Bianca Sierra Selected To Mexican National Team - AuburnTigers.com

Bianca Sierra Selected To Mexican National Team Olympic Qualifier

Bianca Sierra

Jan. 19, 2012

Auburn sophomore defender Bianca Sierra has been selected to play for the Mexican National team that will compete at the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Vancouver, B.C. Sierra was selected out of a pool of 30 players to make the final roster of 20.

"I am honored to represent Mexico in this tournament," Sierra said. "This will be an amazing experience. We came here with not only the objective to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics, but to win this whole tournament."

"We are so proud of Bianca for making the Mexican National Team roster for the Olympic qualifiers," Auburn Head Soccer Coach Karen Hoppa said. "This is an incredible opportunity for her to not only represent her home country but also to represent Auburn at the highest level of international soccer."

The eight-team tournament is split into two four-team groups, with the top two teams in each group meeting in a single-elimination tournament to decide the two teams that earn bids to the 2012 Summer Olympics. Group A is Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba and Haiti while Mexico is in Group B with Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and the United States.

"Bianca has worked really hard at Auburn to improve her game during the past year, and that improvement is evident by her being able to make the jump from Mexico's U20 team to the full national team. We so are excited to watch her play as her country competes to qualify for the 2012 Olympics," said Hoppa.

The tournament kicks off at BC Place Stadium on Friday, Jan. 19 at 7pm with Costa Rica and Cuba. Mexico is set to open play the following day against Guatemala at 7pm before meeting the Dominican Republic on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 4pm and the United States on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 9:30pm. The semifinals will be played on Jan. 27 and the finals on Jan. 29.

More information about the tournament can be found at www.concacaf.com.

All matches are set to be streamed live on CONCACAF TV.