USL Feature

Saturday, July 31, 2010

By David Wagner 

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Cherelle Khassal is more than 5,000 miles from home, but it doesn’t feel that way. The Irish U-19 international has made herself quite comfortable in California, playing for the Santa Clarita Blue Heat. The first year W-League franchise has taken some bumps in its inaugural season, but Khassal helped make it a memorable one.

Khassal, 19, grew up in Leicester, England and qualified to play for Ireland because of her family’s background. She grew up playing soccer with her brother, dreaming of taking her game to the next level. Khassal wanted to play in America.  

“In England everyone watches the boy’s play, but in the U.S. it’s about the girls,” Khassal said. 

Having grown up admiring American soccer, she jumped at the opportunity to play in the U.S.  That opportunity came when the Irish F.A. was put in touch with the Blue Heat and Khassal was given a place to play for the summer. She was coming to a new country, new team, and did not know what to expect. Luckily for her she had to opportunity to develop a unique chemistry with her teammates.
“It’s tough when nobody knows each other,” said Khassal, but it wouldn’t take long for the team to gel. 

Khassal helped jump-start the Blue Heat in their first match, scoring the team’s first goal in franchise history. She followed that goal up with two more that were even bigger. Khassal scored the game-winning goals against the Colorado Rush and two-time defending W-League Champion Pali Blues. 

The Irish international’s clinical finishing not only gave the club its first wins in franchise history, but helped install confidence in the club that they could play with anyone. Most notable, however, is that Khassal was selected for the W-League All-Western Conference Team in a vote of league coaches and general managers. 

“The level of play in the league is a high level,” said Khassal. “It’s a big step up [from England].” 

Khassal felt she improved her game this summer, especially a certain aspect. 

“It’s a physical game here, [players are] much bigger,” Khassal said. 

The diminutive forward is very determined and knows where she would like to take her game. Ultimately, Khassal wants to play professional soccer at the highest level. In the meantime, she wants to play college soccer in the U.S. and plans on being back for the Blue Heat for the 2011 USL W-League season. 

If she plans on scoring goals and making the same impact next season, Santa Clarita will surely be happy to host her again.