Former Bulldogs Called Up For Copa America

QUITO, Ecuador – Former Mississippi State soccer players Ilana Izquierdo and Catalina Perez have once again been called up for national team duty with Colombia at this year's Copa America in Ecuador.

The duo represented their home country together at last year's Paris Olympic Games as well, where the Colombian squad made history by advancing past the group stage for the first time in Olympic competition. Perez has been a member of the senior national team since 2011, and Izquierdo received her first senior call-up in 2024.

Izquierdo played the 2023-24 seasons in Starkville and was a key member of the Bulldogs' 2024 SEC Championship team. She was a Second Team All-SEC selection last year and finished her MSU career with 38 matches started, six goals and seven assists. Perez spent one year on campus in 2017, when she became the Bulldogs' first United Soccer Coaches All-American in program history. At the time she graduated, her nine shutouts in 2017 ranked second in MSU single-season history.

Izquierdo started every match of the 2024 CONCACAF Gold Cup as Colombia reached the quarterfinals. She played in three of four Olympic matches, starting twice. Perez has represented her country at two Olympic Games and two World Cups. She led the Colombians to a runner-up performance at the 2022 Copa America and won a Pan American Games gold medal in 2019, which was the country's first international championship in women's soccer.

Copa America play begins on Friday night, but Colombia will not play until Wednesday, July 16, against Venezuela. Other group opponents include Paraguay, Bolivia and defending champion Brazil. The top two squads from each group will advance to the semifinals on July 28-29. The Copa America final is scheduled for Aug. 2.

The two finalist nations will earn Olympic qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, and the third-place nation will secure a berth in the Pan American Games.

Colombia has finished as the Copa America runner-up three times, including the 2022 performance behind Perez. Their Olympic journey last summer ended only after then-world No. 1 Spain defeated them on penalty kicks after tying the match in stoppage time.

For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSOC."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Former Bulldogs Called Up For Copa America

Players Mentioned

Ilana Izquierdo

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