In her second and final season with the No. 24 LSU soccer team, senior midfielder Natalia Gomez-Gomez-Junco looks to close out her collegiate career on a high note and help lead the Tigers to a deep NCAA tournament run.
Gomez-Junco is LSU’s assist leader for the season and a big reason why the Tigers are nationally ranked for the first time since 2013. She takes the majority of corner kicks and free kicks for LSU and stays after practice every day to get some extra work to improve her set pieces.
Last week, she led LSU to its first Southeastern Conference victory of the season as it came from behind to defeat Georgia, 4-3. Gomez-Junco scored twice to put the Tigers ahead after they trailed in the second half.
For Gomez-Junco, it’s been a long road to Baton Rouge. Growing up in Monterrey, Mexico, she’s around the sport her entire life.
“I told my mom one day when I was very young that I wanted to play soccer,“ Gomez-Junco said. “I joined my kindergarten team. They were all boys, and that’s how it all started.”
Her father, Bernardo, and his five brothers were passionate soccer fans and all played at an amateur level. They were the ones that ingrained soccer into Gomez-Junco’s head during her childhood.
She continued to play and joined the Mexico women’s national team system as a young teenager. She always had aspirations to come to the United States, and her hard work paid off when she accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Memphis in 2011.
She stood out from the start for the other Tigers, becoming the team’s leading scorer during her freshman year. However, something didn’t feel right for Gomez-Junco.
“I didn’t feel comfortable soccer wise,” Gomez-Junco said. “I didn’t get the ball as much as I wanted to. Being away from home, I wanted to feel like I was at the right place, and it didn’t feel like that. Once I got here, it clicked right away. I’m very proud to play for LSU. I know I belong here.”
Fellow senior midfielder Fernanda Piña met Gomez-Junco while they both trained for the Mexican national team. After getting close to Gomez-Junco, Pina saw an opportunity to help both her friend and her team back in Louisiana.
After she was introduced to LSU coach Brian Lee, Gomez-Junco transferred to LSU. She sat on the sidelines for a year per NCAA transfer rules but started for LSU as soon as she was eligible. She scored in her LSU debut against Troy and stood as a fixture for the Tigers ever since.
“I knew she was a great team player,” Piña said. “Not only because she’s really good [at soccer], but she brings something special to the team. I knew if she came here it would show, and it’s showing right now.” And it showed in the Georgia game.
One of Gomez-Junco’s goals was a looping free kick that was featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays that night and was named College Goal of the Week by TopDrawerSoccer.com on Wednesday. It was one of several highlight-reel worthy goals Gomez-Junco netted in her short LSU career.
Although she has aspirations to play in the professional ranks, she is just focused on helping LSU win as many games as possible.
“I can’t imagine not playing soccer come January, so I’ll try to extend this,” Gomez-Junco said. “I’m trying to focus on LSU. When this is over, things will fall into place, but this is the most important thing for me.”