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Millions were captivated this summer by the drama and excitement of the World Cup in Brazil. The pageantry. The level of play. The dramatic turn of events in the tournament. While watching it from afar was an unforgettable experience for some, none can compare to being a part of the event itself.
 
This is what Leticia Torres has the opportunity to do in the next couple of weeks.
 
After the Dons play Harvard in Boston on Friday night, the junior defender will hop on a flight to join the Chilean National Team in Honduras for the CONMEBOL two-round FIFA World Cup qualifiers, set to begin on Sept. 12 against Argentina.
 
"There is such a pride to wear your national team jersey," Torres said. "It's like American football. Soccer is the main thing. Being able to wear that red jersey… there is so much pride and I am honored to wear it.
 
"You're representing your family, your friends, everybody who made you. I'm even representing USF when I'm playing for my national team. This is who I'm playing for. Not only my national team colors but I'm representing everyone who was a part of what I am, where I am."
 
The group stage will pit Chile against Argentina (Sept. 12), Bolivia (Sept. 16), Brazil (Sept. 18) and Paraguay (Sept. 20). The top two teams in the group will move into the final round and play in a round robin format. The top four teams qualify for the Pan American Games, the top two teams earn automatic bids for the World Cup and the winner will earn an Olympics bid.
 
While the path to the World Cup is now clearly laid, the road to the national team was not as clear for Torres.
 
She lived in seven different countries between the time she was born and eighth grade before returning to her native Chile. Soccer was a mainstay in her life. She played all through childhood and, when she became eligible, tried out for the U-15 Chilean national team, only to face rejection. It only made her perseverance stronger.
 
"Once I realized there is this national team, I was like, 'I really want to be in this,'" Torres said. "I kept working hard."
 
The hard work paid off as she made the team on her second try, eventually was named team captain and helped to guide her team to the U-17 World Cup in 2010. After proving herself at the youth level, Torres came to USF and faced further adversity in that first season by tearing her ACL in October 2012.
 
It kept her sidelined for six months and took an additional six months to finally get back to game shape. The following season Torres suffered an ankle injury, which limited her time on the field. Through it all, Torres continued to find ways to improve.
 
"I think it helped me getting away from the game a bit, being an observer rather than the protagonist," Torres said. "It makes you look at the game differently. You look at things you didn't look at before. It helped me to grow as a player."
 
After nearly two years of little on-field action, she was able to return to the national team and in March, she played in the South American Cup and helped the team reach the finals after defeating Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela.
 
"I think it really helped just psychologically to say, 'Okay, you're back, you can do it,'" she said. "That last bump over saying you're not injured anymore, you're full go.
 
"The spring really helped me physically because we do a lot of fitness, ball work, just a lot of hours in the week and not so many games and that just got me going. I trained the whole summer with my national team."
 
She missed two weeks away from USF while with the national team in March and will be gone for three weeks beginning Friday, which has made one of the more difficult aspects of playing for the national team keeping up with her classwork.
 
"I've missed two weeks at a time and it's tough," the mathematics major said. "Talking to professors, making sure I'm on top of everything because academics are important to me and I still want to graduate, go to grad school and keep going."
 
To add to her impressive feat, Torres, 20, is the fifth youngest player on a Chilean squad.
 
"There are a lot of girls with a lot of experience," she said. "Girls that have dedicated more time to soccer… You can learn a lot from these other girls, not only the girls on your team but the girls you play against.
 
"We played against Canada and their average age was 28. There were players that were 31, 32 and I'm like, 'Wow, I'm 20.' You can learn so much from playing there, being there. It's such another level."
 
If the Chilean National Team were to qualify for the World Cup, Torres would be the first Don since John Doyle in 1990 to play in the event and the opportunity is something she has not taken for granted and continues to work for.
 
"Every time they call, even though I've been on the national team for a couple of years, I get that sensation of 'Oh my God, I'm on the team, I'm still in it,'" Torres said. "My family and friends are really proud of me and they are like, 'I don't know how you do it. How can you do school and soccer and friends?' I don't know but it works."
 
 
GROUP STAGE
September 12: Chile vs. Argentina
 
September 16: Chile vs. Bolivia
 
September 18: Chile vs. Brazil
 
September 20: Chile vs. Paraguay