Pali Blues Feature -- www.bluessoccerclub.com
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Pepperdine junior Anisa Guajardo had an outstanding season for the Pali Blues this summer. She tallied four goals and added three assists, giving her 13 points for the season, the most on the team along with Tiffany McCarty (five goals and one assist). This fall, the forward from Clovis, Calif. continued to be a big factor in the attack for the Waves where she scored nine goals and four assists, leading the team with 22 total points.
Guajardo, who has represented Mexico at the U-17 and U-20 Youth National Team levels, recently took a big step forward in her career by accepting an invitation to the senior Mexican National Team for a friendly match against France. She was one of 18 on a young, experimental roster as Mexico prepares for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in January.
“I have received emails before regarding participation in other games and tournaments, but I have never been able to attend,” said Guajardo. “So when I received the email about Martinique and France, I really didn’t want to pass this opportunity up. I emailed them back telling them I was interested and I gave them my schedule.”
The team trained one day in Mexico before departing to the Caribbean island of Martinique, where they took on France. Guajardo saw 45 minutes of action in that game. France brought an experienced roster and played their usual starters, but Mexico head coach, Leonardo Cuellar, chose to give some new players a look.
“Our squad for the weekend was comprised mostly of girls under the age of 21. It was sort of a try-out game for many of us. The head coach wanted to see where we stood and how we could handle ourselves out there,” Guajardo revealed.
“It was obvious that France dominated the whole match, but it wasn’t like we didn’t have some good sequences,” she added. “It was just reassuring to see such young players able to keep up with an experienced team like France, where more than half the team is over the age of 25. And it’s exciting to see how well we played but also knowing that there is much we can improve on.”
Mexico lost that game 0-5, but still, Guajardo is grateful for the experience.
“It was amazing. It’s incredible not only being able to play soccer at like the highest level, but also an honor to be part of the Mexican culture that has so much passion for the game. It’s pretty unreal,” she said. “The play is faster, the girls are incredibly talented, and I’ve experienced things that only a few other players have ever known. I’m truly blessed.”
The team will meet for training camp in December, and then meet up again at the beginning of January until they head off to Canada for the Olympic Qualifying tournament, held from January 19-29 in Vancouver, BC.
When asked about the thought of possibly making the Olympic Qualifying roster and potentially making it to the Olympics, Guajardo’s response was humble.
“I keep myself from thinking about it. I just really need to focus on the camps and doing well there. I want to focus on the aspect that I can control, like my performance in the camps.”