Perez Called into Colombian National Team
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Freshman goalkeeper Catalina Perez has been called up to the Colombia women’s senior national team to compete during the 2014 South American Women’s Games in Santiago, Chile.
It will mark the second time Perez has trained with the Colombian senior national team. The Boca Raton, Fla., native, who saw action in six games during her first season with the Miami Hurricanes, also competed in the Pan-American games for Colombia at the age of 17.
“I first started training in Colombia when I was in eighth grade,” Perez said. “My first event was the 2010 U-20 World Cup in Germany, when I was just 15. I’ve always loved Colombia, but once you have an experience like that, you truly love Colombia.”
Perez was the final cut of the national team that traveled to London to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Though she trained and trialed with the pre-Olympic team, she was listed as an alternate on the national team roster for the event.
Head women’s soccer coach Mary-Frances Monroe remembers her first impressions of Catalina during preseason training.
“Right away Catalina stood out to us,” Monroe said. “She stepped up in training, stepped up in fitness, just really took charge of a lot of things – especially for a freshman. My first vision of her was crushing our fitness test as a freshman goalkeeper, which is just unheard of.”
Monroe, a former member of the U.S. women’s national team, says international play and exposure is crucial for any young player’s development.
“Having international experience is something that you take a lot from,” she said. “There’s a lot of pride playing for your country, and being in that environment – you go through extremely hard training. It’s really important to have that exposure, because you hold yourself more accountable.”
Perez has ample experience at the youth national team level, where she has been a consistent contributor for Colombia since eighth grade. She served as back-up keeper for the Colombia team that competed in the 2010 U-20 World Cup, and also served as starting goalie for a team that finished in fourth in Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) regional qualifying.
“When I stepped onto the field and played the first few minutes, it was surreal,” Perez said of her experience at qualifiers. “I felt like they had confidence in me. Singing the anthem, seeing my parents in the stands, knowing all the good and bad moments that had occurred to make it happen – it was really special.”
Monroe says Perez’ willingness to tackle new challenges has been crucial in her early success.
“I think that any task I put forth in front of her, she wants to do her best,” Monroe said. “She asks a lot of questions, she’s very focused, and she just wants to improve every single day. I wish I had 20 more Catalina’s on my team.”
Perez and Colombia open up the tournament with a matchup against Venezuela Saturday, March 8.
