"I had just come from the first World Cup that Costa Rica had qualified for, and I had also scored their first [WC] goal ever, so it was a pretty epic summer for me. We had a great team, obviously, but I think that besides having a great team there’s so many factors that have to align, and one of them is luck. Winning a championship is really hard, and when you control everything, it still doesn’t guarantee you’ll win. We had a great combination of older and younger players. We had a great culture. And obviously our coach [Erica Walsh] was great, too. I remember her saying, at this stage you’re not going to get more fit; it’s all about recovery.

“All I remember [about scoring in the championship match] is that Mal [Weber] had the ball and she started dribbling around midfield. I just yelled to her and she didn’t even look—she just gave me the pass. I controlled it. The defender gave me a little bit of space. 

I was facing away from the goal, and I knew I had to be quick because I was in the box. I took a second touch, and I hit it with my left low across the goal. I couldn’t believe the ball went in. We had made it to the [College Cup] my freshman year, but only one team wins it, and you only have four, maybe five years to make it. Now that I’m older, I know there’s much more than just winning, but I felt grateful because not everyone gets to live that. It’s special.”

Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez ’17 H&HD, the 2015 Hermann Trophy winner, scored the only goal in the Lions’ 1-0 win over Duke in the NCAA Final. She plays for the Kansas City Current of the NWSL and the Costa Rica women’s national team.