Indiana University Athletics
IUWS Alum Velasquez Qualifies For World Cup
9/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 30, 2014
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana women’s soccer alum and 2013 graduate Orianica Velasquez (wearing No. 9 in photo above) has helped her home country of Colombia qualify for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. If she is selected for the final roster, it would be her second appearance in the event, after playing in all three matches at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.
“I was very happy when I found out that we qualified for the World Cup again,” Velasquez said. “We knew that we had qualified even before we played our final match, which was a great feeling.”
Velasquez and her Colombian team finished second to Brazil in the Copa América Femenina - Ecuador 2014, earning one of the two automatic qualifying spots. Colombia will now be one of 24 countries to take part in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada next summer. The tournament will take place at various cities across Canada from June 6 through July 5.
During the qualifying process at Copa America, Velasquez scored one goal as she helped the team to a 1-0-2 record in the final phase.
“Scoring for my country is always an extremely proud moment for my family and I because there is nothing more thrilling for me as an athlete,” Velasquez said. “It was also an emotional moment because getting to that scoring opportunity was difficult because I had to overcome an injury just to even be cleared fit enough to play.”
Upon her graduation from Indiana, Velasquez signed a professional contract to play for the club team Zaragoza in Spain. She played there for a year and then received an offer to play in the United States with the Houston Aces. While training with the Aces, she was notified that she was chosen to compete for a spot on the Colombian roster for the Copa America tournament.
While she was going through the process to make the Colombian roster, she was also taking online classes towards earning her MBA in Project Management.
“We could not be more proud of Orianica and her continued success after graduating from IU,” Indiana head coach Amy Berbary said. “We wish her all the best as she continues to work to make that final World Cup roster and will be cheering her on every step of the way.”
Earning a spot on the final World Cup roster for Colombia is the next step for Velasquez. There are a number of camps that she will have to attend as the team works towards the World Cup. She noted that no one has a guaranteed spot on the roster at this time.
“But I am confident that my past experience in the World Cup will give me a good chance to make the roster again this time,” Velasquez said.
During her IU career, Velasquez earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors as well as Third Team All-Region from the NSCAA in 2012. She was named to the Big Ten All-Academic team on three occasions as well. She is the only player in Indiana women’s soccer history to play in the FIFA Women’s World Cup as well as the Olympic Games, as she competed for Colombia in the 2012 Games in London.
In the IU record books, she is fourth all-time in points (64), tied for fourth in goals (26) and eighth in assists (12).
