Baylor soccer senior midfielder Aline De Lima was called back to the full Brazilian Women’s National Team, Confederação Brasileira De Futebol (CBF), landing a spot on her native country’s roster for the Copa Amèrica de Chile, running April 4-22, 2018.
“We are not surprised, as a family,” said Baylor head coach Paul Jobson. “We have seen the work Aline puts in every day to accomplish her goals. We are really proud of her and how she represents God, herself and Baylor University. We will be cheering for her and Brazil during the tournament.”
De Lima has been training with the Brazilian squad throughout the spring at the world-renowned Granja Comary Football Complex in Teresópolis, Rio De Janeiro, the headquarters and training facilities for the CBF.
The Belo Horizonte, Brazil, native had a tremendous 2017 season, becoming the fourth All-American in Baylor history (Courtney Saunders, 1998; Dawn Greathouse, 1998; Dana Larsen, 2012), the first since Larsen in 2012 and the first for head coach Paul Jobson.
De Lima finished the 2017 season with seven goals and eight assists, totaling 22 points. Her three game-winning goals led the team and her performance in the postseason was one for the ages.
After finishing the regular season with four goals and three assists, De Lima posted two goals and four assists in the Big 12 Soccer Championship, lifting the Bears to wins over No. 14 Texas, No. 16 Oklahoma State, and TCU. BU won its third conference title and De Lima was named the tournament’s Offensive Most Outstanding Performance.
De Lima added a goal and an assist in the NCAA Soccer Championship, helping lead the Bears through the deepest postseason run in program history, culminating in the first-ever trip to the Elite 8.
The tournament in April serves as a multi-faceted qualifier for CONMEBOL, the governing body for the national soccer organizations in all 10 countries in the South American continent. The respective nations will compete for two automatic-qualifier spots in the 2019 World Cup in France, the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Brazil is the three-time defending champions and has won the title seven times. The top two teams will earn an automatic bid to France for the World Cup, while the champion of the tournament will additionally qualify for the Tokyo Games.
