catarina macario
"I moved to the beautiful city of San Diego with my [family] in search of the American dream," Catarina Macario said. "Today this dream came true."
John Todd/ISI Photos/Getty Images
  • Future US Women’s National Team star Catarina Macario earned her first call up to Vlatko Andonovski’s national team Thursday.
  • That same day, the São Luís, Brazil, native became a US citizen.
  • Macario penned a beautiful tribute to the American dream and thanked her family, teammates, coaches, and trainers on Twitter after the big day.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Catarina Macario is living the American dream — and it all came to fruition in a single, unforgettable day.

The 21-year-old Stanford senior is primed to be the next big name in American soccer. And on Thursday, she took two steps closer to that goal by becoming a US citizen and earning her first call up to the senior USWNT.

After her monumental day, Macario took the time to express her “love and eternal gratitude” and thank “my family, my teammates, my coaches and trainers, and so many others” while making a beautiful tribute to the American dream on Twitter.

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Catarina Macario (right) defends during the 2018 NCAA Women's College Cup.
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

“In January 2012, I moved to the beautiful city of San Diego with my dad, mom, and brother in search of the American dream,” she wrote. “I immediately felt at home and that I belonged. I am now proud to say that today this dream came true.”

“After a long and amazing day, I am honored and humbled to have received an invitation to the USWNT training camp… and officially be sworn in as a citizen of the United States,” she added.

Back in Brazil, Macario was told she could no longer play alongside the boys when she was 12 years old. With no girls teams in the area, Macario's family was forced to choose between her promising soccer passion and the life they'd made in the country's capital city of Brasilia. They chose the former.

When the São Luís, Brazil, native, first arrived stateside, she spoke little English but impressed on the pitch, according to ESPNW. Five years later, she committed to play for Stanford — one of the top collegiate programs for women's soccer — and immediately made her mark for Paul Ratcliffe's squad.

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Catarina Macario (left) celebrates after scoring for the Stanford Cardinal.
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Since joining the Cardinal, Macario has accumulated quite an impressive list of accolades. She was named freshman of the year, forward of the year, and player of the year by various publications after contributing 17 goals and 16 assists in Stanford's run to the national championship in 2017. She won the Hermann Trophy — the highest individual honor in collegiate soccer — in back-to-back seasons during her sophomore and junior years, the latter of which brought her her second NCAA title in three seasons.

Now, the lethal striker is ready to take that talent to the world's biggest stage. Though she's eligible to play for Brazil, Macario has been steadfast in her commitment to representing the United States, which she considers her home country, instead.

 

She's played for youth-level US national teams, but past FIFA eligibility rules required players without a parent or grandparent born in the country to live in the nation they hope to represent for at least five years after turning 18. Those rules have since changed, allowing individuals like herself who arrived in their country between the ages of 10 and 18 to join their senior national teams after living in the territory for five years total.

Her invitation to October's training camp in Colorado constitutes her first call up to the senior USWNT, and it's sure to be the first of many.

"I know there's still so much work to come to accomplish my goals and dreams," Macario wrote on Twitter. "But I lay my head on my pillow tonight for the first time as a US citizen... and soon to be a registered voter."

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