Last week one of our fellow Spartans traveled to Nicaragua to play with the women’s U17 national soccer team. Natalie Orellana, a junior at Pinole Valley High School was given this magnificent opportunity and has decided to share the experience.

She played a total of two games and was given the honor of being captain. Both games were  shown on TV and you can see Natalie in action above.  The first game she played ended in a tie, 1-1. The second game was a 3-2 defeat with the other team scoring in the last minute. However,  in that same game Natalie scored an amazing free kick and was praised by her fellow teammates. Natalie says playing on the high school soccer team has helped her grow as an individual. The coaches have done a wonderful job keeping her in shape and motivating her to become better every single day. In January of 2018 Natalie will be returning to Nicaragua to play in the World Cup qualifiers.

If you too are interested in playing soccer this year at Pinole Valley, tryouts are November 6 and 7. So grab your cleats and come out to the field with a positive attitude.