CEDAR CITY, Utah - It began as a typical early spring day for Natalia Sepulveda when she received a text message that would potentially alter her soccer career forever.
To Sepulveda's surprise, the text was from a scout within the Mexican Women's National Soccer Team organization, expressing interest in Sepulveda potentially joining the U20 national team for their upcoming World Cup Qualifying games.
Sepulveda was elated; however, due to her not yet having a Mexican passport, she learned that she was currently unable to participate in any matches for the National Team.
Sepulveda feared the lack of a passport would disqualify her completely from the opportunity to represent the country that her parents were born in on a national stage.
As time went on, the scout that originally contacted Sepulveda continued to reach out and maintain contact with her, until one day, she received some of the best news of her lifelong soccer career.
While Sepulveda was eating lunch at Puerto Vallarta with some of her SUU teammates here in town, she received a call from the scout that she had been in contact with, notifying her that she would soon be receiving an invite to the National Team training camp in April.
"It just came out of nowhere, and I legitimately started crying out of happiness when I received the news. It was just such a surreal moment," said Sepulveda.
Sepulveda received the official invite in the mail; soon after, she headed to Mexico City for the 10-day training camp spanning from April 2-12.
She arrived at training camp and went straight to work. Her entire schedule from wake-up to lights out was completely booked, as she was given little to no free time outside of soccer.
Training sessions typically lasted an hour and a half each day, with an incredibly high-intensity level.
The majority of the girls that Sepulveda was competing against were already professional athletes and had been training within the national team organization since they were children; but, Sepulveda embraced the competition and the opportunity itself by focusing on putting forth her best possible effort each time she stepped onto the pitch.
"By the end of training camp, some of the girls that were down there became really good friends. It was a little tough being the American out of the group, but the girls and staff fully embraced me and welcomed me into the environment. I truly did make some great friends in the ten days I was there."
Not only was this a phenomenal soccer opportunity for Sepulveda, but it was also an amazing experience in terms of learning about and embracing the culture of her parents' homeland.
"It was so cool to be able to experience a different side of my culture firsthand. I truly feel that overall, I became so much closer with my culture through this experience, and it was a challenge coming into an environment where I was a bit of an outsider; but, by the end of it, I was so close with all the people there. I made some lifelong friends through this opportunity."
Sepulveda is still in the process of obtaining her Mexican passport, but she is hopeful that it will happen by next month. Until she receives her passport, she is unable to play in any official games with the National Team but is still able to train with them in preparation for the 2022 FIFA U20 Women's World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Costa Rica, with tournament play beginning on August 10th.
The next training camp is tentatively scheduled to take place in France during June, and Natalia will wait to see if she receives an invitation to travel to Europe in order to participate.
"Things can always change, so I kind of just have to trust the process and wait and see if my name is called up again. If and when it is, I'll be more than ready."
In the meantime, Sepulveda is still trying to take everything in and embrace the fact that many of her childhood dreams are coming to fruition.
"This is something that I have dreamed about since I was a little girl. I've always wanted to go as far as I possibly could in soccer and play at the highest levels. When I was first contacted by the scout, I put a note on the wall in my bedroom that said, 'game-changer goal: get invited to a Mexican National Team Camp.' It is such a blessing to say that I accomplished that goal, and that I have the opportunity to represent the country where most of my family is from on a national level."
Southern Utah soccer coach Kai Edwards had the utmost praise for Natalia, stating "she has worked extremely hard every day, both on and off the field. She constantly remains focused on the process, and this approach allows her to improve every single day. To receive a call-up to the Mexican U20 National Team is an amazing accomplishment that very few people have achieved in their careers. Seeing her and her parents' eyes light up while wearing the country's colors of red, green, and white, was a surreal moment that none of us will ever forget. We are elated that Natalia is able to represent Mexico, her family, and SUU Soccer with humility, respect, and pride."
The best may be yet to come for Natalia, as she has now placed herself in an incredible position to continue with the national team going forward.
In the meantime, Sepulveda and Southern Utah will continue to prepare for the Fall 2022 season, where the T-Birds are seeking to build upon a strong spring season and make some serious noise in the program's first season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
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