moultrie said.

There is no place like home for the playoffs, especially when that home is Providence Park. The Thorns will host the San Diego Wave in the quarterfinals on Sunday, and with a brand new contract and a deep playoff run in mind, Moultrie is ready to get the job done.

“There's so much more that I want to give to this city and this team,” Moultrie said.

You can watch the Thorns and Wave in the quarterfinal this Sunday, November 9 at 3 PM ET on ABC.

Check out the 2025 NWSL Playoffs Hub.