Bringing a beautiful game from Brazil
Macario among nation’s scoring leaders for Cardinal
It hasn’t taken Catarina Macario long to hit her stride in college. Stanford’s freshman soccer phenom started classes only Monday, and already she is touting psychology professor James Gross.
And knocking President Trump.
Macario, a native of Brazil, immigrated to the United States in 2012 when she was 12 with her father and brother. She got her green card as a permanent resident a few years ago and plans to pursue citizenship.
Although not in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, she feels for the DACA youngsters being targeted by the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies. It rankles her that hundreds of thousands of “Dreamers” are now on uncertain legal footing in this country.
“As an immigrant, I’d say
America was made up of immigrants who contributed to what America is now,” Macario said. “I don’t think trying to push them out would benefit anyone.”
Playing both forward and midfield for Stanford’s second-ranked team, she already leads the Pac-12 and is tied for third in the nation in scoring with 21 points. As the Cardinal (8-1) open their Pac-12 season against Arizona on Thursday night, she leads them in goals with eight.
A break-in period? Not for her. She started her college career by scoring in each of the first seven games. Coach Paul Ratcliffe said he isn’t surprised in the least by her immediate impact.
“Catarina is one of the most technical players that I’ve ever seen,” Ratcliffe said. “Her ability to strike the ball and finish is phenomenal. I’m a little surprised at how many goals she’s scored so far as a freshman — I’ll be honest with you there.”
This Cat is quick in more ways than one. She spoke only Portuguese when she arrived in San Diego; she now speaks accent-free English. In fact, she hopes to be a sports commentator on TV someday.
First, there are NCAA titles to pursue. Then she’d like to play on the U.S. national team, following in the footsteps of other Stanford players like Julie Foudy, Kelley O’Hara, Christen Press, Teresa Noyola and Lindsay Taylor.
Macario said she’s enjoying learning from teammates like All-American Andi Sullivan and Jordan DiBiasi. “What surprised me the most is that every practice we have, we try to treat it like a (NCAA) final,” Macario said. “We try to make each other better every time we step on the field. We hold each other accountable. I really like that.”
She stays in frequent phone contact with her mother, Ana Maria, a surgeon in Brazil, and her father, Jose, who lives in Los Angeles with Catarina’s brother Steve, a USC student. L.A. is now home to Catarina, too.
In many respects, she is emulating her idol, Marta, who has scored more goals, 15, than anyone in World Cup history and is probably the best female player of all time. Both grew up playing against boys because Brazil lacks teams for girls.
Catarina and her family met the superstar when the youngster was playing for a junior team affiliated with Marta’s pro team.
“She said to not let anything get in the way of my dreams and always to keep working hard to pursue what I believe in,” Macario said. “She told my parents the same thing. Literally, the reason why I’m here is that my parents believed in my dreams, and I believed in them, too.”
She set a record at Torrey Pines High School for most goals in a season with 34. In club soccer, she set the all-time Elite Clubs National League record of 165 career goals. In other words, she was nationally known long before she arrived on the Farm.
“The first thing I noticed about her (in club competition) was the way she strikes the ball,” Ratcliffe said. “She can bend the ball into the top corner (of the net). She can hit it flat and hard — 35 yards.
“And she just has a passion for soccer. She loves the game.”