The Road to Rio continues Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, as the United States and Mexico compete in CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying in women's soccer.
One player will represent not just her country, but also her hometown in North Texas.
Alina Garciamendez-Rowold, 24, was born in California but moved to Fairview, in Collin County, at age 4.
She attended St. Marks School of Dallas and Ursuline Academy High School, before playing college soccer at Stanford University.
She has dual citizenship, because her parents are from Mexico, so she is allowed to compete on the international stage with the Mexico women's national soccer team.
"I'm feeling very excited – super nervous because it's in my hometown, and family and friends are going to be tuning in and at the game," Garciamendez-Rowold said.
When she isn't practicing with teammates, she's in a classroom, studying to become a pediatric dentist.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
On Friday night, she attended her white coat ceremony at Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas. The ceremony symbolizes the transition from the classroom to the field.
But the only field on her mind heading into the Olympic qualifier is the one she'll take Saturday. The game begins at 3 p.m.
