FLORIDA - Former Arizona Western women's soccer player Yui Suetsugu just wrapped up three days of competition during the inaugural NWSL (National Women's Soccer League) combine. The NWSL Combine and Youth Combine are exclusive, invitation-only events for top soccer talent, designed to provide NWSL clubs with a centralized platform for scouting. 

"This combine was a first for me," Suetsugu said. "It's really cool to play with players from a lot of big schools. Everyone who stood out had speed, physicality and technique."

After her time at Arizona Western College, Suetsugu signed with the University of South Florida, a member of the American Athletic Conference (ACC). The combine welcomed the top 60 players in the country, most of which compete in the larger DI college conferences. 

"The players move the ball well, it was fun to play with them," Suetsugu said. "They press the ball on defense, you can tell they understand the game even before they get the ball."

For now, Suetsugu will let the three days of competition set in as she waits to see if she caught anyone's eye across the NWSL. 

"To me, you're talking about the 60 best collegiate players in the country," Arizona Western women's soccer head coach Victor Verdugo said. "Yiu told me she was a little nervous but once she got into the speed of play she felt she did well. I spoke with some of the scouts and was told she had a good showing. She should have some interest from several clubs."

Now the waiting game through the holiday season begins for Suetsugu with no clear direction as to what comes next or fast it may approach.

"So what happens is all 32 teams in the league go back to their headquarters, talk to the front office and decide if she or what players are at the level to join the professional rosters," Verdugo said. "If and when that happens for Yiu, she'll be offered a professional contract if she wants to come out of college. I'm thinking in the next two weeks she could get signed. If they want you, boom, they're going to offer you a deal."

Should Suetsugu land a contract with an NWSL team, she will become the first player in Arizona Western women's college history to play professionally in the NWSL. 

"For us, it's very exciting that one of our alumni is in this process and I think based on the signings we had this year, we should continue to have more players at the combine in the near future," Verdugo said. "How exciting is it to possibly have one of our own competing in one of the top three leagues in the world."