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Paz headed
to Franklin
Pierce
Maybe it got lost a little bit in translation, but when Claudia Paz said she didn’t trust herself to think she could play soccer at the college level, it raised a couple of eyebrows. After all, Paz, a member of the PSA girls’ soccer team, draws immediate eyes when people see her play.
“The second I brought her to a showcase, we had coaches reaching out instantly. She has a great presence on the field and is very talented,” said her former coach Jen Bennett.
“She has handled herself really well the last three months I have known her,” said Atobra Ampedu, her current coach. “Hardworking, very humble, and dedicated to getting better each day. If we had a team, she would be the team captain. She embodies what I stand for and how I want my players to act as a coach.”
Those are the words Paz trusts. She said she is hard on herself, her harshest critic, and sees more of the things she should have done better rather than the ways she moves the ball, wins tackles in the midfield, and unleashes powerful shots from outside the 18.
But regardless of how she got to this point, here she is.
Paz, from Madrid, Spain, signed a National Letter of Intent this past week to play next year at Division II Franklin Pierce in New Hampshire.
“I am so happy,” she said. “So happy. Because really, for myself, I will not think I can play at that level or go to college. I know I’m not bad but I’m always comparing myself and I’m not satisfied with what I have. So I always want more, more, more. I’m the type of person who can play well but I know that I should have given more, so I’m not happy with how I do. I always want to improve myself more.
“Maybe I have to use my left foot more, I have to have less touches, I have to play more within the team, I have to communicate more with my teammates. These things that I’ve seen in the past are what I’m trying to improve at the next level.”
Franklin Pierce went 6-8-2 in its last season, 2019. Ampedu believes she has a really good chance to compete for a spot right away and become a key player for the Ravens. She was accepted academically in December, but before anything could happen on the soccer side, the staff wanted to see her play. Because the girls season at PSA was cancelled this year, it has been strictly through game film from 2019 and showcases, one of which she attended at the school in late March.
“I chose Franklin Pierce because they have very good facilities and they have a very good athletic program, and that caught my attention,” said Paz, who scored six goals in five games last year. “When I went to the (showcase), I saw a very good bond between players and coaches and that family and community is also what I was looking for in my team. I am very excited about being there and being part of that with those girls.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
.