With the Women’s Premier Soccer League regular-season opener just around the corner, San Diego Parceiro Ladies is bringing in players with impressive resumes and one who looks to make a difference right off the bat is talented defender Klarysa O’Hara.

A San Diego native and Montgomery High School graduate who was part of the Albion SC Girls Development Academy, O’Hara started off her collegiate career playing at Grambling State University before transferring to Cal State Stanislaus where she still has two years of eligibility remaining with the Warriors. Her athletic abilities allowed her to choose from many sports including basketball, which she also played in high school, along with being the kicker for the football team.

“The football coach was my math teacher,” said O’Hara. “They did a competition during halftime to make a field goal and I ended up being the kicker.”

Her decision to play soccer came thanks to her older sister Karen who played softball and from watching the Mexican national soccer team with her favorite player growing up being Giovani dos Santos.

O’Hara is also a fan of the San Diego Wave Fútbol Club which is playing its first season in the National Women’s Soccer League having attended the team’s 2022 Challenge Cup victory at Torero Stadium against Angel City FC on April 2.

“My favorite player on their team is Naomi Girma,” she added. “There was a lot of energy that day and it was really exciting to see that. I think that it’s super cool there’s another team in San Diego for everyone to go watch.”

San Diego Parceiro Ladies will have a much shorter schedule than its NWSL counterparts with only eight regular-season games four of them at Madison High School and four on the road starting with the season opener on May 21 at Mission Bay High School Stadium against the San Diego Strikers. “Even if it takes time trying to get to know everyone at the beginning, I think that we will do well because of the coaches that we have,” said O’Hara. “Our games will also be fun to watch and the fans should come out and support us as much as they can.”

Photo courtesy: Karen Lopez