San Diego’s new women’s professional soccer team has a distinctively Jaguar swagger.
Five former Southwestern College players were offered spots on the Albion San Diego soccer team, a franchise in the new Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL). Another plays for San Diego Parceiro Ladies.
Jaguar alumni Aletse Camacho, Bianca Mora, Andrea Camacho, Kimberly Mederos, Damaris Aguila, and Veronica Romero are now pros, thanks, they said, to SC’s rigorous program.
Mora played for SC in 2017 before joining Parceiro Ladies. She said she hopes new SC players see her trajectory as inspiration.
“I believe when girls see that a girl like me that played one season at SWC was able to make it into the next level it’s possible for anyone,” she said. “I think it will be a great motivation for any players that are on the SWC team and have them pushing for more out of themselves.”
Camacho agreed.
“I think that knowing it is possible to continue playing after being a part of the Southwestern College program is very much something that can attract other players and potential students in general,” she said.
SC coach Carolina Soto said hard work and preparation paid off.
“The structure provided at Southwestern College is really what got the players to prepare to play at the level they are now, and that our program really emphasizes empowering these young women to follow their dreams,” she said.
Mora agreed.
“All the extra training we did off the field really prepared me to succeed in the next level of soccer,” she said. “Being able to go the extra mile that other players normally do not make allows you stand out at the next level. We trained months before the season started and we had fitness days to better prepare ourselves for game days. Even during the season we kept up with fitness so we never lost our momentum.”
Soto said the players would represent SC well.
“All six players were hard workers and even with many challenges they faced with everything going on around them, they were all able to overcome those challenges.”
