Pacific Palisades soccer standout Ali Riley scored a goal to help the New Zealand U-20 Women’s soccer team qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship by beating Tonga, 6-0, in Samoa on April 9. The dominating Kiwis, who had a 33-1 goal count in five matches during the qualifying tournament, will travel to Russia in August as the Oceania representative. “You could see it in the girls’ eyes at halftime that they knew they were going to Russia. It was just a matter of keeping them relaxed and telling them to enjoy the moment,” New Zealand coach John Herdman said afterwards. His team defeated Papua New Guinea to reach the finals (after earlier defeating Solon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga). This is only the fifth team in New Zealand’s history to qualify for a World Cup tournament. The senior women’s team played in the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. “This is just a dream come true’a very special day these girls will remember for the rest of their lives,” said Herdman, who is working hard to make his team competitive at the international level. “It was an incredible experience for Ali,” said John Riley, who flew to Samoa with his wife Bev to watch their daughter score a goal in all five games. The Rileys have lived in the Palisades since 1983 and Ali is their only child. Said Herdman during an interview with New Zealand Soccer magazine: “We scoured all the corners of New Zealand and the corners of America, and Ali Riley was obviously the find of the decade for us. She offers pace that is very rare in women’s football.” The team’s top goal-scorer was captain Kirsty Yallop with six, followed by Riley and Caitlin Campbell with five.Riley, a senior at Harvard-Westlake, holds dual citizenship in the United States and New Zealand. Her father sent a tape of Riley to the New Zealand soccer commission and they contacted Stanford, where Ali will enroll in September on a soccer scholarship. Coaches at the school told the commission she was definitely an impact player. In February, Riley was invited to travel to Australia to play in a tournament with the New Zealand team. It was the first time meeting her teammates. “They’re so great,” Riley said. “I came on the team not knowing anyone and they were all so friendly.” Although they lost to an Australian team called the Young Matildas, Herdman liked Riley’s obvious skill and invited her back to play in the World Cup qualifier. Riley normally plays forward or mid-field for Harvard-Westlake and So Cal United, a U-19 premiere soccer club. Although she played defense on the New Zealand national team, she was still an offensive threat because of her speed. Her goal in the clinching match against Tonga gave her team a 2-0 lead in the 29th minute after a cross from teammate Emma Humphries. “I like to play forward, so I can score goals,” Riley said, “but the coach used a four-three-four defense, which allows the defenders a chance to attack.” The New Zealand team is scheduled to play in either Moscow or St. Petersburg, depending on the outcomes of other matches currently being played. The timing is not great for Riley, since the Stanford team begins training in August, but the international experience she gains will be invaluable as a collegiate. Riley started playing soccer at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA and then played AYSO until about seventh grade. She tried out for a local club team but was rejected'”two years in a row,” John Riley said. “But it was okay, because I got to coach her for two more years on a AYSO U-12 girls team with Don Randolph.” Dad said that her skill was always apparent, but that she may have been overlooked because she was small compared to many of the players. She’s now 5’4″ tall. She eventually joined the Westside Breakers and played with them until two years ago, when she joined So Cal. “To play as long as I can is my ultimate soccer goal,” Riley said. She also wants “to win the NCAA championship.” Riley will graduate with honors from Harvard-Westlake in June, after “putting herself under a lot of pressure to maintain her high grade-point average” in the midst of her two lengthy soccer trips this year, said her dad, who is a professor of economics at UCLA. “She will definitely play in warm-up matches in Europe on the way to Russia,” John said, “and I expect that she will join the team before that for additional matches and training.”
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