Junior scores spot in overseas soccer team

Grace Lee, Asst. Opinion Editor
June 22, 2018

While many athletes stay active during summer by joining sports camps, incoming junior Marissa Vasquez will be playing soccer on the other side of the Atlantic.  

Utilizing her nearly 12 years of soccer experience, Vasquez will be playing as the attacking mid and right forward on the SoCal Select team for the Euro Hattrick Tour from June 24 to July 13, visiting Ireland, England, Italy and Portugal with her team. After playing five friendlies, the team will participate in a competition for the Iber Cup.

“I’m looking forward to being able to play soccer with my friends in different countries and visiting many places,” Vasquez said via Instagram.

The SoCal Select team will tour various cities across Europe as they play a scrimmage match in Ireland and two games in Italy and England. They will go against teams from Portugal and France in Estoril, Portugal for the Iber Cup.

Vasquez decided to try out for the SoCal Select team to see how people outside the U.S. played soccer and to gain valuable experience by traveling in a team.

“I thought trying out for this team would give me the opportunity to experience soccer in different countries and see how they play,” Vasquez said. “I hope to gain not only soccer experiences but also the memories and friendships that come with the trip and meeting new people from around the world.”

After hearing about the opportunity from her club coach and trying out for the team in December, Vasquez received a notice that she made it on the team three days after the tryout, along with two of her friends from her club team and her close friend, sophomore Emily Le, from school.

“It’s my dream to play professional soccer, but I know it’s hard and doesn’t happen for everyone so if it doesn’t work out, I would want to be in the medical field,” Vasquez said.

As an athlete who is involved in two sports in DBHS–soccer and track and field–Vasquez finds it difficult to juggle practices for both. She manages her time carefully to be able to grow and improve in both sports.

“I usually have to go straight from track to soccer and sometimes I’m late, but my coaches understand,” Vasquez said. “Thankfully, I have coaches that help make it possible to be successful in both at the same time.”