Jill Saftel, News Staff
Veronica Napoli has left her mark on Northeastern, ending her senior season as the women’s soccer program’s all-time leading scorer – but her success hasn’t stopped there.
In April, the forward signed with the Boston Breakers of the newly formed Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) Elite and established herself as a contributor in the league’s first match a month later, notching what would be the game-winning goal one minute into play.
“It’s a dream come true to be able to play beyond Northeastern since I thought my career was over,” Napoli said in an email to the News.
Napoli’s head coach at Northeastern, Tracey Leone, encouraged her to try out for the Breakers, and after debating it, Napoli said, she finally did.
“When you’re coming out of college and you have the opportunity to play pro soccer, you can’t even fathom it,” Leone said. “You kind of can’t even believe the opportunity.”
Napoli’s career as a Husky ended in November 2011 when Northeastern was knocked out of the CAA Tournament semifinals by Virginia Commonwealth University a day after a double overtime victory over George Mason University. Her 36 career goals and 89 career points in four years as a Husky put her name in the Northeastern record books.
Despite Napoli’s success with Northeastern, Leone said there was some uncertainty surrounding Napoli’s future in soccer.
“She just wasn’t quite certain what the league was going to do and if she, like any player, was good enough to play in the league,” Leone said. “I told her to just give it a shot, if you make it, you make it and if you don’t, you don’t. I think she just needed a little confidence in herself. She’s worked hard to find a role within the team and have the beginning that she had with them.”
Leone said sometimes coaches need more time to watch Napoli because she excels when she has space on a big field, and that’s where you really see her shine.
“Sometimes in training she’ll do well in the smaller things, but she shines the most playing big,” Leone said. “When you get her on a big field like we have [at Northeastern] and you see her play, it’s like, ‘Wow.’ She can do things that almost nobody can do, but sometimes it just takes a little while to see that. She’s so dangerous.”
Napoli said after a week of tryouts, Breakers head coach Lisa Cole told her she had made the team.
She played all 90 minutes in the league’s first match May 10 against the ASA Chesapeake Charge in Arnold, Md. Her early goal was the first of three for the Breakers that day in their 3-0 victory and made her the first player to ever score in a WPSL Elite game.
“Clearly I have so much to work on and I’m surrounded by so many talented players that at times it was very intimidating, but the staff and the team couldn’t be more pleasant,” Napoli said.
Leone commended Napoli for working through that intimidation and facing the challenges that come with the overwhelming transition from college to professional play.
“A lot of players don’t have the staying power to stick with it,” Leone said. “I’m pleased to see that she kept plugging away and had the start that she had.”
Currently on a Dialogue of Civilization in Greece, Napoli said she is eager to return to Boston and continue to contribute to her new team, which is 5-1 through six games this season.
“Everyone is so kind and genuinely cares about helping one another,” she said. “I’ve already learned so much from my coaches and team and I cannot wait to get back from this dialogue and be part of the team again.”
