Although a small school, Pace University attracts students from around the world, especially in athletics. Pace welcomes international student-athletes every year to expand their program.
Hildur Unnarsdóttir, a senior center back for the Pace Women’s Soccer Team, is from Iceland. While soccer is a big part of her life in America, it has not always been that way.
Unnarsdóttir first played handball back home. She says, “I started playing [soccer] kind of late. It was when I was 10. I was playing handball up until then. I started playing handball at 6 and then I realized I wasn’t that good, so I started playing soccer and I loved it.”
Unnarsdóttir first started playing soccer for fun, without the knowledge that she could play in America. As she got older and saw her teammates traveling to play, she felt she could do too. The process of playing in America was unexpected, working with an agency that did all of the communication with schools.
“So I went through an agency at home that helped me do it all. They helped throughout the whole process,” said Unnarsdóttir. “Like we had some showcase games where coaches from America would come to Iceland and watch the games. Then, they would connect me to the school. I had no idea how it worked because they just took care of it all. Then all of a sudden I had a great offer from LeMoyne and I jumped on it.”
After two years, Unnarsdóttir felt LeMoyne wasn’t right for her so she decided it was best to leave. However, it was not the easiest decision to make, at one point unsure if she would have to go back to Iceland and restart.
“I had a bunch of options which helped me a lot because coming into the process, I didn’t have a lot of confidence and I was really worried I was just going to have to go back home and start all over with my education and I didn’t know what to do about soccer,” said Unnarsdóttir. “So, it helped a lot that I got these offers.”
Entering her second year, Unnarsdóttir feels that Pace was the right offer to accept as a student-athlete. “Coming here, everything around it is way better. The facilities, the locker room, the field, like everything are just better than what I’ve experienced before. The trainers are always there for you no matter what. It’s like you’re a professional athlete, but just in school so that is cool. I love being able to play the sport I love whilst getting an education because that’s not possible for me in Iceland.”
However, Unnarsdóttir wished that her family was closer. “Especially with games, if something doesn’t go well, I just would like to see my parents sometimes,” said Unnarsdóttir. “Also, it’s hard when we have breaks and everyone is going home and you’re just like, ‘What do I do?’. And then obviously, [the] language [barrier]. Sometimes I feel like my brain is working overtime speaking English. But, I got used to it. It’s not terrible.”
Luckily for Unnarsdóttir, her family visited her to attend Pace Women’s Soccer’s senior night on October 12 at Northwell Stadium.
Find more about women’s soccer and the rest of Pace Athletics at the athletics home page.