1. 48 | WWW.OURGAMEMAG.COM
International recruiting has become a
significant part of women’s college soccer.
With incredibly stiff competition over recruits
in the United States, teams will often turn their
eyes north and south of the border as well as
across the Atlantic Ocean to find talented
players who meet their needs.
Over time, the University of Portland has done
well bringing in players from outside of the U.S.
The exploits of Canada’s Christine Sinclair
and Sophie Schmidt in Pilot uniforms are well
known to our readers. Heading into next season,
the Pilots will have two international players on
the roster in junior goalkeeper Hanna de Haan
from Germany and incoming freshman Cecilia
Pedersen from Denmark.
Pedersen has already played for her country’s
U-19 national team, and has been hooked on
the idea of playing collegiate soccer in the U.S.
for quite some time. Pilots’ assistant coach Lisa
Chambers recruited the forward and believes
Pedersen’s pace and creativity can help a team
that often struggled to create goals last season.
Recruiting internationally isn’t without risks.
As Coach Chambers pointed out, “You’re
taking a player farther from home and out of
their culture and community.” Coach Chambers
also noted that it’s often difficult to know what
sort of coaching environment the player has
come from or what kind of coaching they’re
used to receiving.
Often, international recruiting has its fair
share of stories of how teams discover players.
Sometimes, a player sends in a DVD in the mail.
Other times, it’s a YouTube link or tweet that
the player sends to the coach. But for Pedersen
it was much more straightforward.
The forward was connected with Coach
Chambers through a German agent, with the
help of aforementioned de Haan, and Pedersen
began to send her links to highlights and game
film. The coaching staff at Portland liked what
they saw and took a trip to see her play, no
tweets necessary.
Pedersen was drawn to UP for many reasons,
but is most excited to see the trademark soccer
obsession of fans in the Pacific Northwest. Ever
since Coach Chambers told Pedersen about
the school’s passion for soccer, Pedersen was
invested and interested as “the sport is popular
and well-respected, which is something I’ve
never experienced in Denmark.”
The freshman said she’s never seen more
than 200 people at a regular season women’s
soccer game in Denmark. The Pilots draw
crowds well into the thousands for their home
games (averaging roughly 3,000 per home
game in 2014), so Pedersen will definitely be
experiencing a whole new level of crowd noise.
Aside from the fan support the Pilots will
garner at games this season, there is another
transition Pedersen is ready to take in stride: the
Feature
Cecilia
Pedersen
Cecilia
PedersenBY RACHAEL CALDWELL

2. NCAA PREVIEW | AUGUST 2015 | 49
Portland
difference between the Danish and
American styles of play. Pedersen
says the difference comes down to
physicality versus tactics, with “the
U.S. style of soccer being much
more challenging.” However, the
forward believes she is ready to
contribute with her understanding of
tactics helping her “be in the right
place at the right time to score a lot
of goals or set up my teammates.”
Coach Chambers agrees, stating
that Pedersen “understands the high
expectations” and can meet them
with her “high intelligence and
maturity.” Being in a competitive
environment with other players that
want to push themselves is what
Coach Chambers thinks will help
her transition the most.
Pedersen knows that playing
in the U.S. will provide a huge
challenge but also a huge boost to
her game.
“The opportunity to try out
a different style of soccer will,
without a double, add to my personal
development as a soccer player,” said
the freshman.
This development goes beyond
the soccer field as well, as Pedersen
believes her mental toughness
will improve.
The forward has already played
for her U-19 national team, and the
“indescribable” feeling has led her to
set lofty goals for herself, including
making the full senior team as soon as
possible. Even with these high goals,
Pedersen knows it won’t be easy.
“You can’t give up,” Pedersen said
she tells herself. “And you’ll probably
have to work harder than ever in
order to succeed.” ■
Newly arrived on campus, Denmark
youth international Cecilia Pedersen
looks to make an immediate impact for
the Portland Pilots. Photo courtesy of
UP Athletics.