From a young age, junior Sahaana Potti watched her older brother play soccer and fell in love with the sport. At 6, she began playing on a recreational team, and later switched to play club soccer on the De Anza Force 08 Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) team when she was 10. After joining the club, her passion for soccer continued to grow as she enjoyed the exhilaration of scoring goals.
Those years of hard work paid off recently when she verbally accepted an offer to play Division I soccer at Pepperdine University starting in the fall of 2026.
Alongside her club team, in her freshman year, she also played on the school’s soccer team, filling the key role of winger and striker. She decided to forgo playing school soccer her sophomore year; instead, she continued playing soccer in the winter with her club team and attended several showcases in hopes of increased visibility from college coaches. Potti has not yet decided whether she will play for the school team this year, although her recruitment process has ended.
During middle school, Potti knew that she wanted to pursue soccer at a collegiate level. Some colleges had already started looking at her when she was in eighth grade, but a handful also started following her results since ninth grade. She was scouted at many ECNL showcases all over the country.
Other than the ECNL showcases she has competed in, her team has qualified for national playoffs for three consecutive years. Last year, they qualified to the National Championships but were defeated by Penn Fusion Soccer Academy in the semifinals. However, as of Oct. 3, her team is top three in the country for her age group thanks to their performance at the National Championships.
For Potti, the recruitment process wasn’t too stressful as she was fortunate enough to narrow her list down to six colleges pretty early in the recruiting process. Coaches then were able to officially email and directly communicate with her after the June 15 date passed the summer following sophomore year.
Knowing which schools were interested in her from the flow of calls and emails, Potti was able to further narrow down her school list and began visiting schools beginning on Aug. 1 of this year, when she was looking at some Ivy League schools and UCs. On Oct. 4, she verbally committed to Pepperdine; she was drawn to the school’s top-15 soccer program and its great, competitive atmosphere.
“I felt this school would provide the best of both good academics and a strong soccer program. The coaches and culture are also super supportive of the student athletes,” Potti said.
While playing soccer, one of the biggest problems for her was dealing with occasional racist comments and overcoming the stereotype that Indian Americans are unable to play sports well.
“I’ve been discriminated on it by a lot of my coaches earlier on, but now I have multiple great coaches,” Potti said.
Potti believes Pepperdine will help take her game to the next level, going pro, which is something she envisions for her future. She dreams of playing in Europe or in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
“I am excited for the next four years because of the unique blend of playing at the highest levels and representing my college, and the different career opportunities offered in an exciting campus setting, will all add to my soccer college experience,” Potti said.
