The school year may have just started, but Harmony High senior Machaela Looper will soon be headed on a trip to South America.
Not that it will be a vacation for the Longhorns soccer player. Looper was selected to represent El Salvador in the FIFA Uunder-20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers later this year. The team will be in camp in the Central American nation Aug. 13-27 It’s a trip she’s made before, having played for El Salvador’s U-17 team last year. That experience, which included matching up against the U.S. National Under-17s, did wonders for her development as a player, Looper said.
“It was an eye-opening experience to see what we needed to do as players and as a team to play at that high of a world level,” said Looper, who has already committed to play collegiately at the University of West Georgia.
Looper, who is Salvadoran on her mother’s side and Puerto Rican on her dad’s, she said she sent highlight film to El Salvador Coach Eric Acuna, which led to a tryout, then a roster spot, with the U-17 team. She played as an outside back when the team took on squads from Curacao, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S.
“The coaches reached out to me (about the U-20 team) and asked me to come, that there would be a roster spot for me,” Looper said. “I’m excited for it just like I am whatever team I’m playing for. I love to push myself. My family keeps me going.
“Plus, in El Salvador we’re going to be playing on national TV.”
Looper plays club soccer for the prestigious Florida Kraze Krush club program, but said she’s excited to get back to the Longhorns in the winter to play her senior season.
That’s to the relief of Harmony Coach Scott Marlega, who called Looper “one of a kind."
“Over the years we have been blessed with some pretty talented girls in our program, and Machaela ranks right up there with the best of them,” he said. “She is clearly an amazing player but what sets her apart from most is her competitive nature. Her desire, passion, and commitment to the game of soccer.”
Marlega also knows Looper as an AP and honors student with a 3.5 GPA and a member of the Best Buddies mentor program. He shared a summer conditioning story, noting Looper asked to do a grueling “beep test” dreaded by most players, just to get in extra work she felt she needed.
“That’s just the type of player she is. She always wants more. More fitness, more touches, more reps, if we’re winning 5-0 or losing 5-0, Machaela always wants to be out on that field working, competing, and giving her all to help the team out. She is a great teammate, wanting to win every race or drill.
“As she’s gotten older, she has really developed her voice and is not afraid to tell the team exactly what we are doing wrong, and what we need to work on to improve. She wants to win more than most.
Having Machaela on the team gives the younger girls somebody to look up to, somebody who sets the example, and lives up to that example every day. And, she puts high soccer over almost everything, which is admirable in a day that so many athletes are putting club ball or AAU first.”
