Maria Paula Pacheco Martinez has been playing soccer since she was 6 years old, and by the time she was 12, she knew she wanted to play soccer in college in the United States.
Sister Pacheco Martinez has been playing soccer since she was six years old. In their home country of Colombia, soccer does not offer the same opportunities as in the United States, so early in their careers both women believed their goal was to earn a scholarship from a school in the United States. I did.
“If I remember correctly, from the time I was in the fifth grade, I said I wanted to come to America, have fun, and study social communications and journalism.” said Manuela, the younger of the two sisters. “We both knew that women's soccer was good in this country. Our goal was not only to go to America to study, but also to continue playing together. I was thinking.”
Because Manuela's sister, Maria Paula, is older, she was able to come to the United States and begin her career as a student athlete. The two never gave up on the possibility of playing together again, but they knew it was unlikely.
“Manuela and I have been playing together since she was 5 and I was 6, so we developed a bond as sisters and teammates and pursued our goals of playing soccer and studying in the United States.” Maria Paula said. “But we couldn't just say, 'Let's go to the same school and play together,' because we didn't have the financial means. So we decided to go to different schools to get big scholarships. I basically accepted it.”
In May 2019, Maria Paula signed a contract to play at Young Harris University in Georgia and left Columbia in August. Manuela felt pressured to take the next step. As she searched for agents, schools and other opportunities to come to the United States, 2019 came and went and the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing.
Manuela Pacheco Martinez had a long and somewhat stressful journey to reach America, but she never gave up on her dream of playing soccer in America.
“At the end of 2019, 2020 came and I still had nothing. I continued my training and joined an academy to learn English, but then along came the coronavirus. During the quarantine period, I had to continue my studies online and continued to meet and train with my club through video calls, and by September, I still had nothing. I felt so much pressure as 2020 was coming to an end and I didn't know what to do with my life.” Manuela said.
Fortunately, Maria Paula's friend was accepted to the same university she was attending through a Mexican company that handles the entire process of obtaining scholarships in the United States. This put Manuela in touch with Otero Junior College in Colorado, where she received a scholarship to play soccer.
“This spring, I graduated from college and Manuela graduated from junior college, so I was trying to get my master's degree and Manuela was looking for a school to get her bachelor's degree.” Maria Paula said.
Both sisters had offers from various universities across the United States, but Maria Paula wasn't sure about any one yet. It wasn't until Manuela consulted with Minot State University that she thought this opportunity might work for both parties.
“My current coach and my JUCO coach are friends, so that’s how they contacted me.” Manuela said. “I got a call from TJ Perez (current coach). I liked his vision for the game. The scholarship they offered me was very nice and better than the one offered at NCU. The multimedia program also caught my interest. I decided to accept the offer and signed with MSU.
Maria Paula had not yet signed on as a graduate student, even though she had received offers from schools in Michigan. The two sisters had an idea, but weren't sure if it would work.
“When Manuela was recruited to MSU, we decided to ask the coach if there were more scholarships available.” Maria Paula said. “I really thought it wasn't possible. But since I'm a graduate student and graduate school doesn't cost as much as an undergraduate program, it was easier than I thought. The coaches at MSU talked to me and gave me the opportunity to consider different options. I was open to that, so when MSU offered me a scholarship to play there, I didn't hesitate.”
After nearly five years of working towards their goal, living in different countries, attending different schools and graduating at different times, the Pacheco-Martinez sisters were finally able to play soccer together again.
“It was great for us and our families to know we would be able to play together again.” Manuela said. “It’s great to be able to do that here in the United States.”
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Manuela Pacheco Martinez had a long and somewhat stressful journey to reach America, but she never gave up on her dream of playing soccer in America.
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Maria Paula Pacheco Martinez has been playing soccer since she was 6 years old, and by the time she was 12, she knew she wanted to play soccer in college in the United States.
