FRILLES JOURNEYS FROM FILIPINO NATIONAL TEAM TO VCU

When Carleigh Frilles was given the opportunity to join the Filipino Women's National Soccer Team, she was eager to make an impact.

A native of Haymarket, Va. and an incoming transfer to VCU, Frilles' Filipino heritage traces back to her father's side of the family.

Frilles' journey to the national team started young. At the age of 13, a Filipino Women's Soccer National Team recruiter approached Frilles at a training camp, who knew of Frille's Filipino heritage.

The following year, she began playing for the U14 team and ingrained herself in the Philippines' youth team systems. Frilles played for the team until starting at Battlefield High School and during her sophomore year, she committed to Coastal Carolina.

At Coastal in 2021, she appeared in 17 matches for the Chanticleers, starting in 14, scoring one goal and one assist. She logged 24 shots with nine on goal.

At the end of the season In November of 2021, Frilles' national team coaches requested she travel to California for a 10-week-long tryout process to qualify for the senior team.

After the process was over, the coaching staff let her know she made the team.

"I was trying super hard to contain the excitement on my face," Frilles said. "I was so stoked. After we ended that, I called my parents because they were so supportive of the whole thing."

It didn't take long for her to then announce herself on the global stage. In a match against Tonga in April of 2022, the midfielder scored five goals to help lift the team to a 16-0 record-breaking win.

"That whole camp, I was super hungry," Frilles said. "The first goal opened the floodgates. I felt like it had been a long time since I scored a lot of goals in a game and I was super excited."

Frillesh has scored 11 goals in her time with the team and helped lead the Philippines to win the AFF Women's Championship.

Frilles, who has been unable to visit the Philippines yet, said she is grateful for her time with the national team because it has allowed her to get closer to her culture and family heritage.

"People ask why the Philippines," Frilles said. "I think it's really cool that I get to experience my culture in a way that not a lot of people get to do and I get to be a role model for girls' soccer there."

After Frilles got called up to the national team, she made the decision to take a gap year off school. Frilles said the time away from school made her change her personal goals and what she wanted to do with her career. Ultimately, she decided wanted to be closer to home.

"Once I left, I think things in my brain just started shifting," Frilles said.

Frilles said she reached out to VCU Head Coach Lindsey Martin and the very next day she came to Richmond for a visit.

"I just absolutely loved it," Frilles said. "I felt like at the end of that day, I knew I was going to go [to VCU]. I didn't need to go on any other visits. I didn't need to talk to anybody, I knew."

Before Frille's time begins at VCU, she is looking to achieve a lifelong dream, making the World Cup roster. The Philippines has qualified for the premiere tournament that is set to take place this summer in Australia and New Zealand.

Frilles is now playing club soccer in Australia under the guidance of her national team coaches. All of this with the hopes and dreams of making the cut for the final roster and donning her country's uniform when the tournament begins on July 20, 2023.

"I feel like every soccer player looks up to the World Cup now," Frilles said. "I feel like I could never even imagine that this is the journey I would have been on to get there."

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