Pali junior Mechal Green recently announced on Instagram that she has verbally committed to the University of Oregon. She plans to play for the university’s women’s soccer team in the fall of 2026.
A verbal commitment is a non-binding agreement between an athlete and a college or university. Green is unable to sign an official letter of intent until her senior year.
Green began talking to college coaches the summer before her junior year about playing for their soccer teams.
“It had been a moment I was waiting for my whole life and I couldn’t believe that I was getting considered to play for these amazing schools,” Green said.
University of Oregon’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women’s soccer team competes in the Big Ten conference, the oldest and most highly reputable intercollegiate athletic conference.
Green shared the factors that prompted her decision in choosing Oregon.
“Oregon sparked my interest because of its closeness, how beautiful it was, and its great athletics department,” she said. “When I visited, I knew I could see myself going there.”
Green explained why she wanted to continue soccer in college, saying, “it was my goal to get recruited because I knew I didn’t want my soccer journey to end after high school.”
Green is a striker for Pali’s varsity team and the Beach Futbol Club 2007 girls team. Her soccer career began at the age of five, when she competed for an American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) team.
“My parents needed to put me in a sport and make me do something as an outlet for all my energy as a kid, so they put me in soccer,” Green said.
Green was the only person in her class to make Pali’s Varsity soccer team as a freshman, whereas fellow players generally begin in Junior Varsity teams and work their way up.
She competed with her club team in the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) girls final, assisting them to victory as national champions. Her efforts got her named one of ECNL’s U17 Players to Watch.
From August to November, Green trains with her club team three times a week. From November to March, during Pali’s girls soccer season, she trains every day after school.
“Between soccer, AP classes, and just maintaining my social life, it can be hard to prioritize stuff in certain moments,” Green said. “But for me, it’s all about balance, taking and giving here and there depending on what the priority is for that day.”
Green contacted the University of Oregon via email to establish her interest in playing there and set up calls to have conversations with the coaches.
“The recruitment process has been difficult yet unbelievably rewarding,” she said. “I really felt a relief lifted off my shoulders now that I know what my next four years will look like.”
“[Committing] to Oregon meant that I could continue to do something I love, in a place that I love,” she concluded.
