Huntsville Native Playing For Seattle Reign
When the U.S. Women’s National Team made its signature statement on July 10, 1989 in California’s Pasadena Rose Bowl, Victoria Frederck was less than three weeks past her 11th birthday.
Her’s was the generation of little girls who fell in love with soccer, chose Mia, Kristine and Julie as their heros and dreamed of a day when they too would play the game at the highest level.
Dreams became goals, and Frederick’s journey carried her from her home in Huntsville, Ala, first to Tuscaloosa and then across country to the Pacific Northwest.
She’s never played for the U.S. Women’s National Team, but some of the current team’s biggest stars are now her teammates.
[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’] Frederick, who played collegiate soccer for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2007-10, has earned a spot with the Seattle Reign of the newly formed National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
And those teammates? None other than Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe and Amy Rogriguez, although that trio is not active with the Reign at the moment.
Solo is recovering from wrist surgery, Rapino is with Lyon, her professional club in France, and Rodriguez is pregnant with her first child and she’ll miss the inaugural NWSL season. Solo and Rapinoe are expected to join the team later in the season.
“Playing professional soccer has been my dream since I was a little kid,” Frederick said. “It was pretty overwhelming when I achieved it. I have a great sense of accomplishment and I’m just thankful for everyone who has helped and coached me along the way.”
Frederick spent the summer of 2010 in Washington State, playing for the Seattle Sounders of the USL W-League. She returned to the Sounders for the 2012 season. By then, she had made a positive impression with those who were preparing to take the next step with a new professional league.”
Early in March she was invited to travel with the Reign on its preseson tour to Japan, where the team played three matches. After her impressive play during the tour, and throughout the team’s preseason, she was offered a contract and a spot on the roster.
She has worked hard to earn that spot. She says that she learned that in college.
“I learned to have a good work ethic during my time at Alabama,” Frederick said. “Just working hard and trying to stay positive is a big thing. Playing at Alabama allowed me to get confidence and experience, which has translated into playing professionally.”
Todd Bramble, her coach at Alabama, says she has worked hard to earn this opportunity, an opportunity to compete at the highest level of professional soccer.
“We are certainly proud of Victoria, but not surprised that she earned a spot on the Reign roster,” Bramble said. “She had a great summer with the Seattle Sounders in 2012 and is making a name for herself on the professional scene in the Pacific Northwest. All of this follows an impressive playing career at The Capstone.
“We are hopeful this league can pass the test of time as more of our current players aspire to join Victoria and extend their playing careers beyond their time at Alabama.”
Frederick played in 70 matches for the Crimson Tide over her four-yer creer, starting every game in each of the last three seasons. She led the team in scoring, finishing her career with 47 points on 16 goals and 15 assists.
In the classroom she was a solid student, and was twice named to the NSCAA Scholar All-South Region tam and was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll Recipient.
[/show_to][hide_from accesslevel=’Subscriber’]
Your subscription has expired please
Subscribe to Southern Soccer Scene to view full article and get all the news in your mailbox![/hide_from]