You just won the national championship with UNC. How did that feel?

Words can’t describe it, it was my senior year, so it was the culmination of everything that I ever worked for. It was a dream come true, it was amazing.

What are you expecting out of the WPS Combine this weekend?

I am hoping that I play well and get drafted. But it is fun meeting the players and coaches and getting a feel for what the league is going to be like. It would be great to be a part of the new league.

What was your taste of the competition like today?

It was good, both teams had a lot of talent. Everyone was going 100 miles per hour. I am sure everyone was somewhat nervous. I tried to stay calm and was excited to play and I wanted to win. I thought it was good, it is hard for all of the girls to come together so quickly. I thought my team did well and I am excited for the next few games.

How does the level of play here at the Combine compare to UNC and the ACC?

ACC is definitely challenging. Everyone is real good. Today was completely different because everyone was just getting to know each other and we are not yet a team.

Do you think playing pro will change the way you approach soccer?

It will always be fun for me. I don’t want to think of it as a job. I just love what I do and it would be awesome if I could make it a profession.

What WPS team would you like to play for?

New York/New Jersey, I would love to stay home and play in front of my family. But I will take what I can get.

Now you were in a movie once, how did that come about?

I was in One Fine Day with George Clooney and Michelle Phieffer. My aunt is a location director, and she was working on this movie and there was a soccer scene so she asked if I wanted to do it, and of course, I said Yes! And I got my club (the Northport Mustangs) involved.

So if soccer doesn’t work out would you consider being an actress?

You know what, I wouldn’t mind it. If the opportunity came about I would do it but right now I am so busy with soccer.

Now you come from a family of athletes is that how you got into soccer?

Yes, my mom is 45 and she still plays soccer. She plays in a co-ed league. And my dad  just got back from Argentina, he plays competitive rugby. He is 49 and I don’t know how he does it. And my uncle played soccer at Penn State and won a national championship there.

Did you naturally come to soccer or you played a bunch of sports and evolved into soccer over time?

My grandpa got me into soccer right away. I think I was 3 or 4 and he got me into this little co-ed league in Northport (Long Island) and I loved it right away.

The Albertson Express club team you played for was an amazing team. I saw you play at the Orange Classic years ago.

Yes, we were awesome. We got better from my first year to my last year. But we had a lot of bad luck, we would always seem to lose important games because of a handball. It was just unfortunate. It always seemed to happen to us. But we won Raleigh, Orange Classic, Disney and we won State Cup all four years.

Albertson was a high level team for youth soccer and North Carolina is about as a high a level team as you can get for college soccer, taking into account age differential, are there any common elements between the two teams?

The training atmosphere was similar, everyone was very competitive at both places and everyone wants to play. And by the person next to you playing better, it makes you play better. Both coaches believe that in practice, no matter who you are playing, even if you are a reserve, you have to play as hard as possible. It was the same type of training atmosphere.

What program has had the greatest impact on your development?

North Carolina for sure, I was there for two years. Just playing with the players that were there, all the girls there were amazing. Playing with them and against them only made me better. And also how competitive UNC is and how intense practice is, I think it took me to a different level. My club team was also intense. I don’t think if I was not at Albertson and if Adrian Gaitan  was not my coach I would not have been as prepared for UNC as I was. But Penn State also helped me get there.

Why did you transfer from Penn State?

My dream was to go to North Carolina, and I left Penn State my freshman year to go to the World Cup, so I was always a little bit distant from the team, plus one of my coaches left, and, this is kind of stupid, but it was freezing at Penn State!  I wanted change and UNC was an opportunity I could not pass up.

So you are in the National Championship game two weekends ago and you are down 1-0 at halftime. What is going through your mind?

I was really calm, but I was like “Oh ****”, I was just hoping it was not going to be one of those games where we hit the crossbar, I was hoping we would get somewhat of a lucky break. We had like six or seven opportunities to score but didn’t. It was my senior year and I knew I had to give it everything. Our team came together and we brought it to them.

What did your coach, Anson Dorrance, say to the team at halftime?

I remember it exactly, he said, “We did not come to this game to not score any goals. So just get one goal to tie it up, just tie it up. Once get one we can finish them off. We have been bringing it to them all game.”

What are your plans now?

I would love to go pro and I would love to play on the National Team. I went to the world cup at U20 and we lost in the semis so I am dying to get back because it was the worst feeling ever, losing that game.