With the highly-anticipated final between Argentina and Germany just days away, one would assume, unfortunately, that World Cup fever is coming to an end. However, for 2012 Creighton women’s soccer alum Gaby Guillen and the Costa Rica Women’s National Team the fever is only now just beginning to rise.
Gaby Guillen (#5) will represent Costa Rica in that country’s quest to qualify for the 2015 World Cup (WBR)
In the fall, Guillen and her Costa Rican teammates are scheduled to travel to the United States to play for their nation’s first ever Women’s World Cup appearance. From October 16-26 they will participate in an 8-team tournament for the CONCACAF Championship and a trip to Canada, host of the 2015 Women’s World Cup. The top three teams from that tournament will qualify, with the fourth place finisher earning one last chance to qualify by taking on the third placed team from the South American Football Championship held in Ecuador from September 11 to September 28.
“This tournament is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us,” Guillen said. “Canada, one of the strongest teams in the region, is the host of the 2015 Women’s World Cup and will not be in there. Adding to that, FIFA gave us three direct places and the fourth will go against a team from South America. So 3.5 spots just tells us we must qualify. It will not be easy at all, but the chances are good. Actually better than we have ever had it.”
As the host country, Canada automatically qualifies for the World Cup, and thus does not need to participate in the CONCACAF Championship.
Costa Rica is currently ranked 40th in the world according to FIFA, which matches there highest ranking ever. They are the fourth-ranked CONCACAF team behind the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They qualified for the tournament in October by running through the competition at the UNCAF tournament in Guatemala back in late May. It was there that Costa Rica defeated El Salvador, Nicaragua, and the Guatemala to win the championship. They outscored those three opponents by a total of 10-0 over the course of the 5-day tournament. A feat made all the more impressive by the fact that it was actually the first time the national team played together.
“It was pretty exciting first tournament with the team,” said Guillen. “We do not have as many friendly matches or preparation games against other international teams, so this tournament was important to see the starting level of the team and the things we definitely need to improve before October.”
Normally the pressure to qualify for a first ever anything would be difficult to deal with, especially something as big as the World Cup. However, the former Creighton full back/midfielder is no stranger to making history with Costa Rica. The native of San Jose, Costa Rica was apart of Costa Rica’s first ever appearance in the U-17 World Cup back in 2008 in New Zealand as well the U-20’s first ever World Cup appearance back in 2010 in Germany. Due to that experience, Guillen believes qualifying for the 2015 World Cup in Canada is just the last logical step.
“New Zealand and Germany were a first for me and for Costa Rica also,” she said. “If we accomplish this it would be amazing. More than reviving what we already did, it would mean to complete or fulfill a cycle.”
Despite her international accomplishments with the Costa Rica Women’s National Team, Guillen recalls her four years (2009-2012) at Creighton under head coach Bruce Erickson and his staff as some of the most crucial in her development as a soccer player.
“Creighton definitely made me a better player, not only physically, but mentally,” she said. “You have to be very disciplined to practice every day and also try to get good grades. I remember my freshman year I hurt one knee in the spring, and the other knee in the fall. I have always thought that after that I became stronger. Before Creighton, I did not have such intense weight lifting sessions, or such intense conditioning in preseason. Coach Erickson, Digger Hawkins, ‘Von’ Valentin, and I include Brad [Schmidt], our strength coach. They always pushed me to do more and to reach my full potential while I was there. I can definitely say I came out of there a more prepared player than I was in 2009.”
Aside from her commitments to the national team, Guillen also works in Heredia, Costa Rica, as an interpreter thanks to the English she learned during her time at Creighton. She also spends time playing for her national club team, Saprissa Futbol Femenino. Though the hectic schedule takes up most of her time and thought, she still finds time to reflect on her experiences in Omaha.
“I never get tired of looking back at college,” she says. “I can say I had an amazing four years in Omaha, met a lot of people, got a degree from an amazing school, and played a Division 1 sport. I had my family far away, but had another family in Omaha, my guardian Elizabeth Hammes and her family that I cannot thank enough.
“Two of my best memories there were winning the MVC Championship and going to the NCAA Tournament in 2010, and scoring my first goal, which came in my last official game (against Illinois State in the 2012 MVC Tournament at Morrison Stadium). I remember that free kick as if it happened yesterday.”
She knows it’s impossible to turn back the clock, and with an historic opportunity at her doorstep she’s not looking for ways to do so. Still, she says if she could experience those four years all over again she would do it.
“When parents or other younger girls ask me about how it was going abroad I tell them that if I could have four more years of eligibility, I would go back without a second thought,” she said. “I am a proud Bluejay who tweets about Doug McDermott and the soccer programs when they are in season.”
The historic opportunity she has in front of her is not just one that she can help accomplish for her country, but also one for her school as no Creighton player, male or female, has ever played in a World Cup up to this point.
“That would be amazing,” Guillen says of being the first Bluejay to play in the World Cup. “I know Doug [McDermott] has been on the National Team, and Eric Miller for soccer as well. I actually had not thought about it,” she said. “It’s something pretty big and unexpected, which makes it surprising in a good way to me. It would be great!”
She and her teammates do not yet know who or where in the United States they will be playing come October 16, but that doesn’t matter right now to Gaby Guillen. For now she’s just going to spread those Bluejay wings and fly as far as they can take her.