Nicki Hernandez arrived in Mexico City at the beginning of 2022 hoping to kick-start her professional soccer career.
The former Metea Valley and Michigan star had signed a two-year contract with America of the Liga MX Femenil. But her stay in Mexico had a rough start.
“It was over New Year’s,” Hernandez said. “I got COVID, so I had to stay in a hotel by myself. It was definitely hard my first week, probably the hardest week of my life. I was so homesick, I had my mom talk me to bed literally every single night.”
Hernandez still misses spending time with her family in Naperville, but she’s thriving professionally. She recently signed another two-year contract with America and is a starting defender for the Mexican women’s national team.
“I wanted to go to Mexico so I could get seen by the Mexican national team more easily,” Hernandez said. “That happened, and now I’m just living my life down here with my team.”
Hernandez, 25, was part of the U.S. youth national team program for three years in her early teens, but she wasn’t invited back after her sophomore year of high school. Because her paternal grandparents were born in Mexico, Hernandez was eligible to get Mexican citizenship, which gave her another path toward an international career.
“When I didn’t get invited back, I was like, ‘That’s OK, I’ll get my dual citizenship and see where it goes from there,’” she said.
Hernandez’s career has soared, especially since a coach in Mexico switched her from forward to left back. That led to a call-up to Mexico’s national team, for which she has made 14 appearances.
“I have to give props to him because he helped me with the national team,” Hernandez said. “As a forward, it’s so hard to be on the national team, but there was an open spot for left back, and ever since then I’ve been growing into it.”
Last year, Hernandez helped Mexico win the Pan American Games for the first time. She then started the final four of Mexico’s five games at the CONCACAF W Gold Cup in California earlier this year. Mexico reached the semifinals before losing to Brazil.
Hernandez’s first international goal was the game-winner in Mexico’s 8-0 victory over the Dominican Republic on Feb. 23. But the tournament highlight was Mexico’s 2-0 win over the United States in Los Angeles on Feb. 26.
“These were people I would watch when I was 13 or 14 years old and was dreaming of playing in these tournaments against the best teams,” Hernandez said. “We hadn’t beaten them (since 2010), and it was in their hometown.
“It was crazy because when we were warming up and they came out, they were getting booed. We had so many more fans than them.”
Hernandez reveled in the atmosphere.
“It was a really amazing experience, especially listening to the fans when we would score,” she said. “It was the loudest screams I’ve ever heard.”
Metea Valley girls soccer coach Chris Whaley, for whom Hernandez played as a freshman and senior, isn’t surprised by her success.
“That’s a great story,” Whaley said. “Nicki was a great player when she was younger, but she’s just gotten more mature and stronger.
“She just loves to play. The year she didn’t play for us, she would be a ball girl for some of our games. She just loves being around the game, and I’m sure she’s going to want to do that for as long as humanly possible.”
Indeed, Hernandez would like to play in Europe one day. But she is focused on continuing to help the sport grow in Mexico and inspire girls around the world.
That includes her sister Olivia, a junior midfielder for Metea Valley.
“She’s very inspiring,” Olivia Hernandez said. “As a sister, she’s very empathetic and very caring. She’ll reach out and ask how I’m doing a lot even though she’s so far away.
“And as a soccer player, she’s great. She’ll have such an impact going forward.”
Nicki Hernandez, who is the first Metea Valley graduate to play pro soccer, is thrilled to see the positivity.
“I know a lot of younger girls here that are so excited to play,” Hernandez said. “I see these little girls on TikTok saying, ‘I can’t wait to be a professional soccer player.’ It’s really cute to see that. It’s something that’s very uplifting.”
While she doesn’t get home as often as she and her family would like, Hernandez has settled into life in Mexico City, which is much different than Naperville. She likes to explore local restaurants with her teammates.
“It’s a big city down here,” she said. “In Naperville, if you’re a mile away, you’re in and out of the car. Here, if you want to go somewhere that’s 5 miles away, you’ve got to plan your day.”
Mexico’s performance at the Gold Cup has Hernandez planning big.
“Living that was something cool, and I’m hoping it helps with my journey and the team’s journey to the World Cup,” she said. “Probably the top dream in my life is to make it to the World Cup.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
Matt Le Cren , 2024-03-19 18:04:56
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