Solis to play for Mexico

If you happen to find yourself in a class with Portland State women’s soccer star Daniela Solis during the upcoming fall term, don’t anticipate having the best “how I spent my summer vacation” story.

Solis will be spending her summer in Japan, competing in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. The PSU sophomore joined the Mexico team in early June and helped them qualify for the cup after finishing in the top three in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football U-20 tournament that same month. Solis is currently training for her first match against Japan.

Although Solis, a forward on the team, suffered nagging injuries throughout her freshman year, she earned praise from her coaches for her prominent fundamentals and speed. She scored a goal in her first game on the team, in a 4-2 loss to Utah Valley.

“Daniela is a very creative player on and off the ball. Look for her to be an exciting addition to our attack,” head coach Laura Schott said when Solis was first recruited in 2011.

The U-20 tournament will not be the first for Solis, as she previously played for Mexico in the U-17 World Cup in 2010. Although her team did not qualify for the knockout stage, finishing 1-2 in group play, Solis did lead the charge in her squad’s lone victory, scoring a goal in a 4-0 win over South Africa.

Mexico did not get off easy in the scheduling of the cup. They play the tournament host in their first match, followed by Switzerland and New Zealand.

“Representing our country at a World Cup is a huge responsibility,” said Mexico head coach Roberto Medina in a statement to the press. “You have to aim high, while everything else will come down to hard work, consistency and analyzing each one of our players to work out how we can get the very best from them.”

Although Solis helped lead Mexico to a solid finish in the CONCACAF championship tournament, she and her squad will be facing an uphill challenge in the U-20 cup. Mexico has never advanced past the quarterfinal stage of the U-20 championship.

Still, they have shown gradual improvement in recent years: The quarterfinal finish in the previous tournament (in 2010) was only halted by a loss to the Korea Republic. The team hopes to build on that experience and advance even further in 2012.

As Solis’ tournament play will overlap the beginning of the PSU 2012 women’s soccer season, she will have to miss a few matches early on, but she is expected to return as a key player during the upcoming season. Exhibitions for the 2012 women’s team will begin Aug. 11 against Frasier Valley, and official matches will begin Aug. 17 with conference play starting Sept. 9.