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Ingrid Wells

This summer, Georgetown soccer’s Ingrid Wells became the first Hoya in the program’s history to be named to the U.S. national team. After being chosen as a member of the nation’s FIFA Under-20 team in August, Wells embarked on a semester’s worth of intense training and practice with some of the best young players in the nation to prepare for the Women’s World Cup this November. “Being a part of this team is a dream come true,” Wells says. “It was a long journey to get on the World Cup roster, but it was totally worth it.”

A year ago, Wells put together a breakout freshman season at Georgetown. The New Jersey native started in each of Georgetown’s contests, and by season’s end, the star midfielder had racked up an impressive stat sheet. Wells compiled 13 assists over the course of the season, tying her for the all-time school record, as well as posting 25 total points, one short of the Georgetown record. Wells’ successes in her first year on the Hoya squad earned her the Big East rookie of the year award, as well as a spot on the all-Big East first team.

Head Coach Dave Nolan says that he saw something special in Wells during her first year as a Hoya. “Ingrid’s nickname is the `Little General,'” Nolan says. “She is definitely the general on the field. She’s like a point guard on the soccer field. She’s the person you want on the ball. She’s the person you want making decisions. She’s the person you want steering the ship.”

The soccer program in the United States is a somewhat confusing pyramid of various teams and leagues, all building up to the highest level of competitive play – the national team. Players start at the state level, then move on to represent one of the four regions that make up the United States; the best regional players are then sent to various camps and placed on teams that ultimately produce the players to compete on the national team. Wells did not take the traditional route of working from the state level up to the national arena; rather, her outstanding freshman season prompted Nolan to personally recommend her to the U-20 Head Coach Tony DiCicco.

Nolan says that DiCicco’s appointment as head coach brought a new perspective on what players could compete at the national level. In previous years, national coaches and scouts were attracted to bigger and stronger players, criteria that the 5-foot-2 Wells could not meet. DiCicco, however, was more interested in smarter, faster and more technical players, all qualities that Wells possesses.

“Based on the success Ingrid had her freshman year, I called [DiCiccio] and told him, `This is a kid I think you need to look at,'” Nolan says. Following that conversation, Wells attended several camps with other national team prospects before being formally named to the team in late August. “It was a great honor,” Nolan says. “It says a lot about the level of a program, when you’re attracting athletes of that caliber.”

Despite having missed out on the route generally taken by nationally competitive players – working up from the state level to the national scene – Wells emerged as a strong player during the national team’s various camps this summer, and has been a regular starter and steady contributor thus far at the U-20 World Cup in Chile. “Each time she’s been challenged she’s stepped up to the plate,” Nolan says. “To go from where she was a year ago, not even being in the mix, to where she is now, starting on the national team, shows you a lot of what she can do, and shows that [she] should have been getting these chances before.”

The FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup began a week ago in Chile, and the U.S. team has emerged as a force to be reckoned with. In their first contest in the group matches round, the United States defeated France 3-0, proving that the squad had the talent to defend the gold medal they won in the 2002 World Cup. Wells started in that game, as well as the team’s next contest against Argentina, another 3-0 victory for the Americans. The U.S. went down to China 2-0 in the final group-stage game, but its two previous victories were enough to earn the team the top spot in its division and a date to the quarterfinals against England last week. The Americans racked up another huge 3-0 against the British, and continued on to the World Cup semifinals against the Germans. Last night, the United States defeated the Germans 1-0 to book a place in the finals against South Korea on Sunday. Update: Wells and U.S. Win Gold

The U.S. team’s success in Chile has been icing on the cake for Wells. “Playing in a World Cup is something every soccer player aspires for, and I recognize how lucky I am every time I put on that U.S. jersey,” she said as she and the rest of the team prepared to take on the Germans. Wells also remarked that her experiences on the national team have been about more than the soccer. “I have made life-long friends on this team, traveled to so many countries to do what I love, and grown as a person through all of it,” she says. “We are such a tight unit on and off the field, and I have learned a tremendous amount from my teammates and coaches.”

Wells has also enjoyed the huge amounts of enthusiasm and spirit from the fans that she and the rest of the team have met in their time in Chile. “Playing in South America for the World Cup has been awesome,” she says. “Soccer is such a huge part of the culture here and the people’s support is unbelievable. We played in front of over 11,000 people in our quarterfinals against England, which is more than I have ever played in front of before.”

Wells speaks of overcoming the jitters through her teammates’ support. She also says how high of an achievement and honor it is to represent the United States. “Representing your country is a powerful thing, and I am not sure the next time I will get this honor,” she says. “So every game, I go out and give everything I have. We understand how many people would love to be in our position and we are playing for them.”

With just one game separating the United States from the gold medal, Wells is confident in her team’s ability to go the distance. She says: “I have no doubt we can win this whole tournament and bring back the gold.”

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Update: Wells and U.S. Win Gold

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