This Is Exactly Why Catarina Macario Is The Best Player In Women’s College Soccer

Beyond audacious from the Stanford Cardinal sophomore.
October 30, 2018

The Stanford Cardinal women’s soccer program is at it again. The defending NCAA College Cup champion is the No. 1-ranked team in the land with an undefeated record of 15 wins and two ties. The Cardinal defeated No. 15 Colorado 7-0 on Oct. 21, and the side features the likes of Tierna Davidson (she’s been capped 12 times by the USWNT at the age of 20), 2017 Pac-12 All-Conference First Team selection Alana Cook and 2017 ESPNW Player of the Year Catarina Macario.

Macario — who was born in Brazil, immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 12 and is now a member of the USWNT U-23 side — is only a sophomore, but she leads the team with 12 goals to go along with five assists. Last Sunday, Stanford was held to a 1-1 draw by Washington State, but Macario’s lone strike was absurd. 

It’s not the first spectacular goal she’s scored this year.

And this is all a continuation of her spectacular freshman year, when she scored 17 goals, registered 16 assists and was handed pretty much every conceivable accolade a freshman can receive. 

Stanford has remaining matches against California and Arizona State before beginning play at the 2018 Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Championship.