Women’s soccer Carolina Soto celebrates following a hard fought 1-1 tie against San Diego City College on November 6, which clinched the program’s first conference championship just four days after the birth of her daughter Camila.
Champion on the soccer field and in the delivery room, women’s soccer coach Carolina Soto helped carry Southwestern to its first conference championship while carrying a child.
Soto gave birth to her daughter Camila on November 2, 2018. Four days later she was on the sidelines against San Diego City College.
Freshman midfielder Anais Ortiz and the rest of the team were shocked when Soto showed up to coach the conference championship game. Ortiz said it showed Soto’s level of dedication.
“If she was willing to be there just a few days after having her baby, she was that dedicated to this team, then we needed to be at the same level of dedication with her,” Ortiz said.
Soto said she continued to coach during her pregnancy to be a role model and inspiration for her players.
“I try to practice what I preach,” Soto said. “I tell my players put 120 percent into everything you do regardless of what it is. If you’re not going to go hard then why even go in?”
Ortiz said the team had nothing but support for Soto.
“In the beginning of the season she told us that she always had two dreams,” Ortiz said. “One was to win a championship and the other was to become a mother.”
Sophomore defender Andrea Camacho said the team expected Soto to take it easy in practice, yet her intense training never changed.
“She worked so hard every day, even on days that we knew she was tired,” Camacho said. “It was just so inspirational, and for women that’s so awesome to see.”
Soto mentioned that she did not have to make many changes to her coaching style, she did not want anything to change for her team in preparation for the championship.
“Whenever I did drill demonstration, I could not get as involved physically and I had to make sure I was at a safe distance so the ball would not strike me,” Soto said. “Sometimes I would forget I was pregnant, I would get so into the coaching.
Camacho spoke about what an inspiration Soto is for her and other women.
“As a Latina, she’s so inspirational to many people,” Camacho said. “She worked so hard to get to where she is and honestly, this was one of her biggest dreams.”
Soto said she made sure to be the best role model she could be for her team, since she did not see many working pregnant women when she was younger. Soto said that she wants women to know that it is possible to achieve their dreams when they really dedicate themselves.
“You can be a professional and you can reach motherhood,” Soto said. “You can do both.”
